[Pick-a-path] A Traveller's Adventure

[Geckomayhem]

Editor's note: The story has been cut short due to lack of interest. Thanks for your participation.

Pick-a-path: A Traveller's Adventure

Your name is Caen Foresight, a human of Stormwind city. For three years you've laboured in Stormwind as a blacksmith's apprentice. A jovial sort, but serious when the need arises, you carry an air of both open friendliness and frank honesty. I guess you could say you're a nice guy. What sets you apart from the others in your trade is that you have a hunger for adventure that extends beyond life in a thriving city such as this. Little did you know that such an adventure was about to start.

Tasked to assist fellow blacksmith Vandar Deepforge, son of the infamous Therum Deepforge, on a very important mission to deliver some plans for armour improvements to Nethergarde Keep in the Blasted Lands, the two of you pack your provisions and set out for your destination.

The first part of your journey is mostly uneventful. Vandar's horse gets a stone in its hoof just outside Goldshire but it is quickly sorted out and the animal doesn't suffer any lasting damage. You and your companion make good time down into Duskwood and the wardens patrolling the area remind you to stay on the path. Reaching Darkshire before nightfall, you and Vandar settle down for the night, intending to get up for an early start.

The next morning dawns crisp and clear. You and Vandar purchase a couple of travel necessities that were not available when you left Stormwind, before saying goodbye to the small town and heading east.

As you near Deadwind Pass, a little fear begins to take over as this is the furthest from home you have been and stories from your childhood of Medivh, the corrupted wizard who brought those bloodthirsty greenskins through to Azeroth, come to mind. Chiding yourself at such foolishness, you are also reminded that the sinister Karazhan is well out of your way and that the strong winds in the pass are a much more real threat to you and Vandar.

Deadwind Pass, despite the eerie silence save for the occasional whistling breeze or the distant cry of a bird, also proves to be rather uneventful, if monotonous.

Swamp of Sorrows is a nice change of scenery after the desolation of Deadwind Pass. You make good time and soon see the border that separates this marshy area from the Blasted Lands; aptly named for its abundance of scorched earth and lack of plant life. It isn't much longer before you cross from swampy wetland to a dusty, desert-like wasteland.

Without warning, a demonic boar comes charging out of the only undergrowth for what seems like miles. You turn your horse just in time, but Vandar isn't so lucky. The boar sweeps his gelding's forelegs out from under it and Vandar is tossed from the saddle. As you calm your horse and leap down to assist your companion, the hellboar, which had tumbled in the fracas, regains its feet and charges once more. Barely missing you as you drag Vandar out of the way, it swings its head as it passes. The semi-conscious Vandar lets out a cry as one of the boar's tusks pierces his jerkin, obviously digging into his side quite deeply.

Without hesitation, you grab out your belt dagger and grip it tightly in your fist. The boar, which has turned once more approaches a little more cautiously, snorting aggressively. Suddenly, its red-rimmed eyes lose focus and it lurches a little before collapsing to the ground, dead. You stand there, stunned, before putting your knife away and turning to the stout little dwarf, who is now gasping for breath, eyes closed.

He stops breathing just as suddenly as the boar had met its very strange demise. You tear open his bloodied shirt to see a deep gash. No medical expert, you are pretty sure that such a gash shouldn't kill, let alone kill so fast. A strange blackness surrounds the wound, with spidery strands of green and black spreading outward. You realise what this means. Poison.

But why would an animal, no matter how demented, have poison on its tusks? And how did the boar die so quickly? You turn to hurry over to the boar to see if it accidentally scratched itself with the poison, but haven't taken two strides when there is a hissing sound that grows louder. The animal's corpse begins to smoke, and with a flash, disappears, leaving nothing but a charred scar on the red earth.

