The story so far:
You awoke on an island full of anthropomorphic animals not remembering how you got there. Among the many adventures you have had, you met a crazy old English blackbird, found an otter village destroyed by an evil Bulldog and his lizard henchmen, rescued the only survivor of the otter decimation as well as your new friend, the Penguin Pirate Captain Pierre. You were almost killed by a scary fairy and a black lake monster, and recently have been traveling with some friends, Ox, Rand and Mina to Edgeton, to find Pierre's ship.
Currently, you have all been hiding from a group of Jackals in a ghost town, when Mina goes missing. You find a secret lair underground where apparently the Jackals have been using for a slave trade. You free some of the slaves from the Jackals and send Rand out of the lair with them. The rest of the team goes on in search for Mina. Your group finds what is supposed to be the room where Mina is being kept, but it is guarded by many Jackals. After getting help from an unlikely source (a bat named Bartok you meet deep underground), your group goes to rescue Mina, who you find, but at the same time the Jackals are besieged by a familiar Pit Bull and his lizard henchmen!
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 26
You tell the group that it would be best to help out the Jackals, and try to make your escape when you see an opening.
"The Jackals? But what about all the horrible things they have done to Mina?" says Ox.
"I... I guess we have no choice Ox. They... weren't ALL horrible things they did to me... And if we can get out of here I will never have to see them again. I just want to get home," says Mina.
Ox reaches over and holds Mina. "I swore I would get you out of here, and I will."
"Aw, isn't true love sweet?" Bartok says to you. Ox and Mina quickly step away from each other, blushing as Bartok laughs.
"There is no time for all that. Here is the plan, we will work our way along the wall, fighting the lizards, and hopefully when the Jackals see us doing this, they will think we are on their side and leave us alone. Then we make our escape," explains Pierre.
"Alrighty! Lets go!" yells Bartok as he runs out into the war-torn room, jumping on the first jackal he sees and clawing it. "The lizards! Bartok, the lizards!" Pierre yells.
"Oh, right!" Bartok climbs off the jackal and helps him to his feet. "Sorry about that," Bartok says, wiping off the jackal. "No hard feelings?" The jackal looks stunned.
"Alright, go, go, go!" Pierre yells, drawing his rapier and charging the closest lizard. Ox follows, with a deep roar, and you follow behind, sword in hand. Mina and the otter child keep to the wall, edging along it.
Ox goes barreling into the lizards, knocking out 4 of them with his girth alone. Pierre seems to be holding off 2 lizards by himself, and Bartok is jumping all over the place. He looks like a schizophrenic dancing, but it is keeping the lizards back. He also seems to be mumbling to himself, but you can't hear him over the clanging of iron. The jackals look confused at first from your team's sudden entrance, but seem to welcome the help and don't confront your group directly.
You engage the first lizard, a medium-sized one, with a short sword as well. You parry a few of his blows and manage to get a nice hit in. He drops to one knee and you whack him on the head with the hilt of your blade. He falls down unconscious. You turn just in time for another lizard. This one is stronger, and keeps you on your toes. You do all you can to keep him at bay, but you can't seem to get a hit in. He backs you up to the corner and just when all seems lost, the lizard screams out and falls to the ground. You look and see a jackal has stabbed the lizard in the back. "That's for not killing me and Paul when you tied us up," it says, and you recognize it as the jackal you interrogated from before. "But don't think this means we like you. After we finish these lizards, we are coming for you!" He turns, smiling, and faces another lizard. As do you.
You face a few more lizards, as your group moves closer and closer to the exit of the large room. You continue to hold your own, only getting a few nicks and bruises here and there, nothing major, but your stamina is depleting rapidly, and each attack is harder and harder to parry. A large lizard comes rushing at you with a spear, and you try to jump out of the way to dodge it, but bump another lizard and get knocked back. The spear stabs you in your side and you scream out in pain, falling to the ground. You look up at the lizard, who is grinning and getting ready to stab you again. He shoves his spear at you, and you just manage to bat it away with your sword, but drop your sword in the process. You stumble trying to stand up and the lizard takes another swing. You watch your life flash before your eyes: you see, what feels like ages ago, your life in THE CITY coming to an end, your fight with your girlfriend and the bar you went drinking at with Jim, and the strange woman who approached you that night. Why did she seem so familiar, and why can't you remember her face? And why is this what you remember right before you are about to die? All these things flash through your head right as the lizard swings is spear at your head.
Just then you hear a cry from behind you, and the room begins to glow. You turn you head and can barely make out what appears to be the otter child, glowing bright white, and floating? Your eyes don't seem to be working properly, nothing is in focus, but you swear the otter child is floating, and the jackals and lizards seem dazed from the sight. They all seem to fall back from the light, even the albino jackal fighting the pit bull seem shocked, and stop their fighting. The room gets brighter and brighter and you think you hear a voice, it sounds like Pierre, saying something about how now is the time to go, as something large and furry picks you up and carries you. You drift in and out of consciousness.
You see Pierre and the otter child running up some stairs, and a bright light shine blind you. You close your eyes and open them again, and see Newburry . You look and see that you are standing in the fountain in the square in Newburry. You close your eyes again.
You hear a voice: "...is he going to be alright?"
You open your eyes. You see Ox's cart, with a wheel fallen off and rotten wood. You hear a voice: "...what happened?" You close your eyes.
You feel something soft and furry and warm rocking you. You hear a voice: "what happened, it seems like we have been gone for ages!" You hear another voice: "I just heard the news, how long has he been like this?"
You open your eyes, but everything is very blurry. You hear a noise behind you: "beep... beep... beep..." on and on. You see shapes moving in front of you. One shape seems to be crying. You close your eyes.
You feel something soft and warm holding you tight. You try to move, but your body doesn't respond. You hear a voice: "what do we do now? We need to get as far away from here as possible." You hear another voice: "Our best bet... be a big..." You don't hear any more.
You open your eyes are blinded again. You see shapes that you think are rocks and the sound of waves. Farther off you see something long and blue meeting a different long blue shape. Behind the sound of the waves crashing, you swear you hear another noise, that beeping from before. You close your eyes.
You feel something press against your lips and something slimy in your throat. You try to cough it up but your body doesn't respond. You hear two people arguing in the distance: "...if you hadn't left him..." "Why is this MY fault?" You ignore the voices. You feel something soft and furry in your hands and you try to hold it. Your fingers don't respond and you remember being especially mad at them for it. You think about how you are going to have a conversation with them later on their lack of manners.
You hear voices again. One seems to be singing a song. You can't make out the words, but the song seems to fill you with energy. You open your eyes. You see a small brown room with wooden walls. Or are they blue? You are not sure. You try to look around but all you see are a vase of flowers and your short sword laying on a table. You turn your head right, but instead your body decides to start coughing. You hear a voice: "He seems to be awake." A blurry figure appears in front of your face. "Lie down, it is alright. You gave us quite a fright," the voice says. "Here, drink this." Something gross smelling slides down your throat. You cough it up. "I know it smells awful, but you need to drink it. Here, try again." You manage to get the liquid down your throat this time. It warms your body slowly and your eyes slowly become less blurry. A large, smiling armadillo looks down at you. "We were all very worried about you. Cassie especially." You look up, confused. "The poor girl," the armadillo, who you realize is Mina, continues. "Surrounded by all these men, none of whom asked her her name. Well, I'm here for you now, and it looks like Mike is coming to, so everything is going to be alright." You look over to who Mina is talking to, and see the otter child sitting by the other side of the bed. It smiles at you, and you realize for the first time it is holding your hand.
Your name is Cassie? you ask it. It smiles and nods. You apologize for never learning its name, and it smiles at you. You try to sit up.
"Hold on mister!" says Mina. "You shouldn't push yourself so hard. Rest up while you can."
But, where am I? What is going on? You ask Mina.
"Oh, don't worry. We are in an inn in Edgeton. I am sure you are eager to find the rest of the gang and get situated, but don't overdo yourself. You have been out of it for a while now."
What happened to everyone else? you ask.
"Everyone is ok. Pierre should be down by the docks, Ox is probably off loafing about by the blacksmith's shop, and who knows what Bartok is up to? He may be at the pub, or off cavorting with god-knows-what. Hells, he could be anywhere. There is no telling with that one. Tell you what, if you really want to get up, take Cassie with you. And take it easy."
You try to stand and find that, while difficult, you are able to. You decide where to go first:
A: You could go see Pierre down by the docks.
B: You could go see Ox at the blacksmith's.
C: You could look for Bartok at the pub.
D: You could look for Bartok in the back alleys.
E: You could look for Bartok at the curious goods shop.
F: You could look for Bartok in the town square.
G: You could look for Bartok at the governor's hall.
H: You could look for Bartok at the park.
(The next episode will be on Monday May 25th. I am going out of town for a week, so you have extra time to think about decisions. Feel free to speculate on what has passed, what is going to happen, what day it is, what happened to Mina, and what is Cassie's deal. And if you know anyone who wants to start playing, or has been too afraid to comment because of all the backstory, the next chapter is about to begin and is a good starting point, so tell them to play. I will do a quick recap and begin chapter next on the 25th. Okay!)
5/14/09
5/12/09
Choose your own adventure: 25
The story so far:
You awoke on an island full of anthropomorphic animals not remembering how you got there. Among the many adventures you have had, you met a crazy old English blackbird, found an otter village destroyed by an evil Bulldog and his lizard henchmen, rescued the only survivor of the otter decimation as well as your new friend, the Penguin Pirate Captain Pierre. You were almost killed by a scary fairy and a black lake monster, and recently have been traveling with some friends, Ox, Rand and Mina to Edgeton, to find Pierre's ship.
Currently, you have all been hiding from a group of Jackals in a ghost town, when Mina goes missing. You find a secret lair underground where apparently the Jackals have been using for a slave trade. You free some of the slaves from the Jackals and send Rand out of the lair with them. The rest of the team goes on in search for Mina. Your group finds what is supposed to be the room where Mina is being kept, but it is guarded by many Jackals. You backtrack deep into the mines to find a deep, dark pit with something down at the bottom, who volunteers to help fight the Jackals in return for help out of the pit.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 25
You discuss the options with your group and decide that the voice in the pit could be very helpful against the army of Jackals, so you throw down a rope for it to climb out of the pit with. You, Ox and Pierre holding one end of the rope, waiting. All of a sudden you feel a sharp tug from the rope, and a heavy weight on the other end. After a few minutes the creature must have climbed to the top, as the tension on the rope goes away.
"Well, that was fun! What should we do for an encore?" says the voice.
"How about take on those Jackals?" says Pierre.
"O! K! Lead the way!"
"Um, actually, we think you should go first. Just keep going down this path, we will follow you," says Pierre. To you he says, "I don't just trust the guy yet, so lets not turn our back to him right away."
"Good Plan! I don't trust me either, and I've known myself for at least twice as long as you have known me! I think..." says the voice.
"I guess he heard me," Pierre whispers.
"WHAT?" says the voice. "Yeah, I heard you. I was joking with the 'what.' It was funny. Haha."
"Alright, lets go," says Ox. "We need to save Mina."
As you march on, the voice asks you all sorts of questions, like who Mina is, what day it is, who is the president, is the milk still good, etc. You answer him truthfully at first, but then begin to realize he is babbling and doesn't appear to be planning on shutting up any time soon, and you begin to ignore him. As you walk, the room gets lighter and you begin to see just what your new companion looks like. The first thing you notice is his large head, with huge pointed ears, and his small body, thin legs and long arms. It seems he is wearing some sort of cape as well that is tied to his arms. You introduce your group to your new friend, and ask his name.
"My name? My nom de familiar? My feuilles de papier?"
"Yeah, that one."
"Oh. Its Bartok. But you can call me Captain Awesome!"
"Alright Bartok, how long have you been in that pit?"
Bartok turns around to look at the group. "Not as long as I have been alive. But longer than most," he says as he waves his wings, emphasizing the point.
Wings? You look at Bartok in the better light. He appears to be a giant bat.
"Wait, you are a bat!" points out Ox. "Why did you need our help climbing out of that pit. Couldn't you have just flown?"
"Huh," says Bartok, looking at his wings, puzzled. "So I am. Who knew?"
"Surely you did," says Pierre.
"Couldn't you tell from your mother or father what you were?"
"My mother was a hampster," says Bartok in response, "and my father..."
"Smelt of elderberries?" you suggest.
"What? No. Well, maybe he did. I don't know. My father died left us when I was very young. He said he was going out for some ciggies one rainy night and never came back. But thanks for making light on my traumatic childhood memories."
You decide not to try to be the funny one in the group anymore.
Finally the group approaches the area with the Jackal guards.
"Shh, we need to be quiet from here on out," says Pierre.
"Okay, quiet. We can do that. Just stop talking everybody, especially you, little one. You just go on and on, and it makes me worry about future generations if we can't keep our children civilized and polite like..."
"I mean you, Bartok. Quiet. No speaking."
"Yes sir, no speak. Me. Got it."
"Good, now start now."
You peek around the corner to see the lay of the land. Huh, that's weird, you say.
"He can speak but I can't?"
You turn back to the group and explain that from what you can see, it looks like all the Jackals guarding the room are lying on the ground, either dead or unconscious.
"Yeah, that was me. I took them all out real quick with my super-speed. Its one of my mutant abilities."
"That and never shutting up," says Pierre under his breath.
Your group walks out into the room. Sure enough, about a four jackals lay on the ground bleeding. None seem to move when you walk in. You look down the hall, but the doors at the other end are closed, and you don't hear any noise. You walk over to the door they were guarding and perform a listen check. You roll about a 15, but because Bartok is still blabbering you get a -4, and can only hear muffled voices from the room, but no context. You look up to your group to see if they are ready. Ox has his axe drawn and nods, Pierre looks tense but excited and the otter child, while shaking slightly, seems to be as ready as he will ever be. Bartok, of course, is off in his own world, and is licking one of the Jackals' necks. Gross. You open the door.
Inside you see a large room with a luxurious bed and fine furniture decorating it. In one corner you see a pile of mats, and some chains, where the captives must have been tied up. There seems to have been people tied up there recently too. You look around some more and see another door. Behind that door you hear the sounds of iron clanking, which you assume to be fighting. You move towards the door when -BLAM!- the door comes flying off its hinges, as a large, albino Jackal comes flying through it.
