You are standing by a tree
There are 3 paths.
One appears to go to a jungle,
one appears to go to a cave,
one appears to go to a beach,
you could try and climb the tree,
there is a nearby shop you could go in,
or you could do something else.
So what's its going to be?
Written by catprog on 01 April 2003
You sit under the tree
You sit under the tree.
Suddenly...
Written by catprog on 21 May 2003
A Blue Light
A blue light blocks everything else.
Written by catprog on 21 May 2003
Gods
The light dissipates to reveal three strange beings.
One is a woman whose lower half becomes tentacles that seem to be made of twisted gold. She’s holding a candlestick in one hand. "I am Ellebelle," she says. "The goddess of goldsmiths."
The second is a man with fiery red skin and dragons horns. In both hands, he holds a flickering flame. "I am Ulanma," he says. "The god of fire."
The third is a woman whose lower half is obscured by a spinner of sandy wind. In her right hand, she holds a wind-chime. "I am Masjinne," she says. "The goddess of wind."
"We have come before you to offer our patronage," says Ellebelle.
"And we come with gifts," says Ulanma.
"But," says Masjinne, "you may only choose one of us as your patron."
Ellebelle holds out her candlestick. "If you choose me, then your hands will be forever skilled in the art of crafting metal. Using your hands, you will craft art that will adorn the homes and bodies of royalty."
Ulanma holds out the flame. "If you choose me, then you will never need fear fire ever again. It will come to you as a servant to a master, and give you the power to conquer armies."
Masjinne holds out the wind-chime. "If you choose me, then the wind will forever be at your back. It will carve a path for you, and clear your way of all obstacles."
All three say "Choose."
You reach out your hand, and take hold of the . . . .
Written by Ophelianime on 29 November 2014
the small wind-chime.
The other two gods nod once and disappear, leaving only you and Masjinne. "Wonderful!" she says. "Now here’s a piece of advice." She points towards the east. "Travel that way towards the Rajah desert and make your way to the city of Abuelachna. There you will find your destiny."
With that as her final words, the wind around her whips into a frenzy. When the dust clears, she is gone and you are by yourself. You take a string and tie the wind-chime around your neck. Then you turn towards the east and start walking.
As you walk down the path, you see a man up ahead with a donkey laden with wares. "Excuse me," the man calls out. "I’m a traveling salesman. Would you like to buy some of my wares?"
You glance over his wares. It seems that he’s selling clothes, and you do feel rather threadbare. "All right. What can you give me for 11 ruthes?"
The salesman considers this and pulls out three items. A black messenger bag, a cozy red coat, and a pale blue scarf. "Each one of these is worth that much," he says.
He holds up the black messenger bag. "This bag is enchanted so that, once it’s yours, the possessions it holds can never be stolen. No hands but yours will ever be able to reach the items inside."
Next he holds up the red coat. "This is a coat that will keep you warm, even if you were to be encased in ice. You will never be cold again so long as you wear this."
Lastly, he holds up the blue scarf. "This is a soul scarf, which will keep you from dying no matter how badly you are injured. It won’t heal you, but it will keep you alive."
After careful consideration, you decide to by the . . . .
Written by Ophelianime on 30 November 2014
the soul scarf.
You wind the scarf around your neck and give the seller his money and make your way to the edge of the Rajah dessert. There is a blue sand skimmer ship floating on the edge of the sand with a wind-worn looking man standing next to it. You approach the man. “Hello, I’m journeying to Abuelachna. Can you take me there?"
The man scratches his beard. “I surely can, as long as you pay my fee."
You root through your pockets and pull out 9 ruthes. “This is all I have to spare."
The man takes your coins. “This won’t get you to Abuelachna, but it will get you to the village of Zahrah. It’s about halfway there."
You decide to accept the deal, and climb onto the ship. Over the next few hours, three more passengers come on board. A red-haired teenage boy, a pretty young woman in a frilly dress, and a long limbed man with braided hair.
It looks to be a long trip, so you decide to approach . . . .
Written by ophelianime on 01 December 2014
the red-haired teenage boy
. . . the red-haired teenage boy. "Greetings fellow traveler! Where are you headed to?"
