Page 54During your long crawl southeast, you are startled by the loud roar of a lion. You roll on your back, with your shield and axe held close to your chest, and wait for the thing to come closer.
Using a technique that has proven effective against lions in the past, you swing your axe at the beast's forehead. You miss the brain, but strike the lion on the right side of his face, ripping off large chunks of shredded flesh and revealing a few gigantic teeth through his cheek. The lion lets out a furious roar and swipes ferociously at you, but you are able to block and dodge away from his bloody paws. You roll underneath the cat and strike it several times in the internal organs with the pommel of your axe, all the while keeping its attacks at bay with your shield. You graze him again in the face with your axe, causing him to sprint back into the wilderness. You try to crawl after him for a while, but it is obvious that you could never catch up.
Only a short (relatively speaking; crawling anywhere takes quite a while) crawl to the east, you struggle your way across a thin river. After crossing, you spot a stone human-made bridge to the east.
As you enter the borders of the human settlement, you snack on some lion meat (quite difficult to do while crawling). After several kilometers of vast farm land, you finally crawl your way into the hamlet proper. As you catch site of the first shacks and cottages, night falls rapidly. You struggle to stand up, leaning on your axe as you do, and finally bring yourself level with the door of the shack on the edge of town. You open it, only to see it dark and empty. You consider resting there for the night, but it is on the fringe of town and might be an easy target for bogeymen. Also, you consider that if anybody owns the building, they might not appreciate you squatting there. The next structure you pass is the ruins of an old shack, which has apparently been cannibalized for its wood to be used in other buildings. After that you see a human standing in front of a house's door, smoking a pipe. At first she doesn't notice you due to the fact that you are crawling below her, but as you cough loudly to get her attention, she looks down at you. She seems perplexed and a bit frightened by the site: a disabled dwarf lying on the ground, holding a large battleaxe and shield in his hands.
"Er... can I help you?" she timidly asks.
"I am Libash Dikemachine, axedwarf of Bulbous Girders. I have slain the terrible lion, Metalfrightful!"
"Praise be to you sir, for freeing us from that horrible monster's oppression. It appears that you did not leave the battle unscathed and could use some rest, please stay with us in our shack tonight. It would be an honor."
As you enter, you spot three humans sitting in a circle on the shack's dirt floor, telling tales in the dim candlelight. The first human introduces you to them as a powerful and courageous warrior, who has freed them all from the giant lion. The others welcome you warmly, and they beg you to recount the tale of Metalfrightful's demise. You start from the beginning, with you receiving the quest and stopping at the human fortress (you omit the part when you rob the nobility) and freeing a goblin slave. The others seem to become uncomfortable and get a concerned look on their faces (in contrast to the jolly manner they had earlier) when you mention freeing Amxu. Then, the door behind them opens to reveal a miserable-looking goblin carrying a ball-and-chain, which is attached to her ankle. The goblin bows to the three humans, before curling up in the corner on the dirt floor and going to sleep. Your eyes grow wide as you realize these peoples' true nature.
If you...
Act as if nothing happened, continue your story, and go to bed, turn to page 57.
Accuse them all of being bigots, draw your axe, and save the goblin, turn to page 58.
Announce your disapproval, but don't rashly free their slave, instead retire to the empty shack to the west, turn to page 59.
Poll
9 (50%)
Author
Topic: Choose Your Own Adventure: Adventure Mode (Read 9893 times)