"HAHA," cries a voice from the other room. "Nice try, but you should know better than to spar with the legendary Santiago!" In walks a very large pit bull wearing a sombrero, and twirling his moustache. "Now get up, you vile cur, and face me!"
"Legendary Santiago? Hah, is that what you call yourself now? says the albino Jackal. "More like the Pit-iful bull."
"Pit-iful bull, I like that one," Bartok says.
"You may have had the element of surprise for your last shot, but not now. Now you face my wrath!" With that the albino swings his massive blade up and rushes the pit bull.
"Huh, that was unexepected," says Bartok.
"What is going on?" asks Ox.
You look around and think you hear other voices coming from the room the two enemies were in. For now they are too busy fighting to give you any notice, but if you were to wait, surely they would turn to your group. You run by two fighting into the other room. Sure enough, there is Mina, tied up to a chair. She looks distressed, tired, and... older somehow.
"Mina!" Ox yells, as he rushes over to her to untie her. "Are you hurt?"
"Ox, is that you? Where have you been? Is my brother here? I gave up hope waiting for you."
"What are you talking about? You disappeared this morning."
"No, I've been a prisoner here for what feels like months now."
"Who is this?" says Mina, looking at Bartok.
"I am Sir James Wilson Bartowski the Third, esquire, at your service Mi'lady. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Look, we can discuss things later," says Pierre. "Right now we need to get out of here."
The room you are in is a dead end, you look out to the main room, and see that the two have taken their fight to the larger room with the dead guards. You look out there and see that another group of Jackals have arrived to the scene, but they seem to be fighting a group of Lizards who have gathered around the Pit Bull in the sombrero.
"That's a really nice sombrero," says Bartok. "I wonder, do you think, madam, that I could pull off that look?"
Mina looks at Bartok puzzled.
From what you can tell, you are going to have to cross the small war going on in the main room to get out of here. (There is no way to get to either door without engaging in some of the fight.) Your best bet is to perhaps help one side against the other. They appear to be evenly matched, there isn't one particular side that looks better off than the other. You think about what to do to make your escape:
You could:
A: Take the Pit Bull and Lizards' side.
B: Take the Jackals' side.
(Vote by Thursday)
You awoke on an island full of anthropomorphic animals not remembering how you got there. Among the many adventures you have had, you met a crazy old English blackbird, found an otter village destroyed by an evil Bulldog and his lizard henchmen, rescued the only survivor of the otter decimation as well as your new friend, the Penguin Pirate Captain Pierre. You were almost killed by a scary fairy and a black lake monster, and recently have been traveling with some friends, Ox, Rand and Mina to Edgeton, to find Pierre's ship.
Currently, you have all been hiding from a group of Jackals in a ghost town, when Mina goes missing. You find a secret lair underground where apparently the Jackals have been using for a slave trade. You free some of the slaves from the Jackals and send Rand out of the lair with them. The rest of the team goes on in search for Mina. Your group finds what is supposed to be the room where Mina is being kept, but it is guarded by many Jackals. You backtrack deep into the mines to find a deep, dark pit with something down at the bottom, who volunteers to help fight the Jackals in return for help out of the pit.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 25
You discuss the options with your group and decide that the voice in the pit could be very helpful against the army of Jackals, so you throw down a rope for it to climb out of the pit with. You, Ox and Pierre holding one end of the rope, waiting. All of a sudden you feel a sharp tug from the rope, and a heavy weight on the other end. After a few minutes the creature must have climbed to the top, as the tension on the rope goes away.
"Well, that was fun! What should we do for an encore?" says the voice.
"How about take on those Jackals?" says Pierre.
"O! K! Lead the way!"
"Um, actually, we think you should go first. Just keep going down this path, we will follow you," says Pierre. To you he says, "I don't just trust the guy yet, so lets not turn our back to him right away."
"Good Plan! I don't trust me either, and I've known myself for at least twice as long as you have known me! I think..." says the voice.
"I guess he heard me," Pierre whispers.
"WHAT?" says the voice. "Yeah, I heard you. I was joking with the 'what.' It was funny. Haha."
"Alright, lets go," says Ox. "We need to save Mina."
As you march on, the voice asks you all sorts of questions, like who Mina is, what day it is, who is the president, is the milk still good, etc. You answer him truthfully at first, but then begin to realize he is babbling and doesn't appear to be planning on shutting up any time soon, and you begin to ignore him. As you walk, the room gets lighter and you begin to see just what your new companion looks like. The first thing you notice is his large head, with huge pointed ears, and his small body, thin legs and long arms. It seems he is wearing some sort of cape as well that is tied to his arms. You introduce your group to your new friend, and ask his name.
"My name? My nom de familiar? My feuilles de papier?"
"Yeah, that one."
"Oh. Its Bartok. But you can call me Captain Awesome!"
"Alright Bartok, how long have you been in that pit?"
Bartok turns around to look at the group. "Not as long as I have been alive. But longer than most," he says as he waves his wings, emphasizing the point.
Wings? You look at Bartok in the better light. He appears to be a giant bat.
"Wait, you are a bat!" points out Ox. "Why did you need our help climbing out of that pit. Couldn't you have just flown?"
"Huh," says Bartok, looking at his wings, puzzled. "So I am. Who knew?"
"Surely you did," says Pierre.
"Couldn't you tell from your mother or father what you were?"
"My mother was a hampster," says Bartok in response, "and my father..."
"Smelt of elderberries?" you suggest.
"What? No. Well, maybe he did. I don't know. My father died left us when I was very young. He said he was going out for some ciggies one rainy night and never came back. But thanks for making light on my traumatic childhood memories."
You decide not to try to be the funny one in the group anymore.
Finally the group approaches the area with the Jackal guards.
"Shh, we need to be quiet from here on out," says Pierre.
"Okay, quiet. We can do that. Just stop talking everybody, especially you, little one. You just go on and on, and it makes me worry about future generations if we can't keep our children civilized and polite like..."
"I mean you, Bartok. Quiet. No speaking."
"Yes sir, no speak. Me. Got it."
"Good, now start now."
You peek around the corner to see the lay of the land. Huh, that's weird, you say.
"He can speak but I can't?"
You turn back to the group and explain that from what you can see, it looks like all the Jackals guarding the room are lying on the ground, either dead or unconscious.
"Yeah, that was me. I took them all out real quick with my super-speed. Its one of my mutant abilities."
"That and never shutting up," says Pierre under his breath.
Your group walks out into the room. Sure enough, about a four jackals lay on the ground bleeding. None seem to move when you walk in. You look down the hall, but the doors at the other end are closed, and you don't hear any noise. You walk over to the door they were guarding and perform a listen check. You roll about a 15, but because Bartok is still blabbering you get a -4, and can only hear muffled voices from the room, but no context. You look up to your group to see if they are ready. Ox has his axe drawn and nods, Pierre looks tense but excited and the otter child, while shaking slightly, seems to be as ready as he will ever be. Bartok, of course, is off in his own world, and is licking one of the Jackals' necks. Gross. You open the door.
Inside you see a large room with a luxurious bed and fine furniture decorating it. In one corner you see a pile of mats, and some chains, where the captives must have been tied up. There seems to have been people tied up there recently too. You look around some more and see another door. Behind that door you hear the sounds of iron clanking, which you assume to be fighting. You move towards the door when -BLAM!- the door comes flying off its hinges, as a large, albino Jackal comes flying through it.
"HAHA," cries a voice from the other room. "Nice try, but you should know better than to spar with the legendary Santiago!" In walks a very large pit bull wearing a sombrero, and twirling his moustache. "Now get up, you vile cur, and face me!"
"Legendary Santiago? Hah, is that what you call yourself now? says the albino Jackal. "More like the Pit-iful bull."
"Pit-iful bull, I like that one," Bartok says.
"You may have had the element of surprise for your last shot, but not now. Now you face my wrath!" With that the albino swings his massive blade up and rushes the pit bull.
"Huh, that was unexepected," says Bartok.
"What is going on?" asks Ox.
You look around and think you hear other voices coming from the room the two enemies were in. For now they are too busy fighting to give you any notice, but if you were to wait, surely they would turn to your group. You run by two fighting into the other room. Sure enough, there is Mina, tied up to a chair. She looks distressed, tired, and... older somehow.
"Mina!" Ox yells, as he rushes over to her to untie her. "Are you hurt?"
"Ox, is that you? Where have you been? Is my brother here? I gave up hope waiting for you."
"What are you talking about? You disappeared this morning."
"No, I've been a prisoner here for what feels like months now."
"Who is this?" says Mina, looking at Bartok.
"I am Sir James Wilson Bartowski the Third, esquire, at your service Mi'lady. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Look, we can discuss things later," says Pierre. "Right now we need to get out of here."
The room you are in is a dead end, you look out to the main room, and see that the two have taken their fight to the larger room with the dead guards. You look out there and see that another group of Jackals have arrived to the scene, but they seem to be fighting a group of Lizards who have gathered around the Pit Bull in the sombrero.
"That's a really nice sombrero," says Bartok. "I wonder, do you think, madam, that I could pull off that look?"
Mina looks at Bartok puzzled.
From what you can tell, you are going to have to cross the small war going on in the main room to get out of here. (There is no way to get to either door without engaging in some of the fight.) Your best bet is to perhaps help one side against the other. They appear to be evenly matched, there isn't one particular side that looks better off than the other. You think about what to do to make your escape:
You could:
A: Take the Pit Bull and Lizards' side.
B: Take the Jackals' side.
(Vote by Thursday)
5/7/09
Choose your own adventure: 24
The story so far:
You awoke on an island full of anthropomorphic animals not remembering how you got there. Among the many adventures you have had, you met a crazy old English blackbird, found an otter village destroyed by an evil Bulldog and his lizard henchmen, rescued the only survivor of the otter decimation as well as your new friend, the Penguin Pirate Captain Pierre. You were almost killed by a scary fairy and a black lake monster, and recently have been traveling with some friends, Ox, Rand and Mina to Edgeton, to find Pierre's ship.
Currently, you have all been hiding from a group of Jackals in a ghost town, when Mina goes missing. You find a secret lair underground where apparently the Jackals have been using for a slave trade. You free some of the slaves from the Jackals and send Rand out of the lair with them. The rest of the team goes on in search for Mina. Your group finds what is supposed to be the room where Mina is being kept, but it is guarded by many Jackals.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 24
After trying to decide how best to take on all those Jackals, you remember about the right hand path you passed by earlier. You suggest to your group that mayhaps there is something helpful for your situation down that path. Pierre and the otter child agree with you, but Ox just wants to rescue Mina as soon as possible. "Who knows what they are doing to her in there?" he says.
"True, but our odds are not the best right now, we should make use of any help we can get," says Pierre.
So the group heads back down the path to the fork in the road, being careful not to set off the traps from before. You look down the right hand path. It is dank, and dark down there, and slopes downwards.
"You sure this is a good idea?" asks Ox. "Those Jackals seemed to not want us to go down here..."
"Which means that there is something they don't want us to see, don't want us to know about," says Pierre.
"Or something they are afraid of..." says Ox.
Well here goes nothing, you say as you begin to venture down the path. It continues downwards, in a slow spiral, for a long time. It may seem longer than it could actually be, you think, because you are moving very slowly, looking for traps, as well as trying to get your eyes adjusted to the lack of light. Finally the path straightens out and stops going downwards.
"What direction are we going?" says Ox.
"Who knows, we have been going in a circle for a long time now. We could be going any direction..."
"So this could lead us off anywhere."
"Yep."
"Great idea guys."
You continue on walking until, when you are about to put your foot down for your next step, you realize there is no ground in front of you. You almost fall down a large pit, when Ox grabs you and pulls you back.
"That was close," says Ox. "You have to be more careful."
You look forward, but it is so dark you can hardly see anything. It seems that there is a darker area in front of you, though. You reach towards it and notice that there is a pit there. You ask how deep it is.
"Who can tell?"
"Yeah, its too dark down here, and we don't have any way to make light."
"Well, what should we do now? We can't keep going."
"But I thought we could find something useful down here."
"There is something useful down here. But you need to throw down a rope first."
"What did you say Ox?"
"I didn't say anything. Did you say that Pierre?"
"No. Mike?"
You mention that you didn't say anything either. You realize something is grabbing your leg, and you almost freak out when you realize it is the otter child.
"Who is there?" says Pierre's voice.
"Me."
"Who is me?"
"Who are you?"
"Um.. We are explorers looking to rescue a friend from the Jackals."
"Hmm..."
"Maybe you shouldn't have said our intentions Ox." says Pierre's voice again.
"Oh. Good point." says Ox.
"So you don't like the Jackals?" says the voice.
"Um... no?"
"Me neither. They smell. If you help me out of this pit I will help you out with the Jackals."
"Who are you? How do we know we can trust you?"
"I guess you don't. But you haven't told me your names, so why should I tell you mine?"
Pierre whispers something in your ear: "What should we do? I am sure the Jackals keep him down in this pit for a reason. Who knows if he will help us or do something terrible if we let him out. But we could use his help against the Jackals."
"Psst. I can hear you." says the voice.
You ask the voice why it is down there in the pit.
"That's private. My business. Not yours. But if you help me out, I've been told I am very good at repaying favors. Was that what they said?"
You consider your options. You could:
A: Help the voice out of the pit with the rope that you have.
B: Not help the voice out of the pit.
C: "Throw down some candy for the voice in the pit!" yells the voice as you are thinking.
Then after that, what is your plan of attack on the Jackals back in that room?
D: You could rush the enemies and hope there are not too many of them.
E: You could try to sneak past the guards in the shadows and hope they don't see you.
F: You could try to get the guards to chase you into the traps behind you on the path, and try not to set off the traps yourselves whilst running away.
G: You could try to set up your own trap, use the otter child as bait, have them chase it around down the path and jump the guards, getting the element of surprise.
H: Other ideas?
You awoke on an island full of anthropomorphic animals not remembering how you got there. Among the many adventures you have had, you met a crazy old English blackbird, found an otter village destroyed by an evil Bulldog and his lizard henchmen, rescued the only survivor of the otter decimation as well as your new friend, the Penguin Pirate Captain Pierre. You were almost killed by a scary fairy and a black lake monster, and recently have been traveling with some friends, Ox, Rand and Mina to Edgeton, to find Pierre's ship.