You stare, open-mouthed at the still-smoking patch, as myriad thoughts and questions pour into your mind. Something is going on here; something sinister - perhaps something magic. You don't know if the boar's attack was orchestrated or not, and you don't know if Vandar's death was as much an accident as it appeared, but beasts like that don't usually have poison on their extremities and they sure as Sargeras don't disappear in a puff of smoke.

You may have more questions than answers, but one thing you do know: you'd better finish your journey to Nethergarde Keep to seek shelter, if not help. It's the only sensible course of action.

As you begin to lift Vandar's body up onto his mount, his clothes start to feel hotter: so hot, in fact, that you release the body for fear that your hands will burn. It slumps to the ground and you hear the hissing sound again. You slap his horse to make it move, and jump back. Just in time, for soon your companion's body rapidly steams and disappears in the same way that the boar had just minutes earlier. All that remains is a black smudge on the ground, where once a dwarf lay.

You slump to the ground, head in your hands. Now your thoughts take a different tack. With no bodies and no evidence of how Vandar had died, how will you explain his disappearance? What if they accuse you of his death? You sit there stunned for a full five minutes under the scorching sun, jaw trembling in shock, before making your decision.

You chose: Grab the horses and head on to Nethergarde Keep as planned, intending to explain the situation and rely on your honest demeanour to make someone listen to the truth.

Getting to your feet, you glance up at the sky before tying Vandar's horse to your own. Making sure that everything is in place, you set out in the direction of Nethergarde Keep, still half a day's travel from this spot. You dread what awaits you: having to explain the riderless horse and the absurdity of what you have just witnessed. You find it hard to believe yourself. It feels as if you are in some sort of dream and that you will wake up at any moment.

You wake up. How long had you been asleep for? You glance at the sky again and see that it has been a few hours since leaving the place where it all happened. You must have fallen asleep in the saddle. That blasted sun doesn't help things one bit. The scenery is still as bland as ever, too.

Nothing really happens until you finally see Nethergarde Keep in the distance. The sun has gone down significantly and it can't be more than an hour until sunset. Suddenly, you realise that you haven't eaten since the morning. Well, at least the your saddle canteen still has a bit of water in it; if a little warm.

You make your way up towards Nethergarde Keep, Vandar's horse still trailing along behind. You feel weary; the weight of everything that has happened presses down on you like a gravity spell. Except while napping, you haven't stopped pondering everything, your thoughts spinning around helplessly and incoherently. It's making your head hurt.

Climbing the rise towards the gate, you start to consider just what you are going to do once you enter the keep. Would it be wise to wait until morning, and hope that you will actually get some sleep tonight? You sure could do with a hot meal; maybe even a bath. It's been four days since leaving Darkshire and six since leaving Stormwind. You can't even remember the last time you bathed. The dust and sweat from sitting in the saddle for hours makes your usual blacksmithing grime seem as unassuming as an SI:7 agent spying on an Orc encampment.

You go through the gate into the outer part of the walled town. Bigger than Darkshire by far, the castle grounds are impressive in their own right; although your home city of Stormwind boasts many more and much grander structures than this. Still, finding an inn shouldn't be too much hassle.

You chose: Go to the tower to seek an audience with Archmage Thas'ranan.

The horse moves forward as you guide it towards the tower. Meeting with Archmage Thas'ranan is something you anticipate with both excitement and dread. The leader of the mage forces, not much is known about the high elf. At least, not by you. In fact, you know very little about Nethergarde Keep as a whole; only that it is the first line of defense between the Dark Portal and the Eastern Kingdoms.

This was supposed to be a simple delivery. How could things go so wrong? You sigh. The weight of everything still bears down upon you, but you manage to sit astride your horse as nobly as a blacksmith's apprentice can. The adventurer inside you is awakened but you still feel well out of your element. Who knows whether you will even gain an audience with the archmage? Who is going to believe your tale, anyway?

