Choose your own adventure: 20

The story so far:
You awoke on an island after a night of binge drinking with friends because of a shitty day. You don't know how you got there, so you go off to find how to get home. After a few adventures you find a village where the natives, a bunch of otters, have all been slain. You follow the trail of whoever killed them and find a secret lair in a cave in the cliff wall. There you sneak around until you find a secret passage, and overhear some leader and his underlings discussing the deaths of the otters, and that there is some spy (aka you) in the cave. You find a passage to a prison where there are three captives, a huddled furry thing, a penguin with a cool hat and a scary sounding thing in a corner. You talk to the penguin, who encourages you to escape with him down a secret escape passage that another prisoner made in the cell next to his. You free a young otter who is too afraid to speak, and a scary jaguar, who guards the exit while you escape. After escaping, the penguin, Pierre, volunteers to bring you and the otter child to Ellestria if you go with him to his ship, last seen due west in Edgeton. While walking west through the forest of fortune, you stumble into some lizardmen on patrol and get into a fight. You manage to disarm one of them, but reinforcements arrive and chase you all to a marsh, which the lizards are afraid to approach. You and Pierre row a canoe you find out towards the island in the middle of the lake, but while doing so a gigantic black lake monster attacks your boat and sends you all flying. You and Pierre manage to swim to the island, but the otter child is nowhere to be found.
You search a small cave you find and inside is the otter child with a mysterious winged creature. The creature seems to know you both and offers you food and answers tomorrow after allowing you to rest underground. But things are not all they seem, as both the otter child and Pierre are a bit creeped out by the winged one. You, though, slowly succumb to her, seeing your friends as horrible creatures as she sucks the life out of you. Luckily for you, Pierre saves you and you all make your escape. As you see sunlight again, you pass out, only to wake up weeks later in a small village in Ladon Fields, south of Edgeton. Pierre and the child apparently carried your body there and nursed you back to health. Now you decide to renew your journey to Edgeton. You decide to travel with two young men, Ox and Rand, on their way to sell wheat to a caravan in Edgeton. While going there, you pass through an old ghost town called Newburry. There you find out that Mina, Rand's sister, had hidden herself in the cart, against her father's wishes. While heading out of Newburry Pierre spies something coming towards your group in the distance. Your group goes and hides in a barn, but watches and sees a couple of groups of Jackals riding horses who all meet up in the town square near your barn. A ghost appears to the Jackals, who seem to be expecting it. Since the Jackals don't seem to be leaving any time soon, you all take turns sleeping the night, but when morning comes, Mina is missing!

Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 20

You suggest searching the barn for clues as to where Mina disappeared off to.
"That sounds reasonable enough," says Pierre. "Afterall, I never saw here leave the barn."
"That's because you were sleeping on watch!" yells Rand.
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
"Was not!"
"Was too!"

As the two yell at each other, you, Ox and the otter child begin searching the barn. You start by checking the cart. You can tell that Mina must have slept in the wheat for a while last night, as it has been arranged into a bed-like shape. You can't find any clues as to what happened next though.
Just then the otter child cries out in the corner of the barn, and the group goes to check out what it found. It seems that there is a trap door underneath the hay in the corner of the barn.
"Perhaps she went down there..." Pierre states.
"Well, we won't know unless we look," says Ox.

You climb down the hole in the ground first. It goes down about 15 feet into a small, dimly lit tunnel. You follow the tunnel for a bit, and it seems to lead to a larger room, with smaller tunnels leading out in different directions.
"I would guess that those smaller tunnels lead to other trap doors in other buildings in Newburry," says Pierre.
"Why would you think that?" asks Ox.
"Because that is how I would set up my base of operations."
You look around the larger room and realize he is right. This seems to be a base for some criminal group. There are small cots by the walls, as well as dressers and a weapons cashe. You would guess that you stumbled into the barracks of some group. Luckily there is noone there except your group currently.
"Maybe we should get some weapons, just in case there are still some enemies around," says Rand.

You all walk over to the weapons cashe. Ox picks up what looks to you like a great-axe, but seems small when he holds it. Pierre still has his rapier from before, so he holds onto it. Rand finds some brass knuckles which fit his hands, and the otter child picks up a sling and some rocks. The other weapons look too large for his small otter hands. You look at your options:

You could pick up:
1: A dagger, which would allow you to move quicker but not hurt as much, you feel.
2: A shortsword, which seems nicely balanced.
3: A longsword, which is kinda heavy in your hands, but intimidating.
4: An axe, which has a good swing, but can sometimes be awkward to use.
5: A mace, which is heavy, but would leave a good "impression" on people.
6: A spear, which is awkward in small spaces, but keeps the enemies away.
7: A bow and arrows, which also would be awkward in small or upclose areas, but handy in larger ones.
8: A bo staff, which also subs as a nice balancing stick when tightrope walking.
(Choose wisely. Or choose your favorite.)

You select your weapon and look around. It seems there are three larger areas to go to out of the barracks you are in, that don't seem to lead to one of the houses in Newburry. One path leads North-East, and seems more lit, another leads North, and from it you think you can hear voices discussing something. The other leads North-West and is darker. You think you hear something like the crack of a whip from there.

Where will you go?
A: North-East towards the light
B: North towards the discussion
C: North-West towards the whip-noise

(Don't forget to vote for direction AND weapon, and vote by monday. Also, if you have any other suggestions as to what to do, or ideas as to where you are and what is going on, feel free to discuss them.)