Currently, you have all been hiding from a group of Jackals in a ghost town, when Mina goes missing. You find a secret lair underground where apparently the Jackals have been using for a slave trade. You free some of the slaves from the Jackals and send Rand out of the lair with them. The rest of the team goes on in search for Mina. Your group finds what is supposed to be the room where Mina is being kept, but it is guarded by many Jackals.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 24
After trying to decide how best to take on all those Jackals, you remember about the right hand path you passed by earlier. You suggest to your group that mayhaps there is something helpful for your situation down that path. Pierre and the otter child agree with you, but Ox just wants to rescue Mina as soon as possible. "Who knows what they are doing to her in there?" he says.
"True, but our odds are not the best right now, we should make use of any help we can get," says Pierre.
So the group heads back down the path to the fork in the road, being careful not to set off the traps from before. You look down the right hand path. It is dank, and dark down there, and slopes downwards.
"You sure this is a good idea?" asks Ox. "Those Jackals seemed to not want us to go down here..."
"Which means that there is something they don't want us to see, don't want us to know about," says Pierre.
"Or something they are afraid of..." says Ox.
Well here goes nothing, you say as you begin to venture down the path. It continues downwards, in a slow spiral, for a long time. It may seem longer than it could actually be, you think, because you are moving very slowly, looking for traps, as well as trying to get your eyes adjusted to the lack of light. Finally the path straightens out and stops going downwards.
"What direction are we going?" says Ox.
"Who knows, we have been going in a circle for a long time now. We could be going any direction..."
"So this could lead us off anywhere."
"Yep."
"Great idea guys."
You continue on walking until, when you are about to put your foot down for your next step, you realize there is no ground in front of you. You almost fall down a large pit, when Ox grabs you and pulls you back.
"That was close," says Ox. "You have to be more careful."
You look forward, but it is so dark you can hardly see anything. It seems that there is a darker area in front of you, though. You reach towards it and notice that there is a pit there. You ask how deep it is.
"Who can tell?"
"Yeah, its too dark down here, and we don't have any way to make light."
"Well, what should we do now? We can't keep going."
"But I thought we could find something useful down here."
"There is something useful down here. But you need to throw down a rope first."
"What did you say Ox?"
"I didn't say anything. Did you say that Pierre?"
"No. Mike?"
You mention that you didn't say anything either. You realize something is grabbing your leg, and you almost freak out when you realize it is the otter child.
"Who is there?" says Pierre's voice.
"Me."
"Who is me?"
"Who are you?"
"Um.. We are explorers looking to rescue a friend from the Jackals."
"Hmm..."
"Maybe you shouldn't have said our intentions Ox." says Pierre's voice again.
"Oh. Good point." says Ox.
"So you don't like the Jackals?" says the voice.
"Um... no?"
"Me neither. They smell. If you help me out of this pit I will help you out with the Jackals."
"Who are you? How do we know we can trust you?"
"I guess you don't. But you haven't told me your names, so why should I tell you mine?"
Pierre whispers something in your ear: "What should we do? I am sure the Jackals keep him down in this pit for a reason. Who knows if he will help us or do something terrible if we let him out. But we could use his help against the Jackals."
"Psst. I can hear you." says the voice.
You ask the voice why it is down there in the pit.
"That's private. My business. Not yours. But if you help me out, I've been told I am very good at repaying favors. Was that what they said?"
You consider your options. You could:
A: Help the voice out of the pit with the rope that you have.
B: Not help the voice out of the pit.
C: "Throw down some candy for the voice in the pit!" yells the voice as you are thinking.
Then after that, what is your plan of attack on the Jackals back in that room?
D: You could rush the enemies and hope there are not too many of them.
E: You could try to sneak past the guards in the shadows and hope they don't see you.
F: You could try to get the guards to chase you into the traps behind you on the path, and try not to set off the traps yourselves whilst running away.
G: You could try to set up your own trap, use the otter child as bait, have them chase it around down the path and jump the guards, getting the element of surprise.
H: Other ideas?
5/4/09
Choose your own adventure: 23
The story so far:
You awoke on an island full of anthropomorphic animals not remembering how you got there. Among the many adventures you have had, you met a crazy old English blackbird, found an otter village destroyed by an evil Bulldog and his lizard henchmen, rescued the only survivor of the otter decimation as well as your new friend, the Penguin Pirate Captain Pierre. You were almost killed by a scary fairy and a black lake monster, and recently have been traveling with some friends, Ox, Rand and Mina to Edgeton, to find Pierre's ship.
Currently, you have all been hiding from a group of Jackals in a ghost town, when Mina goes missing. You find a secret lair underground where apparently the Jackals have been using for a slave trade. You free some of the slaves from the Jackals and send Rand out of the lair with them. The rest of the team goes on in search for Mina.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 23
You seem to have a lot of trouble deciding what to do with the two jackals you were interrogating. Part of you wants to tie them up and leave them, another, evil side of you wants to kill them, (which would give you negative karma points, bytheway) and the third side wants to let them go, (I guess trying to cancel out the evil side of you...). While you are debating the different choices with your inner selves, Pierre makes the choice for you.
"Lets just tie them up and leave them here."
"Okay, sounds good to me," says Ox, as he ties them up to one of the posts against the wall. "Problem solved."
"Let's keep moving."
Your party continues on down the tunnel and comes to a fork in the road. Both paths lead off into darkness, and for the life of you, you cannot determine which way to go. You start to think about it:
You could take the:
A: left path
B: right pa....
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" says Ox. "Didn't those Jackals say to take the left path at the fork?"
"You are right," says Pierre.
"No, the left."
"Right."
"I'm pretty sure they said left."
"Yes, you are correct, they said left."
"Then why did you say right?"
"I didn't. I was agreeing with you."
"Well you need to be more clear then, I was sure you were saying to go down the right path."
You begin to walk down the left path when you hear a cry. The otter child grabs you to stop you. You look down by your feet. There is a wire tied across the path near foot level. You look up. There is a stack of logs tied up by ropes above you.
"Whew, that was close, one wrong step and you would have set off that trap," says Ox.
You thank the child and carefully step over the trap.
"This is going to be slow moving if we have to watch for traps," says Pierre.
Your group continues on down the path, watching where you are walking all the time. Along the way you find three other traps. Another log trap, one covered pit in the ground, and one spiked ball and chain trap. You avoid them all, but make a mental note as to where they are. Soon after the last trap you come to a side passage off the tunnel you are following. It is a small tunnel, and dead ends quickly, but down at the end you find something glowing. As you get closer you see that it is some kind of fungus that glows almost like moonlight. You ask Pierre what it is.
"I have no idea. I have never seen anything like it," he says.
Ox and the otter child both shake their heads, they don't know either.
You decide to pick some. After picking it, the fungus continues to glow, but much softer than before. You place it in your pocket and continue along the main path. Soon the path begins to go upwards, and you begin to here voices. You peek around a corner and see a large room with tables and chairs, and a group of jackals guarding a door. In total, you can spy 6 jackals, but there may be more you cannot see without the jackals seeing you. You converse with your companions on the situation.
"That door probably leads to the boss' lair," says Pierre. "That's how I would do it if I were in charge."
"Then Mina must be behind that door! We gotta get by those Jackals!" says Ox.
"But how? I mean, we might be able to take them, but who knows how many more are out there that will come running? What are our other options?"
You consider the options:
A: You could rush the enemies and hope there are not too many of them.
B: You could try to sneak past the guards in the shadows and hope they don't see you.
C: You could try to get the guards to chase you into the traps behind you on the path, and try not to set off the traps yourselves whilst running away.
D: You could try to set up your own trap, use the otter child as bait, have them chase it around down the path and jump the guards, getting the element of surprise.
E: Other ideas?
(Vote by thursday!)
You awoke on an island full of anthropomorphic animals not remembering how you got there. Among the many adventures you have had, you met a crazy old English blackbird, found an otter village destroyed by an evil Bulldog and his lizard henchmen, rescued the only survivor of the otter decimation as well as your new friend, the Penguin Pirate Captain Pierre. You were almost killed by a scary fairy and a black lake monster, and recently have been traveling with some friends, Ox, Rand and Mina to Edgeton, to find Pierre's ship.
Currently, you have all been hiding from a group of Jackals in a ghost town, when Mina goes missing. You find a secret lair underground where apparently the Jackals have been using for a slave trade. You free some of the slaves from the Jackals and send Rand out of the lair with them. The rest of the team goes on in search for Mina.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 23
You seem to have a lot of trouble deciding what to do with the two jackals you were interrogating. Part of you wants to tie them up and leave them, another, evil side of you wants to kill them, (which would give you negative karma points, bytheway) and the third side wants to let them go, (I guess trying to cancel out the evil side of you...). While you are debating the different choices with your inner selves, Pierre makes the choice for you.
"Lets just tie them up and leave them here."
"Okay, sounds good to me," says Ox, as he ties them up to one of the posts against the wall. "Problem solved."
"Let's keep moving."
Your party continues on down the tunnel and comes to a fork in the road. Both paths lead off into darkness, and for the life of you, you cannot determine which way to go. You start to think about it:
You could take the:
A: left path
B: right pa....
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" says Ox. "Didn't those Jackals say to take the left path at the fork?"
"You are right," says Pierre.
"No, the left."
"Right."
"I'm pretty sure they said left."
"Yes, you are correct, they said left."
"Then why did you say right?"
"I didn't. I was agreeing with you."
"Well you need to be more clear then, I was sure you were saying to go down the right path."
You begin to walk down the left path when you hear a cry. The otter child grabs you to stop you. You look down by your feet. There is a wire tied across the path near foot level. You look up. There is a stack of logs tied up by ropes above you.
"Whew, that was close, one wrong step and you would have set off that trap," says Ox.
You thank the child and carefully step over the trap.
"This is going to be slow moving if we have to watch for traps," says Pierre.
Your group continues on down the path, watching where you are walking all the time. Along the way you find three other traps. Another log trap, one covered pit in the ground, and one spiked ball and chain trap. You avoid them all, but make a mental note as to where they are. Soon after the last trap you come to a side passage off the tunnel you are following. It is a small tunnel, and dead ends quickly, but down at the end you find something glowing. As you get closer you see that it is some kind of fungus that glows almost like moonlight. You ask Pierre what it is.
"I have no idea. I have never seen anything like it," he says.
Ox and the otter child both shake their heads, they don't know either.
You decide to pick some. After picking it, the fungus continues to glow, but much softer than before. You place it in your pocket and continue along the main path. Soon the path begins to go upwards, and you begin to here voices. You peek around a corner and see a large room with tables and chairs, and a group of jackals guarding a door. In total, you can spy 6 jackals, but there may be more you cannot see without the jackals seeing you. You converse with your companions on the situation.
"That door probably leads to the boss' lair," says Pierre. "That's how I would do it if I were in charge."
"Then Mina must be behind that door! We gotta get by those Jackals!" says Ox.
"But how? I mean, we might be able to take them, but who knows how many more are out there that will come running? What are our other options?"
You consider the options:
A: You could rush the enemies and hope there are not too many of them.
B: You could try to sneak past the guards in the shadows and hope they don't see you.
C: You could try to get the guards to chase you into the traps behind you on the path, and try not to set off the traps yourselves whilst running away.
D: You could try to set up your own trap, use the otter child as bait, have them chase it around down the path and jump the guards, getting the element of surprise.
E: Other ideas?
(Vote by thursday!)
5/1/09
Choose your own adventure: 22
The story so far:
You awoke on an island full of anthropomorphic animals not remembering how you got there. Among the many adventures you have had, you met a crazy old English blackbird, found an otter village destroyed by an evil Bulldog and his lizard henchmen, rescued the only survivor of the otter decimation as well as your new friend, the Penguin Pirate Captain Pierre. You were almost killed by a scary fairy and a black lake monster, and recently have been traveling with some friends, Ox, Rand and Mina to Edgeton, to find Pierre's ship.
Currently, you have all been hiding from a group of Jackals in a ghost town, when Mina goes missing. You find a secret lair underground where apparently the Jackals have been using for a slave trade. You free some of the slaves from the Jackals and send Rand out of the lair with them. The rest of the team goes on in search for Mina.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 22
Rand is chosen to go with the captives back to his village.
"But Mina, we need to save Mina!"
"I know Rand, we are going to. Trust me, that's the first thing on my mind, but these people need help too, and you are the best option for getting them somewhere safe. I will do everything I can to find Mina, I promise." says Ox, trying to calm down Rand.
"O...Okay. But if anything happens to her..."
"Don't worry. You have my word."
Rand leads the captives out through the path you had all come down.
"Where to now?" asks Pierre.
You suggest going through the mines. Taking out 5 unexpected guards is very different from a fortress full of guards.
"Alright. Lead the way."
Your group heads down the path towards the mines. It is a downward spiral that goes on for a while, but finally ends at a rusty old door. You do a listen check, but no one hears anything behind the door. You crack it open and look inside. You see a dimly lit underground path, with beams holding the roof up and lanterns every now and then. There is a cart path that runs down the middle, probably for the mine cart.
"It looks like a iron mine," says Pierre, pulling a small piece of iron ore out of the dirt. "I wonder what they are using the iron for..."
"Making weapons?" suggests Ox.
"What is their plan though? With all these slaves making them weapons, and the army we saw outside, it is definitely much more than a slave trade going on here..."
You suggest that we may find out soon enough. Around the corner comes two Jackals, apparently doing patrol. The group gets a pre-emptive attack on them, and Pierre and you grab one of the Jackals while Ox slams the other up against the wall with the blunt side of his axe.
"Looks like we have some captives now, for questioning," says Pierre.
"We won't tell youse nothings!" says one of the Jackals.
"You wanna bet?" says Ox, moving the blade of the axe closer to the Jackal's neck.
"Gulp!"
"Where is Mina!" yells Ox.
"Who? What?"
"Mina! Young Armadillo Girl, Mina!"
"I have no idea what you are talking about!" says the Jackal. "Please don't hurt me!"
"She would have been captured recently," says Pierre.
"New... New captives are brought to da boss."
"Where is the boss?"
"He... he's in his office. Down this path, take a left at the fork..."
"Ok. Now, why are you all collecting all this iron ore? What are your plans?" demands Pierre.
"Plans? We are at war, we are building an arsenal to protect ourselves." says the Jackal.
"Yeah, we can't lose the war or everyone dies!" says the other.
"War? With whom?" asks Pierre.