With these thoughts plaguing your mind, you almost fail to see the person who stumbles out in front of your horse. Your heart skips a beat as you instantly recognise the figure who clumsily snatches at your horse's bridle before landing on his rump in the street. It is Vandar's father, Therum Deepforge. You blink as you try to take it all in, your mouth going dry. Therum saw you off. He handed the plans to you himself. How could he be in Nethergarde ahead of you? Why? If he was able to procure a gryphon, why didn't he just take the plans himself? This was the last person you wanted to see when Vandar's terrible end was so fresh in your mind. Fate is funny like that.

Without much time to think, you know it will only be a matter of seconds before he looks up to see who knocked him down. He may be drunk but you are not wearing anything to cover your face and there is still a little light left. Panicked, you shift the reins in your hand and prepare to keep going. You can deal with this later. Right now, all you want to do is talk to someone in authority. But what of Therum? Why is he even here?

As if to prompt you to make a decision, a couple of guards who saw the little commotion begin moving towards you. You must act now. What will you do?

You chose: Get off your horse and approach the guards. Maybe they can get you an audience with the archmage, if not listen to your story. Therum will be fine and he hasn't seen you yet. You want to keep it that way.

You start to get down off your horse but feel a hand on your leg. You were so focused on the guards that you didn't notice Therum getting to his feet. Guess it's too late to try and head straight for the tower. But who knows; perhaps you will get that chance soon enough.

As you turn from your horse, the guards reach you.

"Everything all right here?" one of them asks.

Therum looks at you, no emotion on his face. He turns to the guard as he dusts himself off.

"Absolutely," he responds in his thick, Ironforge accent. "Just a wee tumble is all."

You are surprised at the lack of slur in his voice. Was he not drunk after all? The guards appraise you both one last time then turn to leave. You open your mouth to say something. Of course, anything you say now will sound hollow, but you have to get it out. Therum cuts you off. "Mah boy, we have much to discuss. Come with me." Not drunk, then. You have no choice but to follow him.

Therum leads you towards the nearby inn. He doesn't say another word but lets you take the horses around to the stable. You hand the stable boy 10 copper coins. He grins and takes both horses into the stable. You turn back to Therum, who was waiting for the exchange. This time, you keep your mouth shut.

He motions for you to follow. You enter the inn and he leads you to a corner table. You wonder if you should order drinks, but Therum doesn't give you a chance to do anything. Strange, that a dwarf would pass up the chance to drink; an indication that this is a sombre meeting. You are not sure what to think; to feel. Your whole body feels somewhat numb. A few seconds pass before he leans across the table to talk to you in a somewhat hushed tone.

"Ye probably have many questions, lad. But these are troubling times." He holds up his hand as you, foolishly, open your mouth again. "Ah saw ye in the street and knew ah had to do somethin' afore ye made a fool o' yerself." He stops for a second. "Ah know about me boy." Your eyes go wide. It's only been a few hours! How could anyone-- you can't finish the thought. At least you have the sense to know that now is the time to listen, not to ask questions. Questions can wait.

Therum studies you. His granite eyes appear soft beneath his bushy brows. In the seriousness of the moment, at least you can see that he isn't angry. So what emotions lie beneath that hardened countenance? Therum purses his lips a moment, regarding you, then suddenly calls over the barmaid. He holds up two fat fingers and the barmaid goes to grab a couple of stouts. Now, that's more like it.

"Like ah said, lad. There is much to discuss. Yer probably not goin'ta believe me, but ah may as well hit ye with the big one." As if revealing that he knew what he couldn't - what he shouldn't - know, wasn't big enough. He pauses for a second, then takes a deep breath. "Yer probably wondering how ah know, yeh?" You simply nod, overwhelmed by what is happening. The table, the sounds of the common, the patrons around you. It all seems like a dream.

"Ah feel like ah can speak freely with ye." You nod again. "Lad, as if ye haven't had enough shock fer one day seeing mah grimy face, ye'd better brace yerself. Ah know ye didn't kill me boy." You release your breath a little, but your heart still feels like it's trying to tap out a new troll dance rhythm. "There are things at work here-", he cuts off as the beers arrive, foaming like a maddened water elemental in their wooden tankards. He watches, cautiously, as the barmaid leaves. Why is he being so cautious?