The boy backs away a step. "Before I say anything, let me see your hands." Confused, you hold up your hands for him to inspect. He looks at your hands closely before sighing in relief. "That's good. I had a dream last night that someone with dirty fingernails tried to shave my head! I just had to make sure."
You stare at him for a moment. "Well then . . . now that we got that out of the way, may I ask where you're headed?"
"Oh! I'm headed to the village of Zahrah. I'm hoping to establish a charity for the poor."
"Really? That's very honorable of you."
He blushes and ducks his head. "Oh not really. I actually come from a . . . very wealthy family. So it's not as though it's costing me much personally."
"Oh. Well, better keep that under your hat. Say, how about we explore the ship together?"
"Sounds good to me! Where would you like to explore first? We could check out the crows nest! I'm sure it has a great view. Or we could find the kitchen. I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry. Or maybe we could go below decks. Check out where we're going to sleep?"
"Mmmmmmmm" After careful deliberation, you decide that the two of you should . . .
Written by Ophelianime on 03 December 2014
check out the kitchen
. . . . . . . check out the kitchen. The two of you make your way below decks to the kitchen. As you walk, you start to smell something good. You both come upon the cook chopping the head off a fish.
Rather than a scruffy man like you expected, the cook is a buxom brown-haired woman. She is wearing a small apron that shows off her assets, and her right arm is covered in octopus tattoos. She looks up and sees the both of you. She suddenly grips her knife a little harder. "What are you two doing down here?"
You put on a smile and approach the counter. "My friend and I just booked passage on this ship and thought we'd do some exploring. What's that you're making? Sure smells good."
Suddenly whipping out some fancy knife tactics, she cleaned the fish in three quick movements. "I'm making seared sea bass."
The red-haired teenager blinks a few times. "You're using sea salt to season it right? I heard it's bad luck if a sea creature is salted with anything but sea salt."
The cook and you stare at him for a moment. "Where on earth did you hear that?" you ask.
"I can't really recall," he says, "but just to be safe . . ."
"If you don't like what I cook," said the cook irritably, "you can eat what you brought with you. Nothing."
You decide to try and dissolve the tension. "I love fish! What are you planning for dessert?"
"I'm torn between chocolate cake, apple pie, and scones. What do you think I should go with?"
You don't even need to think. You want her to make a . . . . . . .
Written by Ophelianime on 06 December 2014
apple pie
. . . an apple pie! “I would love the pie,” you say. “It’s been a long time since I’ve tasted apples.”
The cook nods at you and starts to chop up a few apples. “If that’s all you two wanted, then leave and let me work.”
“Uuummm,” you say, “If it’s not too much trouble, could you give us a snack to tide us over until then?”
She rolls her eyes and tosses you both a biscuit. “Here. Now go away.”
The two of you scurry away back up to the deck, munching on your biscuits. Then something occurs to you. Turning to your companion, you say “I never did get your name.”
He shrugs. “My name is Aren. What’s your name?”
You tell him your name and the two of you shake hands. “Here’s to smooth sailing,” you say. At that moment, the ship jolts to life and knocks you both off your feet. “Um, never mind.”
“Buckle up everybody!” shouts the captain. “We’re setting sail!”
Aren sits up and looks at you. “So, what do you want to do next? I have a very interesting card game packed with me. Or I could tell you about my charity plans. But if you’re tired, maybe you should just go to your bunk and take a nap.”
You think for a moment, and decide that you feel like . . .
Written by Ophelianime on 13 February 2015
hearing about his charity plans.
Aren seems happy that you're curious. "Well, from what I've heard the education system in Zarhrah is very poor. So I'm hoping to set up a school."
You're impressed. "That's very generous of you."
Aren blushes and smiles. "Well, a good education is the foundation of getting a good job. And a good job can turn around your whole future. My dad used to tell me that all the time."
"Oh, so your father supports what you're doing?"
He hedges. "Not . . . . as such. But I'm sure he'll come around. Anyway, I'm thinking about the course curriculum. Of course I'll make sure that reading, writing, and math are a part of it, but I can't help feeling like there should be one more option available. I'm trying to decide between music, art, and agriculture. What do you think?"
You think for a moment, and then say . . . . .
Written by Ophelianime on 22 April 2015
The end (for now)