"You don't know?"
"He really doesn't know."
"I don't know about any war! Who is fighting whom?" says Pierre.
"Have you been living under a rock? There's a war coming, and if anyone wants to survive, they gotta side with us!"
"But you capture people and use them as slaves! You are the bad guys!" says Ox.
"You obviously haven't seen the other side then, kiddo. We need a lot of manpower and fast, so we put people to work. They will thank us when this is all over," says one of the Jackals.
"Enough! I have heard enough!" says Ox, and throws his Jackal to the ground.
"What should we do with them?" asks Pierre.
You think about it, you could:
A: Tie them up and leave them there.
B: Tie them up and bring them with you as hostages.
C: Let them go.
D: Kill them.
(vote by monday. Also, if anyone has suggestions as to what to call your team, they need a team name, and I get tired of calling them the group, so think about that...)
You awoke on an island full of anthropomorphic animals not remembering how you got there. Among the many adventures you have had, you met a crazy old English blackbird, found an otter village destroyed by an evil Bulldog and his lizard henchmen, rescued the only survivor of the otter decimation as well as your new friend, the Penguin Pirate Captain Pierre. You were almost killed by a scary fairy and a black lake monster, and recently have been traveling with some friends, Ox, Rand and Mina to Edgeton, to find Pierre's ship.
Currently, you have all been hiding from a group of Jackals in a ghost town, when Mina goes missing. You find a secret lair underground where apparently the Jackals have been using for a slave trade. You free some of the slaves from the Jackals and send Rand out of the lair with them. The rest of the team goes on in search for Mina.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 22
Rand is chosen to go with the captives back to his village.
"But Mina, we need to save Mina!"
"I know Rand, we are going to. Trust me, that's the first thing on my mind, but these people need help too, and you are the best option for getting them somewhere safe. I will do everything I can to find Mina, I promise." says Ox, trying to calm down Rand.
"O...Okay. But if anything happens to her..."
"Don't worry. You have my word."
Rand leads the captives out through the path you had all come down.
"Where to now?" asks Pierre.
You suggest going through the mines. Taking out 5 unexpected guards is very different from a fortress full of guards.
"Alright. Lead the way."
Your group heads down the path towards the mines. It is a downward spiral that goes on for a while, but finally ends at a rusty old door. You do a listen check, but no one hears anything behind the door. You crack it open and look inside. You see a dimly lit underground path, with beams holding the roof up and lanterns every now and then. There is a cart path that runs down the middle, probably for the mine cart.
"It looks like a iron mine," says Pierre, pulling a small piece of iron ore out of the dirt. "I wonder what they are using the iron for..."
"Making weapons?" suggests Ox.
"What is their plan though? With all these slaves making them weapons, and the army we saw outside, it is definitely much more than a slave trade going on here..."
You suggest that we may find out soon enough. Around the corner comes two Jackals, apparently doing patrol. The group gets a pre-emptive attack on them, and Pierre and you grab one of the Jackals while Ox slams the other up against the wall with the blunt side of his axe.
"Looks like we have some captives now, for questioning," says Pierre.
"We won't tell youse nothings!" says one of the Jackals.
"You wanna bet?" says Ox, moving the blade of the axe closer to the Jackal's neck.
"Gulp!"
"Where is Mina!" yells Ox.
"Who? What?"
"Mina! Young Armadillo Girl, Mina!"
"I have no idea what you are talking about!" says the Jackal. "Please don't hurt me!"
"She would have been captured recently," says Pierre.
"New... New captives are brought to da boss."
"Where is the boss?"
"He... he's in his office. Down this path, take a left at the fork..."
"Ok. Now, why are you all collecting all this iron ore? What are your plans?" demands Pierre.
"Plans? We are at war, we are building an arsenal to protect ourselves." says the Jackal.
"Yeah, we can't lose the war or everyone dies!" says the other.
"War? With whom?" asks Pierre.
"You don't know?"
"He really doesn't know."
"I don't know about any war! Who is fighting whom?" says Pierre.
"Have you been living under a rock? There's a war coming, and if anyone wants to survive, they gotta side with us!"
"But you capture people and use them as slaves! You are the bad guys!" says Ox.
"You obviously haven't seen the other side then, kiddo. We need a lot of manpower and fast, so we put people to work. They will thank us when this is all over," says one of the Jackals.
"Enough! I have heard enough!" says Ox, and throws his Jackal to the ground.
"What should we do with them?" asks Pierre.
You think about it, you could:
A: Tie them up and leave them there.
B: Tie them up and bring them with you as hostages.
C: Let them go.
D: Kill them.
(vote by monday. Also, if anyone has suggestions as to what to call your team, they need a team name, and I get tired of calling them the group, so think about that...)
4/27/09
Choose your own adventure: 21
The story so far:
You awoke on an island full of anthropomorphic animals not remembering how you got there. Among the many adventures you have had, you met a crazy old English blackbird, found an otter village destroyed by an evil Bulldog and his lizard henchmen, rescued the only survivor of the otter decimation as well as your new friend, the Penguin Pirate Captain Pierre. You were almost killed by a scary fairy and a black lake monster, and recently have been traveling with some friends, Ox, Rand and Mina to Edgeton, to find Pierre's ship.
Currently, you have all been hiding from a group of Jackals in a ghost town, when Mina goes missing. You find a secret lair underground and everyone equips themselves with some weapons in preparation for the upcoming fight!
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 21
While you know that the bo staff is the coolest weapon avaliable, you pick up the short sword because you are a pussy. You consider picking up the dagger as well, but you can't carry more than one weapon at a time. Sorry.
"We should definitely check out that whip noise," says Pierre.
"They could be hurting Mina!" cries out Ox.
The group heads off north-west towards the noise. They come to a closed door, and behind it you can hear grunting, whip noises, and most especially, screaming.
"Okay, what is the plan?"
"Let's smash down the door and take 'em out, and save my sister!"
"On the count of three!" says Pierre.
"One"
"Two"
Smash! Rand knocks down the door.
"Three?"
You look around the room. Its a large room, with torture devices all along the west side of it. On one of the chambers lies one of the horses you saw earlier. A rather large, demented looking Jackal is whipping it, and laughing manically. In 4 other chambers lie horses tied up, and jackals torturing them in all kinds of gruesome ways. Other animals seem to be tied and caged up in the far east corner.
"Mina!" yells Rand, as he charges the closest Jackal.
Ox goes running at another one, leaving Pierre, the otter child and you to take on the last three.
You and Pierre take the offensive and the child readies its sling. Pierre is able to keep his foe at bay with his rapier. Rand is pummeling his Jackal, whose whip doesn't seem to do much against his tough hide. Ox is going wild, swinging his axe wildly. You keep to the other side of the room from him, who knows what he will hit, swinging the axe like that.
Two Jackals come running at you, one with a spear and one with a sword. You prepare for the attack by readying your shortsword to swing. If only you had chosen the bo staff you could combat two at once! One Jackal, the one with the sword, swings at you and you jump to the right. You just barely manage to dodge the attack. The spear comes swinging at you then.
The jackal rolls low, luckily, and only hurts you for 3 HP. (He stabs you in the left leg). You swing at him with your shortsword, but don't manage to reach him, as the sword is too short. Foiled again!
Just then the Jackal with the sword turns to swing at you! Raising his sword he prepares to cleave you in half. But bam! A stone hits him between the eyes! Go Otter Child!
You stand back up to face the other Jackal. He stabs his spear at you but this time you were ready. You dodge the spear tip and grab it with your unarmed hand, pulling it away from the Jackal. He looks shocked, but not for long as you whack him over the head with the flat of your blade, knocking him unconcious. You look around, everyone else seems to have finished with their enemies too.
Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun--DunDunDun!
You gain 82 EXP, 2 AP, 50 GP.
You gained a Level!
LVL: 2
HP: 36
MP: 0
ATK: 6
DEF: 3
MGC: 2
MDF: 0
AGL: 5
LCK: 3
Rand comes up to you. "Why didn't you kill your enemy?" He asks. "You could have gotten more experience for killing him."
"Its probably a good thing," says Pierre, "We need someone to question."
"Pierre has a point," says Ox. "I don't think Mina is here."
You look around, there seems to be horses, some cats, a dog and some mice tied up in the corner. They all look just as wornout as the horses tied up on the torture devices. Speaking of, the Otter child and Pierre have been untying the horses from their torture devices and helping them up. One horse, with a white mane, approaches your group. "What have you done?" he says.
"What do you mean? We freed you!" says Rand.
"You doomed us is what you did."
"You were being tortured! Now you are free!"
"Yes, you defeated a few of them, but they are numerous. We will never escape here alive. And now they will kill us for trying to escape. We were better off being tortured."
"That's a terrible way to think!" says Pierre. "Listen, you can all escape easily. Go back this way and you will find a large barracks. You can escape through there, and find a path to the surface."
"Yes, and head south to Ladon Fields. There is a small village there, our parents live there. They can help you. I promise!" says Ox.
"We won't be able to make it."
"Stop it! Stop being so negative, father Ben! We can do it! These people saved our lives, we should be grateful!" says a younger horse. "And anything is better than this life we have. I say we take this chance they gave us!"
"Don't worry sir, you can do it. And we can send one of us with you to protect you," says Ox.
The older horse looks at the rest of the captives. They all nod. "I guess you all have given us the spark we need. Fine, we will try to escape. But who will lead us there?"
You think about it, probably the best options would be Rand or Ox. Rand is a little crazy, annoying and overall a risk. He could snap at any moment, and doesn't seem to get along with Pierre. Ox is calmer, but not the best fighter. Pierre or the otter child could lead them back in theory, but neither really knows how to get back. Plus, who knows when you will see that party member again.
You chose:
A: Rand
B: Ox
C: Other
to go.
They prepare to lead the captives out, and you ask the captives if they have seen Mina. "No, we haven't seen anyone of that description, but we know they keep the "better" slaves in the back."
"Better slaves? What do you mean?"
"We are slaves. We are bought and sold for profit, and forced to work our lives. The prettier or healthier ones are sold off, but the weaker ones are put to work down here in the caves. Or tortured to keep in line, or killed when too weak. We are the only ones here currently, except for the leader's favorites. He keeps them in the back."
"Okay, so we need to find his personal stash. That may be where Mina is." says Pierre.
"Who is the leader?" asks Ox.
"I've never seen him, but the Jackals seem to be afraid of him." says the older horse. "Anyways, I wish you well. I know there are two paths in the cavern, one goes through the mines below to the boss' chambers, and the other through the main fortress. Obviously, the main fortress path is going to be more heavily guarded. I wish you well on whichever path you take, but I hope it goes well. We should be off."
Whomever leaves with the captives heads off, and the rest of you decide where to go next. Should it be:
1: The path through the mines, which should be less guarded.
2: The path through the fortress, which should be faster but more heavily guarded.
(Choose both by thursday.)
You awoke on an island full of anthropomorphic animals not remembering how you got there. Among the many adventures you have had, you met a crazy old English blackbird, found an otter village destroyed by an evil Bulldog and his lizard henchmen, rescued the only survivor of the otter decimation as well as your new friend, the Penguin Pirate Captain Pierre. You were almost killed by a scary fairy and a black lake monster, and recently have been traveling with some friends, Ox, Rand and Mina to Edgeton, to find Pierre's ship.
Currently, you have all been hiding from a group of Jackals in a ghost town, when Mina goes missing. You find a secret lair underground and everyone equips themselves with some weapons in preparation for the upcoming fight!
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 21
While you know that the bo staff is the coolest weapon avaliable, you pick up the short sword because you are a pussy. You consider picking up the dagger as well, but you can't carry more than one weapon at a time. Sorry.
"We should definitely check out that whip noise," says Pierre.
"They could be hurting Mina!" cries out Ox.
The group heads off north-west towards the noise. They come to a closed door, and behind it you can hear grunting, whip noises, and most especially, screaming.
"Okay, what is the plan?"
"Let's smash down the door and take 'em out, and save my sister!"
"On the count of three!" says Pierre.
"One"
"Two"
Smash! Rand knocks down the door.
"Three?"
You look around the room. Its a large room, with torture devices all along the west side of it. On one of the chambers lies one of the horses you saw earlier. A rather large, demented looking Jackal is whipping it, and laughing manically. In 4 other chambers lie horses tied up, and jackals torturing them in all kinds of gruesome ways. Other animals seem to be tied and caged up in the far east corner.
"Mina!" yells Rand, as he charges the closest Jackal.
Ox goes running at another one, leaving Pierre, the otter child and you to take on the last three.
You and Pierre take the offensive and the child readies its sling. Pierre is able to keep his foe at bay with his rapier. Rand is pummeling his Jackal, whose whip doesn't seem to do much against his tough hide. Ox is going wild, swinging his axe wildly. You keep to the other side of the room from him, who knows what he will hit, swinging the axe like that.
Two Jackals come running at you, one with a spear and one with a sword. You prepare for the attack by readying your shortsword to swing. If only you had chosen the bo staff you could combat two at once! One Jackal, the one with the sword, swings at you and you jump to the right. You just barely manage to dodge the attack. The spear comes swinging at you then.
The jackal rolls low, luckily, and only hurts you for 3 HP. (He stabs you in the left leg). You swing at him with your shortsword, but don't manage to reach him, as the sword is too short. Foiled again!
Just then the Jackal with the sword turns to swing at you! Raising his sword he prepares to cleave you in half. But bam! A stone hits him between the eyes! Go Otter Child!
You stand back up to face the other Jackal. He stabs his spear at you but this time you were ready. You dodge the spear tip and grab it with your unarmed hand, pulling it away from the Jackal. He looks shocked, but not for long as you whack him over the head with the flat of your blade, knocking him unconcious. You look around, everyone else seems to have finished with their enemies too.
Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun--DunDunDun!
You gain 82 EXP, 2 AP, 50 GP.
You gained a Level!
LVL: 2
HP: 36
MP: 0
ATK: 6
DEF: 3
MGC: 2
MDF: 0
AGL: 5
LCK: 3
Rand comes up to you. "Why didn't you kill your enemy?" He asks. "You could have gotten more experience for killing him."
"Its probably a good thing," says Pierre, "We need someone to question."
"Pierre has a point," says Ox. "I don't think Mina is here."