You shift in your seat. You want to hear him out but you also feel that telling your story to the archmage is the best thing to do. You still want to get to that tower as soon as possible. Someone in authority needs to know what's going on. But do you even know what's going on?

Therum takes a swig of his beer, then continues in his hushed tone. "Things that are beyond us, lad. Ah came to Nethergarde because ah knew that eventually ye'd hafta show." You look at him quizzically. What did he mean by "eventually"? It took half a day to get here!

"Caen." He used your name for the first time. "It's been six months since y'and Van left Stormwind." Silence. You know he tells the truth. A sense of cold dread forms in the pit of your stomach. You know he speaks the truth and yet your mind can't make sense of it at all. Six months! How is that possible? How is anything possible... The room spins. The last thing you remember, Therum is looking down at you, his face hazy. You can't make out the words but his mouth is moving. Everything goes to black.

You wake up on a pallet in a nondescriptive room. A washbasin stands in the corner, and aside from a painting of some peacebloom on the wall, nothing else stands out. Last you remember, you and Therum were having a conversation - if his few words directed at you could be called a conversation - in the common room of an inn. Your head is pounding. You sit up and rub your temples, then get to your feet. That washbasin sure looks inviting. You rinse your face and towel off, feeling an ache through most of your body.

You know that Therum has much more to say. The last thing he said to you comes back like a goblin steamtank running through a flock of chickens. Six months since leaving Stormwind. And yet... as far as you can tell, it's been one week. If what he says is true, then what happened on your journey that took six months of your memories? What is real?

A knock sounds at the door. You turn towards the noise. You know that you have mere seconds to make a decision before someone enters the room.

Due to lack of interest, and to end the story, I have chosen: You can't trust anyone. Did someone spike your beer? Did Therum lure you to the inn only to have you taken prisoner? His ploy with the horse sure seemed fishy. Rush to the window and escape.

You leave your food half finished and pry open the window. You realise you are on the second floor of whatever this building is. Climbing out through the window seems easy, but there is very little to hold onto and nowhere to place your feet. You see a sign of some sort just off to your right. That looks like a good prospect. You edge along, gripping the sill and leap for the sign. You grab it with both hands, but there is a loud crack and you both crash to the ground, the sign mercilessly crushing your skull.

You have died.
Release? [ Ok ]

[Scrufnard]

I chose #1

[xionkarl]

Option 1

[NickFtw]

Option 2.

[Gallador]

Option 1.

Though isn´t it easier to make a Poll out of it?

[Asotcha]

option 1 plz and cool idea

[apepi]

5. /cast Divine shield and /use Hearthstone

[Perdition]

option 3

[Naus]

option 1

[Saipur]

Option 1

[Geckomayhem]

Option 1.

Though isn´t it easier to make a Poll out of it?

Easier, yes, but I'm unsure whether you can edit polls and I want to continue the story in the original post, adding choices consistently as we get further along.

Looks like option 1 is winning so far. I'll add the next part of the story later on today.

Option 1: 9 votes
Option 2: 1 vote
Option 3: 2 votes
Option 4: 0 votes

Edit: Vote count updated to post #15.

[Spikeydeath]

option 1

[Nickelknight]

option 1

[Jedistene]

Option 1.

[Against the Modern World]

Option 3

[Geckomayhem]

Part two is up. Thanks for voting. Please read the next part and place your vote for the next part of the story.

[NickFtw]

Option 3.

[Solfire]

Option 4.

[Saipur]

option 4, meet with the archmage

[Geckomayhem]

Well, people definitely don't want to go to the inn. You've got all weekend to vote. I will try and check back some time before voting is closed to keep a tally of the votes for the next part.