You look around, there seems to be horses, some cats, a dog and some mice tied up in the corner. They all look just as wornout as the horses tied up on the torture devices. Speaking of, the Otter child and Pierre have been untying the horses from their torture devices and helping them up. One horse, with a white mane, approaches your group. "What have you done?" he says.
"What do you mean? We freed you!" says Rand.
"You doomed us is what you did."
"You were being tortured! Now you are free!"
"Yes, you defeated a few of them, but they are numerous. We will never escape here alive. And now they will kill us for trying to escape. We were better off being tortured."
"That's a terrible way to think!" says Pierre. "Listen, you can all escape easily. Go back this way and you will find a large barracks. You can escape through there, and find a path to the surface."
"Yes, and head south to Ladon Fields. There is a small village there, our parents live there. They can help you. I promise!" says Ox.
"We won't be able to make it."
"Stop it! Stop being so negative, father Ben! We can do it! These people saved our lives, we should be grateful!" says a younger horse. "And anything is better than this life we have. I say we take this chance they gave us!"
"Don't worry sir, you can do it. And we can send one of us with you to protect you," says Ox.
The older horse looks at the rest of the captives. They all nod. "I guess you all have given us the spark we need. Fine, we will try to escape. But who will lead us there?"
You think about it, probably the best options would be Rand or Ox. Rand is a little crazy, annoying and overall a risk. He could snap at any moment, and doesn't seem to get along with Pierre. Ox is calmer, but not the best fighter. Pierre or the otter child could lead them back in theory, but neither really knows how to get back. Plus, who knows when you will see that party member again.
You chose:
A: Rand
B: Ox
C: Other
to go.
They prepare to lead the captives out, and you ask the captives if they have seen Mina. "No, we haven't seen anyone of that description, but we know they keep the "better" slaves in the back."
"Better slaves? What do you mean?"
"We are slaves. We are bought and sold for profit, and forced to work our lives. The prettier or healthier ones are sold off, but the weaker ones are put to work down here in the caves. Or tortured to keep in line, or killed when too weak. We are the only ones here currently, except for the leader's favorites. He keeps them in the back."
"Okay, so we need to find his personal stash. That may be where Mina is." says Pierre.
"Who is the leader?" asks Ox.
"I've never seen him, but the Jackals seem to be afraid of him." says the older horse. "Anyways, I wish you well. I know there are two paths in the cavern, one goes through the mines below to the boss' chambers, and the other through the main fortress. Obviously, the main fortress path is going to be more heavily guarded. I wish you well on whichever path you take, but I hope it goes well. We should be off."
Whomever leaves with the captives heads off, and the rest of you decide where to go next. Should it be:
1: The path through the mines, which should be less guarded.
2: The path through the fortress, which should be faster but more heavily guarded.
(Choose both by thursday.)
4/23/09
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.)
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.)
4/20/09
Choose your own adventure: 19
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.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 19
You tell your new friends that they should turn around and head back to Newburry and hide in one of the abandoned buildings. Luckily there is one nearby with a large enough barn to hide the wheat cart in. Rand and Ox push the cart into the barn and close the doors as Mina, Pierre, the otter child and yourself follow behind.
"We should be safe here," Ox says, looking over at Mina.
"But shouldn't someone watch the travelers to see who they are and where they are going?" Rand asks.
You look up and spy that the barn has an opening near the roof by one of the rafters. You volunteer to watch through the opening to see what happens. Ox and Rand help you up to the rafter.
From the hole you can see the path going east and Newburry to the west. Clouds seem to be rising from the past east, and you watch as some strange-looking creatures come riding in towards town. They seem to be... a group of jackals riding upon horses. Yet the horses are not saddled like you are normally used to, instead they are wearing sack-cloth clothes.
The jackals, (there are about 5 of them) come riding into the town square, which is close to the barn you are hiding in, but not close enough to hear what they are saying. They stop at the square by the empty fountain and dismount their horses. You see the jackals do... something... by the fountain and then momentarily you watch as a creature comes out of the fountain!
You are sure that the fountain was solid stone, and empty of water before, but now you watch as a pale figure rises out of the stone, almost like a... ghost? The Jackals seem to interact with the ghost figure. You watch as soon from the other direction of Newburry as another group of Jackals on horses come riding up. Soon after that come another group from another direction. It seems this is a meeting ground for a large group, and they are... trading or something with the ghost that lives there. You climb down and report your findings.
"So if we wanted to leave, we would be seen by a very large group jackals?" Pierre says.
"Looks that way," Rand replies.
"And the town is haunted afterall!" Ox says.
"Yeah, but why are the Jackals interacting with the ghost? Aren't people usually afraid of ghosts?" says Mina.
"Who knows. But I would prefer not not interact with anything out there. The way they are riding those poor horses like they are... animals or something! Its just too cruel!" says Rand.
You agree, and mention that while the Jackals seem to be hanging out by the town square for a while, it doesn't seem like they are wandering the town itself. We should be safe in here until they leave.
"I agree," says Pierre. "But we should have someone on watch, to make sure."
You all decide who gets what shift watching, and the rest of you decide to try to get some rest. By now it is about night and you have been traveling all day. Mina takes the first shift, and then Pierre, followed by the otter child and then you. Ox and Rand are too big for the beams to hold them.
Mina's shift goes well enough, and you watch as Pierre heads up to take her place. Then you drift back to sleep along with everyone else. Time passes...
You wake up to sunlight. The otter child is pulling at your arm in desperation. You look around. Everyone else is waking up too, and noticing that something is missing.
"Mina! Ox cries.
"Where is Mina!" says Rand. Everyone looks around but noone sees her. Pierre comes down from the rafters.
"What time is it?" he says.
"It looks like morning. Why were you still up in the rafters?" says Rand.
"Its morning? But I just climbed up into the rafters less than an hour ago. It can't be morning yet, we still have two shifts to cover."
"Well it is. You must have fallen asleep on the job. And now Mina is gone. Missing or... worse." cries Rand.
"Don't say that!" says Ox.
"Well I am sorry, but I swear I didn't fall asleep, and I didn't notice Mina missing."
"You WILL be sorry. After I..." Rand gets ready to punch Pierre as Ox jumps between them. "This is no time for that Rand. We need to find Mina first."
You peek out the door, but the Jackals are gone.
"When did they leave?" Pierre says.
"See, you fell asleep and now my sister is lost!"
"I swear I didn't fall asleep!"
"Enough you two, lets just look for Mina." says Ox.
"Ok, but where could she be?"
You think about it and decide to check out:
A: the barn, there may be a clue as to Mina's disappearance.
B: the fountain, she may have been wondering about the ghost.
C: the town, there may be some trail as to what happened to the Jackals.
D: the woods. Maybe she went out to go to the bathroom?
(Vote by thursday. Hopefully this time I won't forget to update on Thursday;)
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.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 19
You tell your new friends that they should turn around and head back to Newburry and hide in one of the abandoned buildings. Luckily there is one nearby with a large enough barn to hide the wheat cart in. Rand and Ox push the cart into the barn and close the doors as Mina, Pierre, the otter child and yourself follow behind.
"We should be safe here," Ox says, looking over at Mina.
"But shouldn't someone watch the travelers to see who they are and where they are going?" Rand asks.
You look up and spy that the barn has an opening near the roof by one of the rafters. You volunteer to watch through the opening to see what happens. Ox and Rand help you up to the rafter.
From the hole you can see the path going east and Newburry to the west. Clouds seem to be rising from the past east, and you watch as some strange-looking creatures come riding in towards town. They seem to be... a group of jackals riding upon horses. Yet the horses are not saddled like you are normally used to, instead they are wearing sack-cloth clothes.
The jackals, (there are about 5 of them) come riding into the town square, which is close to the barn you are hiding in, but not close enough to hear what they are saying. They stop at the square by the empty fountain and dismount their horses. You see the jackals do... something... by the fountain and then momentarily you watch as a creature comes out of the fountain!
You are sure that the fountain was solid stone, and empty of water before, but now you watch as a pale figure rises out of the stone, almost like a... ghost? The Jackals seem to interact with the ghost figure. You watch as soon from the other direction of Newburry as another group of Jackals on horses come riding up. Soon after that come another group from another direction. It seems this is a meeting ground for a large group, and they are... trading or something with the ghost that lives there. You climb down and report your findings.
"So if we wanted to leave, we would be seen by a very large group jackals?" Pierre says.
"Looks that way," Rand replies.
"And the town is haunted afterall!" Ox says.
"Yeah, but why are the Jackals interacting with the ghost? Aren't people usually afraid of ghosts?" says Mina.
"Who knows. But I would prefer not not interact with anything out there. The way they are riding those poor horses like they are... animals or something! Its just too cruel!" says Rand.
You agree, and mention that while the Jackals seem to be hanging out by the town square for a while, it doesn't seem like they are wandering the town itself. We should be safe in here until they leave.
"I agree," says Pierre. "But we should have someone on watch, to make sure."
You all decide who gets what shift watching, and the rest of you decide to try to get some rest. By now it is about night and you have been traveling all day. Mina takes the first shift, and then Pierre, followed by the otter child and then you. Ox and Rand are too big for the beams to hold them.
Mina's shift goes well enough, and you watch as Pierre heads up to take her place. Then you drift back to sleep along with everyone else. Time passes...
You wake up to sunlight. The otter child is pulling at your arm in desperation. You look around. Everyone else is waking up too, and noticing that something is missing.
"Mina! Ox cries.
"Where is Mina!" says Rand. Everyone looks around but noone sees her. Pierre comes down from the rafters.
"What time is it?" he says.
"It looks like morning. Why were you still up in the rafters?" says Rand.
"Its morning? But I just climbed up into the rafters less than an hour ago. It can't be morning yet, we still have two shifts to cover."
"Well it is. You must have fallen asleep on the job. And now Mina is gone. Missing or... worse." cries Rand.
"Don't say that!" says Ox.
"Well I am sorry, but I swear I didn't fall asleep, and I didn't notice Mina missing."
"You WILL be sorry. After I..." Rand gets ready to punch Pierre as Ox jumps between them. "This is no time for that Rand. We need to find Mina first."
You peek out the door, but the Jackals are gone.
"When did they leave?" Pierre says.
"See, you fell asleep and now my sister is lost!"
"I swear I didn't fall asleep!"
"Enough you two, lets just look for Mina." says Ox.
"Ok, but where could she be?"
You think about it and decide to check out:
A: the barn, there may be a clue as to Mina's disappearance.
B: the fountain, she may have been wondering about the ghost.
C: the town, there may be some trail as to what happened to the Jackals.
D: the woods. Maybe she went out to go to the bathroom?
(Vote by thursday. Hopefully this time I won't forget to update on Thursday;)
4/13/09
Choose your own adventure: 18
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.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 18
You decide that waiting until Friesday to trave to Edgeton is probably for the best, and allows you some days to recouperate fully. You spend the days out in the field working with the villagers, repaying them for their kindness of taking you and your friends in. The sun and the work restore your body and make you feel healthier. What luck, the work gives you a +2 to endurance!
The village you are in is very small, but also idyllic. It really is only a couple of houses and two families that live in them, the Smith family, who are Oxen, and the Marks, a family of armadillos. They grow wheat and corn in their fields and trade the food for supplies and such in Edgeton in the north. This Friesday there is a big caravan coming through Edgeton which the Smiths and Marks can make a good profit off of. You and your friends volunteer to help lug the wheat.
The families decide to send their eldest sons, Ox and Rand, respectively, to travel to Edgeton. Ox is a large young man who is a hard worker but has never left the village yet, and is very excited. Rand has made the travel a few times before with his father.
"Now you know how to get there?" Rand's father asks.
"Of course Pap. We have done this many times now. You travel north along the road until you hit Newburry and then go east until you reach Edgeton. It isn't that hard."
"Good. Just remember, don't leave the road for any reason, and don't camp out near Newburry."
"Got it."
"And look after Ox." Mr. Smith says.
"Dad, I can look after myself now. I am an adult."
"You aren't an adult yet, you still have one more Solstace before you come of age."
"That's in like 2 weeks!"
"Still."
Ox walks off to start packing the carts, looking dejected.
You and Pierre begin to help him load the wheat when over walks Mina Marks, Rand's sister. "Father, may I go with them to Edgeton? I have always wanted to see a caravan..."
"Daughter, the trip is too dangerous for you to go. I know visiting the big city sounds exciting, but the travels are packed with dangers. I am sorry, but the answer is NO."
"But father..."
"No buts, Mina. The answer is No."
"I am sure that between Ox, our friends and I, we can take care of her. And a visit to the big city could do her some good," Rand says.
"Now son, I know..." Mr. Marks starts to argue with him, and you stop listening. You remember you forgot your badass gloves in the house, and instead of listening to what you are sure is not a plot point at all, you decide to go inside and get them. Afterall, they do add a +2 to badassness. You find your gloves on the dresser of the Mark's house, apparently recently cleaned. You still hear the families discussing outside and decide to poke through their dressers before rejoining them.
What luck, you find a bag of "healing herbs" shoved underneath some clothes, and you pocket them.
In the other room you search the dresser but all you find is some panties. You pocket it anyways. You never know when they could come in handy. Perv. As you put them in your pocket, the door flies open and Mina comes running in, crying hysterically, and flings herself on her bed.
Whew, she didn't notice you going through her underwear. You assume this means she isn't going on the trip with you, and you head back out to leave.
Pierre is finishing loading the cart with the wheat and Rand and Ox are saying goodbye to their parents. You help the otter child into the cart and thank the Smiths and Marks for their generocity, then the caravan heads off on its way.
The trip begins uneventfully. Rand and Ox take turns pulling the cart. You and Pierre walk beside them and discuss life on the farm, shooting the bull. The otter child rides on the cart, napping. The day passes and finally you approach what looks like from far away a small town.
"Up ahead is Newburry," Rand says.
"Should we be getting this close to it?" Ox asks.
You ask why they should stay away from Newburry.
"Its haunted!" Ox says.
"It isn't haunted," Rand says. "That is just legend."
"Really, then why did your father say to stay away from it?"
"Well, because he likes to spook you, maybe?"
"I've never heard of Newburry, but I have also heard of haunted towns before..." Pierre says.
"You aren't helping, Pierre," Rand says. "Here, I will show you it isn't haunted." Rand leads the cart towards the town square.
"Rand, don't!" Ox yells, but Rand doesn't stop until he reaches the town square. You all follow behind him.
"ANY GHOSTS OUT THERE? COME AND GET US!" Rand yells.
"Shh!"
Everyone freezes and looks around at the ghost town, with its abandoned buildings and dustballs blown by the wind, but when after a few minutes when there is no answer but Rand's echo, you breath a sigh of relief.
"See, what did I tell you?"
"Fine. But I still wouldn't want to stay here the night," Ox says. "Let's keep moving."
"ACHOO!"
"What was that?" Ox says.
"It wasn't me," says Pierre, and you, Rand and the otter child nod. Everyone looks around again, scared, when out of the wheat pops Mina's head.
"Sorry guys, when I get scared I start sneezing," Mina states.
"Mina! What in the name of baby Poseidon are you doing here? You were told to stay home!" her brother yells.
"Mina!" Ox says.
"I know I was TOLD to stay home, but I WANTED to come, so I hid myself in the wheat."
"That is no excuse! Father said it was too dangerous!"
"That's silly. There are no ghosts here, you showed us that."
"Still, there are other dangers besides ghosts!"
"Rand, its too late, the deeds been done," Pierre says.
"I guess she will have to come with us," Rand says.
"Oh Mina," says Ox.
"But stay in the cart, no more sneaking off," Rand says, as he begins to roll the cart again, East towards Edgeton.
The party continues on a bit, and just as you begin to leave Newburry you notice something in the distance. It looks like a group of somethings approaching your group, and fast!
"What is that?" Pierre asks.
"I can't tell from this distance. It could be travelers, or it could be bandits," says Rand.
"It could be ghosts!" Mina says.
"Ghosts?" Ox says.
"What should we do?" Pierre asks.
Your group weighs their options. They could:
A: Stay on the road, but get ready in case they are bandits, or worse.
B: Head back to Newburry and hide in one of the abandoned buildings.
C: Head South off the road into the heavy brush and hope the somethings coming towards you don't see you in the heavy brush.
D: Head North into the edge of the Forest of Fortune and hope the somethings coming towards you don't see you in the woods.
(Vote by Thursday.)
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.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 18
You decide that waiting until Friesday to trave to Edgeton is probably for the best, and allows you some days to recouperate fully. You spend the days out in the field working with the villagers, repaying them for their kindness of taking you and your friends in. The sun and the work restore your body and make you feel healthier. What luck, the work gives you a +2 to endurance!
The village you are in is very small, but also idyllic. It really is only a couple of houses and two families that live in them, the Smith family, who are Oxen, and the Marks, a family of armadillos. They grow wheat and corn in their fields and trade the food for supplies and such in Edgeton in the north. This Friesday there is a big caravan coming through Edgeton which the Smiths and Marks can make a good profit off of. You and your friends volunteer to help lug the wheat.
The families decide to send their eldest sons, Ox and Rand, respectively, to travel to Edgeton. Ox is a large young man who is a hard worker but has never left the village yet, and is very excited. Rand has made the travel a few times before with his father.
"Now you know how to get there?" Rand's father asks.
"Of course Pap. We have done this many times now. You travel north along the road until you hit Newburry and then go east until you reach Edgeton. It isn't that hard."
"Good. Just remember, don't leave the road for any reason, and don't camp out near Newburry."
"Got it."
"And look after Ox." Mr. Smith says.
"Dad, I can look after myself now. I am an adult."
"You aren't an adult yet, you still have one more Solstace before you come of age."
"That's in like 2 weeks!"
"Still."
Ox walks off to start packing the carts, looking dejected.
You and Pierre begin to help him load the wheat when over walks Mina Marks, Rand's sister. "Father, may I go with them to Edgeton? I have always wanted to see a caravan..."
"Daughter, the trip is too dangerous for you to go. I know visiting the big city sounds exciting, but the travels are packed with dangers. I am sorry, but the answer is NO."
"But father..."
"No buts, Mina. The answer is No."
"I am sure that between Ox, our friends and I, we can take care of her. And a visit to the big city could do her some good," Rand says.
"Now son, I know..." Mr. Marks starts to argue with him, and you stop listening. You remember you forgot your badass gloves in the house, and instead of listening to what you are sure is not a plot point at all, you decide to go inside and get them. Afterall, they do add a +2 to badassness. You find your gloves on the dresser of the Mark's house, apparently recently cleaned. You still hear the families discussing outside and decide to poke through their dressers before rejoining them.
What luck, you find a bag of "healing herbs" shoved underneath some clothes, and you pocket them.
In the other room you search the dresser but all you find is some panties. You pocket it anyways. You never know when they could come in handy. Perv. As you put them in your pocket, the door flies open and Mina comes running in, crying hysterically, and flings herself on her bed.
Whew, she didn't notice you going through her underwear. You assume this means she isn't going on the trip with you, and you head back out to leave.
Pierre is finishing loading the cart with the wheat and Rand and Ox are saying goodbye to their parents. You help the otter child into the cart and thank the Smiths and Marks for their generocity, then the caravan heads off on its way.
The trip begins uneventfully. Rand and Ox take turns pulling the cart. You and Pierre walk beside them and discuss life on the farm, shooting the bull. The otter child rides on the cart, napping. The day passes and finally you approach what looks like from far away a small town.
"Up ahead is Newburry," Rand says.
"Should we be getting this close to it?" Ox asks.
You ask why they should stay away from Newburry.
"Its haunted!" Ox says.
"It isn't haunted," Rand says. "That is just legend."
"Really, then why did your father say to stay away from it?"
"Well, because he likes to spook you, maybe?"
"I've never heard of Newburry, but I have also heard of haunted towns before..." Pierre says.
"You aren't helping, Pierre," Rand says. "Here, I will show you it isn't haunted." Rand leads the cart towards the town square.
"Rand, don't!" Ox yells, but Rand doesn't stop until he reaches the town square. You all follow behind him.
"ANY GHOSTS OUT THERE? COME AND GET US!" Rand yells.
"Shh!"
Everyone freezes and looks around at the ghost town, with its abandoned buildings and dustballs blown by the wind, but when after a few minutes when there is no answer but Rand's echo, you breath a sigh of relief.
"See, what did I tell you?"
"Fine. But I still wouldn't want to stay here the night," Ox says. "Let's keep moving."
"ACHOO!"
"What was that?" Ox says.
"It wasn't me," says Pierre, and you, Rand and the otter child nod. Everyone looks around again, scared, when out of the wheat pops Mina's head.
"Sorry guys, when I get scared I start sneezing," Mina states.
"Mina! What in the name of baby Poseidon are you doing here? You were told to stay home!" her brother yells.
"Mina!" Ox says.
"I know I was TOLD to stay home, but I WANTED to come, so I hid myself in the wheat."
"That is no excuse! Father said it was too dangerous!"
"That's silly. There are no ghosts here, you showed us that."
"Still, there are other dangers besides ghosts!"
"Rand, its too late, the deeds been done," Pierre says.
"I guess she will have to come with us," Rand says.
"Oh Mina," says Ox.
"But stay in the cart, no more sneaking off," Rand says, as he begins to roll the cart again, East towards Edgeton.
The party continues on a bit, and just as you begin to leave Newburry you notice something in the distance. It looks like a group of somethings approaching your group, and fast!
"What is that?" Pierre asks.
"I can't tell from this distance. It could be travelers, or it could be bandits," says Rand.
"It could be ghosts!" Mina says.
"Ghosts?" Ox says.
"What should we do?" Pierre asks.
Your group weighs their options. They could:
A: Stay on the road, but get ready in case they are bandits, or worse.
B: Head back to Newburry and hide in one of the abandoned buildings.
C: Head South off the road into the heavy brush and hope the somethings coming towards you don't see you in the heavy brush.
D: Head North into the edge of the Forest of Fortune and hope the somethings coming towards you don't see you in the woods.
(Vote by Thursday.)
4/9/09
Choose your own adventure: 17
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.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 17
You try your best to reassure Pierre and the child that the winged one is not going to harm them. You worry your explanations ring hollow in their ears, because you yourself are not sure you believe yourself. But you feel this may be a way to get home and out of this nightmare, or at least to find out more of your situation. So you tell them both to calm down, and that they are making a big to do over nothing.
But you notice that neither of them fall back asleep.
And neither do you for that matter.
Morning comes, and with it a knock on the door. In shuffles a strange, grotesque small creature carrying a large silver plate filled with all sorts of beautiful fruits. The fruits look to be the most exquisite food you have ever seen, but this may be because you are comparing them against the strange creature carrying them. The creature seems to mumble out: "For the honored guests of her lordship," leaving the food by the door and scurrying off.
You look at the food and realize that it has been even longer since you have eaten anything. Pierre and the child stare at the food like it has grown wings and is threatening to eat them, but to you it looks like the most generous present from the lady of the house. You reach down to pick up one of the pears, and as you take a nice juicy bite the otter child jumps at you, whacking the pear from your hand. What the fuck was that for? you ask.
The otter child remains silent, but looks at you frantically.
Pierre also looks at your face, puzzled. "You look different from yesterday," he says. "Thinner, almost like a ghost."
You look at your hands. They actually seem more colored to you, and your nails cleaner than they have been in years.
"I worry about you, sir. I would recommend we try to escape this place. It is doing horrible things to you."
You reply that you do not know what Pierre is talking about, and you go to open the door.
As you open it, you see floating there the winged lady. She seems to smile at you, despite not having a mouth, and beckons for you all to follow her. You walk behind her, and Pierre and the child follow behind. You return to the grove from last night, and take a seat right next to the lady. Pierre and the child remain standing.
"Why do you not sit down? Have some food too," the lady says to you all. Fruits of all shapes and sizes appear around you, and goblets of sweet smelling liquids. You pluck a nice, juicy grape from a vine that grew beside you and pop it into your mouth. You have never tasted anything so sweet. Yet for some reason, you feel more hungry than you did before.
"We prefer to stand, ma'am. In fact, we would prefer to be on our way," Pierre replies.
"No, stay. Keep me company. Tell me of your travels and I will reward you..."
"Another time, perhaps. Come Mike, we need to be on our way."
You argue against Pierre's decision, but your argument comes out all strange and confusing. "Perhaps you shouldn't try to talk with your mouth full, dear," the lady says to you. You realize that your mouth is full of grapes.
You turn to the lady to ask her a question. You know that there is something you need desperately to ask her, but for the life of you, you cannot remember what it is.
"Ma'am, we appreciate your hospitality, but we do need to be going, and we would like to take our friend with us."
"Why such a hurry? Surely I can be of some benefit to your travels..." the lady politely replies.
Just then you remember your question. You stumble out the words: How... how doo eye... more drink plees!
The lady turns to you, her magnificent eyes stare down at you. You feel like you can see the world in her eyes, and never want to stop staring into them, but just as that they turn away.
"Get ahold of yourself Mike! Look at you! Look what she is doing to you!" Pierre yells. You look down at yourself. Your skin is glowing, almost golden, your cudicles, which were once scratchy and bloody from being constantly picked at, now look pristine. You look back up at Pierre. You think that he is the one that looks different. Ugly and covered in feathers and... nothing like the beautiful lady. You pick up another grape. You notice that the two ugly creatures are muttering to themselves, but you really don't care anymore about the conversation. You much rather care about the grapes.
Just then the larger creature jumps forward and throws a spear he was using as a walking stick at the beautiful lady. You cry out in shock as the lady cries out in pain. All around you the fruits and mushroom chairs disappear as the grove turns from a beautiful place to a dark, dank brown hole. The lady screams out and grows... larger. You turn and look as the lovely lady's wings grow sharper and less colorful, and her eyes, which you had thought reflected the seven suns, now look terrifying to you. Pierre yells "run Mike, run!" and for once today you decide to listen to him. You try to stand up, but your legs refuse to support your weight.
"No! He is mine! He has drank of my cup, he has promised his life to me! You cannot take him away, you cannot break the rules!" the winged creature yells.
"I care not for your damn rules," Pierre yells back. He and the otter child grab your arms, help you to your feet and run for the cave entrance. Behind you you hear the creature yelling and screaming about the rules, and the rumbling seems to make the rock walls crumble. As you all run out of the cave, Pierre and the otter carrying you, the cave collapses behind you. Pierre lays you down on the sand, and the sun envelops you.
You look about you and notice your hands. Your healthy fingers now look like a 95 year old's wihtered hands, and your nails are all covered in gangreen. You worry what the rest of you looks like, as you close your eyes and...
...The next thing you remember is waking up in a small hut. The otter child has a bowl of dark, dank broth which it is pouring down your throat. You jerk up, and spew the contents from your mouth.
"Ah, you had us worried there, friend." Pierre says, sitting to your left. "You almost gave in to that witch's spell."
You sit up and look around. You are in a small hut. You feel frail, but alive. You look at your hands. They no longer look aged, but still don't look healthy.
"It will take longer to heal fully. but these past weeks have been good for you. We worried you wouldn't make it at all. You have the child to thank for your recovery. It seems to know a thing or two about medicines."
The child nods.
You ask where we are.
Pierre replies: "After you collapsed, we carried you off and found an abandoned shed further down the island. We styed there for a while, the child tended to you and I built a small raft. We found a small river that looked too small for that black monster to follow us down and we took the raft down it to Ladon Fields. We are currently in a small farming village south-east of Edgeton. The villagers have been kind to us and let us stay here while you healed. We need to be on our way soon though. If you want to wait, one of the villagers is going to Edgeton to sell wheat on Friesday, or we can hike it out ourselves. The road path will take us around the farm, but should be safer. Or we can walk the beach to Edgeton. Opinions? I know you just woke up, but we need to make a plan."
What will you do?
A: Stay til Friesday and travel with the villager to Edgeton along the road.
B: Travel the road with your companions today.
C: Travel the beach to Edgeton.
D: Know better than to stay the night in an evil underground Fairies' lair next time!
(Vote by monday.)
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.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 17
You try your best to reassure Pierre and the child that the winged one is not going to harm them. You worry your explanations ring hollow in their ears, because you yourself are not sure you believe yourself. But you feel this may be a way to get home and out of this nightmare, or at least to find out more of your situation. So you tell them both to calm down, and that they are making a big to do over nothing.
But you notice that neither of them fall back asleep.
And neither do you for that matter.
Morning comes, and with it a knock on the door. In shuffles a strange, grotesque small creature carrying a large silver plate filled with all sorts of beautiful fruits. The fruits look to be the most exquisite food you have ever seen, but this may be because you are comparing them against the strange creature carrying them. The creature seems to mumble out: "For the honored guests of her lordship," leaving the food by the door and scurrying off.
You look at the food and realize that it has been even longer since you have eaten anything. Pierre and the child stare at the food like it has grown wings and is threatening to eat them, but to you it looks like the most generous present from the lady of the house. You reach down to pick up one of the pears, and as you take a nice juicy bite the otter child jumps at you, whacking the pear from your hand. What the fuck was that for? you ask.
The otter child remains silent, but looks at you frantically.
Pierre also looks at your face, puzzled. "You look different from yesterday," he says. "Thinner, almost like a ghost."
You look at your hands. They actually seem more colored to you, and your nails cleaner than they have been in years.
"I worry about you, sir. I would recommend we try to escape this place. It is doing horrible things to you."
You reply that you do not know what Pierre is talking about, and you go to open the door.
As you open it, you see floating there the winged lady. She seems to smile at you, despite not having a mouth, and beckons for you all to follow her. You walk behind her, and Pierre and the child follow behind. You return to the grove from last night, and take a seat right next to the lady. Pierre and the child remain standing.
"Why do you not sit down? Have some food too," the lady says to you all. Fruits of all shapes and sizes appear around you, and goblets of sweet smelling liquids. You pluck a nice, juicy grape from a vine that grew beside you and pop it into your mouth. You have never tasted anything so sweet. Yet for some reason, you feel more hungry than you did before.
"We prefer to stand, ma'am. In fact, we would prefer to be on our way," Pierre replies.
"No, stay. Keep me company. Tell me of your travels and I will reward you..."
"Another time, perhaps. Come Mike, we need to be on our way."
You argue against Pierre's decision, but your argument comes out all strange and confusing. "Perhaps you shouldn't try to talk with your mouth full, dear," the lady says to you. You realize that your mouth is full of grapes.
You turn to the lady to ask her a question. You know that there is something you need desperately to ask her, but for the life of you, you cannot remember what it is.
"Ma'am, we appreciate your hospitality, but we do need to be going, and we would like to take our friend with us."
"Why such a hurry? Surely I can be of some benefit to your travels..." the lady politely replies.
Just then you remember your question. You stumble out the words: How... how doo eye... more drink plees!
The lady turns to you, her magnificent eyes stare down at you. You feel like you can see the world in her eyes, and never want to stop staring into them, but just as that they turn away.
"Get ahold of yourself Mike! Look at you! Look what she is doing to you!" Pierre yells. You look down at yourself. Your skin is glowing, almost golden, your cudicles, which were once scratchy and bloody from being constantly picked at, now look pristine. You look back up at Pierre. You think that he is the one that looks different. Ugly and covered in feathers and... nothing like the beautiful lady. You pick up another grape. You notice that the two ugly creatures are muttering to themselves, but you really don't care anymore about the conversation. You much rather care about the grapes.
Just then the larger creature jumps forward and throws a spear he was using as a walking stick at the beautiful lady. You cry out in shock as the lady cries out in pain. All around you the fruits and mushroom chairs disappear as the grove turns from a beautiful place to a dark, dank brown hole. The lady screams out and grows... larger. You turn and look as the lovely lady's wings grow sharper and less colorful, and her eyes, which you had thought reflected the seven suns, now look terrifying to you. Pierre yells "run Mike, run!" and for once today you decide to listen to him. You try to stand up, but your legs refuse to support your weight.
"No! He is mine! He has drank of my cup, he has promised his life to me! You cannot take him away, you cannot break the rules!" the winged creature yells.
"I care not for your damn rules," Pierre yells back. He and the otter child grab your arms, help you to your feet and run for the cave entrance. Behind you you hear the creature yelling and screaming about the rules, and the rumbling seems to make the rock walls crumble. As you all run out of the cave, Pierre and the otter carrying you, the cave collapses behind you. Pierre lays you down on the sand, and the sun envelops you.
You look about you and notice your hands. Your healthy fingers now look like a 95 year old's wihtered hands, and your nails are all covered in gangreen. You worry what the rest of you looks like, as you close your eyes and...
...The next thing you remember is waking up in a small hut. The otter child has a bowl of dark, dank broth which it is pouring down your throat. You jerk up, and spew the contents from your mouth.
"Ah, you had us worried there, friend." Pierre says, sitting to your left. "You almost gave in to that witch's spell."
You sit up and look around. You are in a small hut. You feel frail, but alive. You look at your hands. They no longer look aged, but still don't look healthy.
"It will take longer to heal fully. but these past weeks have been good for you. We worried you wouldn't make it at all. You have the child to thank for your recovery. It seems to know a thing or two about medicines."
The child nods.
You ask where we are.
Pierre replies: "After you collapsed, we carried you off and found an abandoned shed further down the island. We styed there for a while, the child tended to you and I built a small raft. We found a small river that looked too small for that black monster to follow us down and we took the raft down it to Ladon Fields. We are currently in a small farming village south-east of Edgeton. The villagers have been kind to us and let us stay here while you healed. We need to be on our way soon though. If you want to wait, one of the villagers is going to Edgeton to sell wheat on Friesday, or we can hike it out ourselves. The road path will take us around the farm, but should be safer. Or we can walk the beach to Edgeton. Opinions? I know you just woke up, but we need to make a plan."
What will you do?
A: Stay til Friesday and travel with the villager to Edgeton along the road.
B: Travel the road with your companions today.
C: Travel the beach to Edgeton.
D: Know better than to stay the night in an evil underground Fairies' lair next time!
(Vote by monday.)
4/8/09
I can feel it in my bones
Metric has a new album (Fantasies) coming out in a couple of weeks, and this is their second single off of it. It is called Gimme Sympathy, and it has been playing in my head for the past couple of weeks.
I can say the new album is rockin', I have had it for half a month now and haven't been able to stop listening to it. A review will be up soon on our sister site: Music is a Loop, which is just starting out but you should check it out anyways.
4/6/09
Choose your own adventure: 17
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.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 16
You and Pierre decide to head towards the small cave you see in the distance, thinking the otter child may have swam into it to get away from that lake monster.
"Well, it is definitely too small for that monster to fit into, so we should be safe there. Or at least safer," Pierre says.
You look into the cave and see the water continuing into it is knee deep, and farther down into the cave you think you see a soft glow, and noise that possibly could be singing. You look at Pierre.
"Let's go check it out," he says. "Just be careful."
You continue on slowly rolling a 12 for walking quietly (along with your natural +6, you think that should be enough to not be seen), and a nice 17 for hide. You approach a turn in the cave path, and peek around the corner.
You see an open area in the cave, with a pool of water surrounding a slightly raised earthen mound. All around the mound grow large mushrooms, some taller than you. Upon the mound also grows an ardent green row of moss. Sitting upon one of the taller mushrooms in the center of the grove is one small, winged creature holding a lute. On an adjacent mushroom sits the otter child. They appear to be singing together. As you peek around the corner, the music comes to a sudden stop, and the winged creature looks directly at you. You hear in your head a voice that says: "Come in, Mike and Pierre. Come join us." You look at Pierre, and he nods as you both approach the mound.
"Welcome to my abode." the voice says in your head. As you near the creature you notice that it doesn't seem to be saying the words itself as it has no mouth. Every time it "talks" to you, it does seem to strum the lute it holds with one of its small thin twig arms, of which it appears to have 4 of.
The otter child looks over at you both and squeals in delight.
"We were just talking about you and your journeys," the voice quietly says. "Won't you join us? Take a seat where you like."
You sit down on one of the mushrooms. They are soft and very relaxing to sit in.
"Have some food," the voice says. Some grape vines grow out of the ground next to you and Pierre. You look at the food and realize it has been quite a while since you have eaten anything. Pierre is also looking at the food with great hunger. You look at the juiciest grape on the vine, and are about to pick it when you see that the otter child has not eaten any of his grapes.
"What is wrong, sir Mike? do the grapes not suit you? Would you rather something else?" the voice asks as its face turns towards you, one hundred beady eyes stare at you without blinking. "Or perhaps you have questions first. How you arrived from the world of men here, what happened to you that night in THE CITY, and how you can return? I am sure you have questions too, Pierre DeLaCroix," it, she?, says, turning to Pierre. "Such as, what happened to your boat and your crew, how they are faring without you? And of course, your beloved Marlene, what has become of her in your absence?"
"How do you know all of this?" Pierre asks, just before you, yourself ask these questions.
"Oh I know much more than that. I am one of the Children, guardians of the Winding Way. We see all and know all. It is our job to guide travelers from one side to the... other."
You wonder to yourself, the other side of what?
"I am... glad you survived the Leviathan that guards my sanctuary, and it is fortune indeed that the Messiah Child found its way to my den, and you, its disciples, come after it, but it is getting late and I am sure you are tired." At that moment you realize that you have been running and rowing all day, and almost fall asleep on the spot. "Perhaps we should let you rest, and can discuss your... futures... in the coming day?"
You and Pierre both yawn at the same time and realize this is probably a good idea.
"Come then, follow me," the winged one says in your head. Her? wings slowly spread apart and she rises off the mushroom. At the same time the mushrooms you all are sitting on lower to the ground, allowing you to stand. The moat surrounding the grove starts to dissipate, and you see a path leading further into the ground. Following the winged one down the path you are led to a small room with three soft mounds of moss.
"You may rest here the night," the winged one says, and then floats off back up the way it came. The door closes behind you. You lay down on the moss and fall straight to sleep.
You are awoken later by the otter child pawing at you. You look up and see it and Pierre standing above you. You ask what is up?
"We are both worried about this place," Pierre says. "I don't feel safe, and the child apparently doesn't either. It all seems too... good to be true? Maybe it is the pirate in me, but I cannae trust anyone this much."
The otter child nods.
You do want to know what the winged one has to tell you about returning home, but you also see your friends' points. You look out the door of the room you are in and see that another path has appeared to your right, which leads down a while, with what looks like a light at the end. The path up to the room you were in is also there. You think about what to do:
You could:
A: Wait the night out, telling your friends everything is going to be okay, and hopefully find out more about how to return home.
B: Take the right path towards the light and hope it leads out of where you are.
C: Try to return up to the grove you were in, and exit the cave, and find another way off the island.
D: Other ideas?
(Vote by Thursday. I think I am going to do a Monday and Thursday update from now on, 3x a week is too much, sorry.)
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.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 16
You and Pierre decide to head towards the small cave you see in the distance, thinking the otter child may have swam into it to get away from that lake monster.
"Well, it is definitely too small for that monster to fit into, so we should be safe there. Or at least safer," Pierre says.
You look into the cave and see the water continuing into it is knee deep, and farther down into the cave you think you see a soft glow, and noise that possibly could be singing. You look at Pierre.
"Let's go check it out," he says. "Just be careful."
You continue on slowly rolling a 12 for walking quietly (along with your natural +6, you think that should be enough to not be seen), and a nice 17 for hide. You approach a turn in the cave path, and peek around the corner.
You see an open area in the cave, with a pool of water surrounding a slightly raised earthen mound. All around the mound grow large mushrooms, some taller than you. Upon the mound also grows an ardent green row of moss. Sitting upon one of the taller mushrooms in the center of the grove is one small, winged creature holding a lute. On an adjacent mushroom sits the otter child. They appear to be singing together. As you peek around the corner, the music comes to a sudden stop, and the winged creature looks directly at you. You hear in your head a voice that says: "Come in, Mike and Pierre. Come join us." You look at Pierre, and he nods as you both approach the mound.
"Welcome to my abode." the voice says in your head. As you near the creature you notice that it doesn't seem to be saying the words itself as it has no mouth. Every time it "talks" to you, it does seem to strum the lute it holds with one of its small thin twig arms, of which it appears to have 4 of.
The otter child looks over at you both and squeals in delight.
"We were just talking about you and your journeys," the voice quietly says. "Won't you join us? Take a seat where you like."
You sit down on one of the mushrooms. They are soft and very relaxing to sit in.
"Have some food," the voice says. Some grape vines grow out of the ground next to you and Pierre. You look at the food and realize it has been quite a while since you have eaten anything. Pierre is also looking at the food with great hunger. You look at the juiciest grape on the vine, and are about to pick it when you see that the otter child has not eaten any of his grapes.
"What is wrong, sir Mike? do the grapes not suit you? Would you rather something else?" the voice asks as its face turns towards you, one hundred beady eyes stare at you without blinking. "Or perhaps you have questions first. How you arrived from the world of men here, what happened to you that night in THE CITY, and how you can return? I am sure you have questions too, Pierre DeLaCroix," it, she?, says, turning to Pierre. "Such as, what happened to your boat and your crew, how they are faring without you? And of course, your beloved Marlene, what has become of her in your absence?"
"How do you know all of this?" Pierre asks, just before you, yourself ask these questions.
"Oh I know much more than that. I am one of the Children, guardians of the Winding Way. We see all and know all. It is our job to guide travelers from one side to the... other."
You wonder to yourself, the other side of what?
"I am... glad you survived the Leviathan that guards my sanctuary, and it is fortune indeed that the Messiah Child found its way to my den, and you, its disciples, come after it, but it is getting late and I am sure you are tired." At that moment you realize that you have been running and rowing all day, and almost fall asleep on the spot. "Perhaps we should let you rest, and can discuss your... futures... in the coming day?"
You and Pierre both yawn at the same time and realize this is probably a good idea.
"Come then, follow me," the winged one says in your head. Her? wings slowly spread apart and she rises off the mushroom. At the same time the mushrooms you all are sitting on lower to the ground, allowing you to stand. The moat surrounding the grove starts to dissipate, and you see a path leading further into the ground. Following the winged one down the path you are led to a small room with three soft mounds of moss.
"You may rest here the night," the winged one says, and then floats off back up the way it came. The door closes behind you. You lay down on the moss and fall straight to sleep.
You are awoken later by the otter child pawing at you. You look up and see it and Pierre standing above you. You ask what is up?
"We are both worried about this place," Pierre says. "I don't feel safe, and the child apparently doesn't either. It all seems too... good to be true? Maybe it is the pirate in me, but I cannae trust anyone this much."
The otter child nods.
You do want to know what the winged one has to tell you about returning home, but you also see your friends' points. You look out the door of the room you are in and see that another path has appeared to your right, which leads down a while, with what looks like a light at the end. The path up to the room you were in is also there. You think about what to do:
You could:
A: Wait the night out, telling your friends everything is going to be okay, and hopefully find out more about how to return home.
B: Take the right path towards the light and hope it leads out of where you are.
C: Try to return up to the grove you were in, and exit the cave, and find another way off the island.
D: Other ideas?
(Vote by Thursday. I think I am going to do a Monday and Thursday update from now on, 3x a week is too much, sorry.)
3/30/09
Choose your own adventure: 16
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.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 16
Surely there is a reason the lizards won't approach the lake, you think, but the devil you don't in this case may be the better option. You tell Pierre and the child to hop in the canoe, and you make for the island in the middle of the lake. You figure that if you wait there, maybe the lizards will get tired and hungry and leave, giving you a chance to escape.
"I don't like the idea either, but I guess it is our best option." Pierre says.
You push the canoe out, and help the otter child into the middle of the canoe. Pierre hops up front and you push it out into the water, hopping in the back. As you begin to paddle out you look behind you. The lizards, still about 50 feet away from the shore, look horrified. They start yelling unintelligibly at you all, pointing and waving frantically. You look forwards again, but the lake is empty and still. You look down at the water, it is completely black, and you can't see past your oar. You think that the lizards' panic is just superstition, when, while still looking down at the water, you watch as the black in the water zoom by from underneath you.
And then you realize the black is not the water, but the... thing... in the water! You yell to Pierre to row as fast as he can, and to book it to the island! With all your might, you lunge the oar into the water, and push forward with all your might. The black has now moved behind your canoe. You frantically row, pray, and try your best to not look back as you hear the sound of something large emerging from the water.
The otter child screams.
Pierre yells: "Don't stop!"
50 yards from the island.
With every stroke of the oar you feel the black monster approaching.
35 yards from the island.
As you are paddling, you feel a cold shiver, and you notice that a giant shadow has cast itself over your end of the canoe. Whatever is chasing you, a head, an arm, a... something, is right above you. You paddle harder.
15 yards.
You feel something large fly by your head, close. Only inches from you now. You jab your paddle into the water and push back as hard as your possibly can, into the water, push the water back, lift, repeat. Something goes flying down into the water just behind you, launching the boat forward on a giant wave. The canoe goes flying, as do the people inside of it. You cling to the side of the canoe and reach for the otter child, but it all happens too fast. You land near the shore of the island, the canoe crashes on a rock and breaks. After spinning underwater, looking for the surface, you emerge and gasp for breath, then, seeing the shore, you swim to it. Pierre reaches the shore at the same time as you, looking frantic. You look out at the lake and watch a large hump submerge itself into the water, disappearing from sight, leaving only bubbles and wake.
"What the hell?" Pierre says.
You agree, after catching your breath.
"Where is the child?" Pierre realizes. You look around but you see no one else. Just the wreckage of the canoe by the shore, an oar which floated to the sand, and just under a tree by the shore you see the rapier and spear, which must have been thrown from the canoe.
"No! It couldn't have!" Pierre runs over to the wreckage and looks around, you follow, but neither can find a body.
Did that black monster get the child?
"I hope not. I pray not. It must have swum away, right?" Pierre says. You then realize you were talking out loud.
You continue to look around the beach, but don't see any body. You do see that the island goes on south for about half a mile, and there seems to be smoke coming from somewhere in the middle of the island. Pierre also says he spies what looks like a small cave mouth on the east side of the island, with water flowing out of it, and it seems too small for that black monster.
You think about what to do next. You could:
A: Head towards the smoke you see in the middle of the island.
B: Check out the small cave.
C: Stay by the shore where you crashed, hoping the otter child comes there, if it is still alive and can.
D: Try to put your canoe back together and get off the island, braving the black monster again.
E: Other ideas?
(Remember to vote for wednesday.)
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.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 16
Surely there is a reason the lizards won't approach the lake, you think, but the devil you don't in this case may be the better option. You tell Pierre and the child to hop in the canoe, and you make for the island in the middle of the lake. You figure that if you wait there, maybe the lizards will get tired and hungry and leave, giving you a chance to escape.
"I don't like the idea either, but I guess it is our best option." Pierre says.
You push the canoe out, and help the otter child into the middle of the canoe. Pierre hops up front and you push it out into the water, hopping in the back. As you begin to paddle out you look behind you. The lizards, still about 50 feet away from the shore, look horrified. They start yelling unintelligibly at you all, pointing and waving frantically. You look forwards again, but the lake is empty and still. You look down at the water, it is completely black, and you can't see past your oar. You think that the lizards' panic is just superstition, when, while still looking down at the water, you watch as the black in the water zoom by from underneath you.
And then you realize the black is not the water, but the... thing... in the water! You yell to Pierre to row as fast as he can, and to book it to the island! With all your might, you lunge the oar into the water, and push forward with all your might. The black has now moved behind your canoe. You frantically row, pray, and try your best to not look back as you hear the sound of something large emerging from the water.
The otter child screams.
Pierre yells: "Don't stop!"
50 yards from the island.
With every stroke of the oar you feel the black monster approaching.
35 yards from the island.
As you are paddling, you feel a cold shiver, and you notice that a giant shadow has cast itself over your end of the canoe. Whatever is chasing you, a head, an arm, a... something, is right above you. You paddle harder.
15 yards.
You feel something large fly by your head, close. Only inches from you now. You jab your paddle into the water and push back as hard as your possibly can, into the water, push the water back, lift, repeat. Something goes flying down into the water just behind you, launching the boat forward on a giant wave. The canoe goes flying, as do the people inside of it. You cling to the side of the canoe and reach for the otter child, but it all happens too fast. You land near the shore of the island, the canoe crashes on a rock and breaks. After spinning underwater, looking for the surface, you emerge and gasp for breath, then, seeing the shore, you swim to it. Pierre reaches the shore at the same time as you, looking frantic. You look out at the lake and watch a large hump submerge itself into the water, disappearing from sight, leaving only bubbles and wake.
"What the hell?" Pierre says.
You agree, after catching your breath.
"Where is the child?" Pierre realizes. You look around but you see no one else. Just the wreckage of the canoe by the shore, an oar which floated to the sand, and just under a tree by the shore you see the rapier and spear, which must have been thrown from the canoe.
"No! It couldn't have!" Pierre runs over to the wreckage and looks around, you follow, but neither can find a body.
Did that black monster get the child?
"I hope not. I pray not. It must have swum away, right?" Pierre says. You then realize you were talking out loud.
You continue to look around the beach, but don't see any body. You do see that the island goes on south for about half a mile, and there seems to be smoke coming from somewhere in the middle of the island. Pierre also says he spies what looks like a small cave mouth on the east side of the island, with water flowing out of it, and it seems too small for that black monster.
You think about what to do next. You could:
A: Head towards the smoke you see in the middle of the island.
B: Check out the small cave.
C: Stay by the shore where you crashed, hoping the otter child comes there, if it is still alive and can.
D: Try to put your canoe back together and get off the island, braving the black monster again.
E: Other ideas?
(Remember to vote for wednesday.)
3/27/09
Envy, Todd and that ninja bitch, Lynette
The Clash at Demonhead are probably one of the best bands ever, inmyhonestopinion. But don't tell Scott that. It might make him all depressed.
3/25/09
The robot is the coolest
I am a little too excited about this. Where the Wild Things Are, the movie, by Spike Jonze, with music by Karen O! O my!
Ps: Catherine Keener! How did I miss that?
Choose your own adventure: 15
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.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 15
You decide the best course of action is to try to disarm the lizardman as he rushes you with his spear. Luckily you took Karate from Dr Yang in college, and remember a thing or two about disarming opponents (although you mostly remember because he used you as the example in every class, and you are pretty sure he almost broke your arm more than once). The lizardman runs towards you with the spear out in front of him, and at the last possible second you twist to the right, and pull the spear from his hands as you knee him in the stomach. What luck! That worked? You are quite suprised, and stand there remarking at your luck as the lizardman stands back up to face you. Unfortunately for him, you now have his weapon, and he looks hesitent to approach you again. He looks at his compatriate, who seems to be in a similar predicament with Pierre. They both nod to each other, then let out a load yell, and turn and flee.
Pierre chases after them, throwing the rapier the other lizardman dropped, but he misses, and the lizards get away.
"This is no good," Pierre says, as he picks up the rapier. "They will alert the others of our presence. Grab the kid. We need to move."
You follow after Pierre, who is now running at a brisk pace. The otter child seems to be having a hard time keeping up. You turn around to grab its hand and help it along, when you see behind you a horde of lizardmen in the distance! Pierre notices them too, and they have definately noticed you.
"We need to move as fast as we can! Now!" Pierre shouts to you both, and starts sprinting West. You pick up the otter child to carry him, and follow behind Pierre.
The terrain is difficult to run on, however, especially carrying the child, and you almost lose your footing once or twice, but you keep running as fast as possible.
You try not to look back, but you are pretty sure you can hear the lizard's cruel shouts getting louder behind you.
You keep running, jumping over this log, dodging that bush...
You run for what feels like days, you run until you feel you can't run any more, but every time you want to stop, you hear the lizards, and they seem closer, close enough that you can feel their hot, smelly breath on the back of your neck. So you continue to run.
Now you are running down a hill, towards the bottom you see a gross looking marsh covered with patches of land and bog, and farther behind it, a lake, with a small island in the middle. You start to run past it, but trip over something and fall. You and the child go flying, and both of you roll down the steep hill towards the marsh, finally stopping at the edge of it. Pierre sees your fall and runs down next to you. He helps you to your feet. You turn to see the lizardmen have all stopped about 50 feet from where you are. They seem terrified to come near you. You help the otter child to its feet, and turn to Pierre.
"I have no idea why they stopped, but I don't like the look of this," he says.
You stand there and look about you. It looks just like any other marsh you have seen before, but the lizardmen won't seem to approach any closer.
"Maybe if we just stay on the edge of it, they will keep away from us?" Pierre suggests.
You agree that it is your best plan, and you all begin walking slowly along the edge of the bog. The lizardmen keep about 50 feet away from the bog, but continue to follow you all, not letting you out of their sight.
As you continue on, you run across a small canoe sitting by the water. It seems to have been sitting there for a while, and has two paddles in it.
Pierre suggests: "We could use this canoe to row out into the lake. It seems to go on for a while, and maybe we can lose the lizardmen that way. They don't seem to want to come close to the lake. We could look for a river that may connect to the sea, or we could paddle to that island and wait out the night, to see if the lizardmen go away. Or we could just continue on walking beside the lake and hope they don't decide to man up and come down here. Any ideas, boyo?"
What do you do?
A: Row out to the lake
B: Row out in the canoe and look for a river that might connect to the sea
C: Continue on down the side of the lake, hoping the lizardmen don't brave up/
D: Surrender to the lizardmen and hope they will go lenient on you.
(Put in your vote before Friday)
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.
Now begins Time is a Loop: Episode 15
You decide the best course of action is to try to disarm the lizardman as he rushes you with his spear. Luckily you took Karate from Dr Yang in college, and remember a thing or two about disarming opponents (although you mostly remember because he used you as the example in every class, and you are pretty sure he almost broke your arm more than once). The lizardman runs towards you with the spear out in front of him, and at the last possible second you twist to the right, and pull the spear from his hands as you knee him in the stomach. What luck! That worked? You are quite suprised, and stand there remarking at your luck as the lizardman stands back up to face you. Unfortunately for him, you now have his weapon, and he looks hesitent to approach you again. He looks at his compatriate, who seems to be in a similar predicament with Pierre. They both nod to each other, then let out a load yell, and turn and flee.
Pierre chases after them, throwing the rapier the other lizardman dropped, but he misses, and the lizards get away.
"This is no good," Pierre says, as he picks up the rapier. "They will alert the others of our presence. Grab the kid. We need to move."
You follow after Pierre, who is now running at a brisk pace. The otter child seems to be having a hard time keeping up. You turn around to grab its hand and help it along, when you see behind you a horde of lizardmen in the distance! Pierre notices them too, and they have definately noticed you.
"We need to move as fast as we can! Now!" Pierre shouts to you both, and starts sprinting West. You pick up the otter child to carry him, and follow behind Pierre.
The terrain is difficult to run on, however, especially carrying the child, and you almost lose your footing once or twice, but you keep running as fast as possible.
You try not to look back, but you are pretty sure you can hear the lizard's cruel shouts getting louder behind you.
You keep running, jumping over this log, dodging that bush...
You run for what feels like days, you run until you feel you can't run any more, but every time you want to stop, you hear the lizards, and they seem closer, close enough that you can feel their hot, smelly breath on the back of your neck. So you continue to run.
Now you are running down a hill, towards the bottom you see a gross looking marsh covered with patches of land and bog, and farther behind it, a lake, with a small island in the middle. You start to run past it, but trip over something and fall. You and the child go flying, and both of you roll down the steep hill towards the marsh, finally stopping at the edge of it. Pierre sees your fall and runs down next to you. He helps you to your feet. You turn to see the lizardmen have all stopped about 50 feet from where you are. They seem terrified to come near you. You help the otter child to its feet, and turn to Pierre.
"I have no idea why they stopped, but I don't like the look of this," he says.
You stand there and look about you. It looks just like any other marsh you have seen before, but the lizardmen won't seem to approach any closer.
"Maybe if we just stay on the edge of it, they will keep away from us?" Pierre suggests.
You agree that it is your best plan, and you all begin walking slowly along the edge of the bog. The lizardmen keep about 50 feet away from the bog, but continue to follow you all, not letting you out of their sight.
As you continue on, you run across a small canoe sitting by the water. It seems to have been sitting there for a while, and has two paddles in it.
Pierre suggests: "We could use this canoe to row out into the lake. It seems to go on for a while, and maybe we can lose the lizardmen that way. They don't seem to want to come close to the lake. We could look for a river that may connect to the sea, or we could paddle to that island and wait out the night, to see if the lizardmen go away. Or we could just continue on walking beside the lake and hope they don't decide to man up and come down here. Any ideas, boyo?"
What do you do?
A: Row out to the lake
B: Row out in the canoe and look for a river that might connect to the sea
C: Continue on down the side of the lake, hoping the lizardmen don't brave up/
D: Surrender to the lizardmen and hope they will go lenient on you.
(Put in your vote before Friday)
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