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Begin your Quest

Grey cloak pulled over your hair and wand at the ready, you walk with stealth and head down the torch-lit hall. The castle stone loom up on either side with rabbit-sized black spiders scrambling over the arches above you. You pray they are only spiders and not… It’s best not to consider the alternatives. It has been four days since you have left the school in search of the manuscript and your friend, but you have found neither. He had gone in search of the magical grimoire but did not come back. You know only what he left in his note.

“I overheard the elves whispering something about a stranger showing up on the outskirts of town. The man was wearing a black cloak and asking questions about the libraries available in a day’s walk. I think it was you know who. The shoppe owner at the bakery told him to check out the castle near the monastery. He headed north. I am following. There are only a couple of possibilities.”

There are two monasteries and two castles within a day’s journey. You chose to head to the kingdom of elves. The race of men fears your magic too much. So, you find yourself in the hallowed halls of the woodland elves, listening to the lyre being played in a great hall not too far away, with the echo of conversation and the clanging of cups covering most of the noise you are making. You come to a crossway in the hall, and as you pause, you hear a single scream from a girl. Now, you must make a decision about which way to go.

Finding the Girl

There is no doubt in your mind. You have to help her. You close your eyes and concentrate, trying to imagine a glowing ball of fire in your hand. Sweat runs down your back as the girl screams a second time. You say the words, “Globus Ignis” in a quiet but insistent voice, and the ball appears in your hand. You hold it high as you head down the dark corridor.  There are several doors to your right, but you feel certain the scream came from further down the hall. There was more echo to it than these close doors would imply.

While elves are generally stealthy souls, many of them make a dull sound, acting as a dampener to the echos.

A third scream is cut short. She is close. You open a large wooden door to the right but no one is there. You open the one on the left, and there is a girl tied on the floor, now gagged. Her eyes look to your left. Not three feet away is a red bearded dwarf who stands about 5 feet. That is tall for a dwarf, but he is leaner than most, clearly not eating his fare at the dwarven clans’ feasts.

“There!” A voice calls out in the hall. Clearly the elves are approaching. They will not be your friend much more than this dwarf. What do you do?

Where does the Portal Take You?

It will take all of your concentration, but it’s time to try your second-ever portal spell. The first time did not go so well. You must consider the location you want to go firmly in your mind. If you change your mind mid-spell, the results can be disastrous. You lucked out last time, and you only dropped into the ocean, but you did not know where you were. Other outcomes could be deadly. You might find yourself in a cave with a red dragon. You could find yourself in the middle of an elemental melee challenge as an opponent… STOP. Focus on where you DO want to go. The girl shrieks. The elves fling open the door, and the dwarf leaps at you.

As you touch the girl, and cast the spell, you clearly think of the safest place you know.  Do you think of:

The story continues:

The air swirls like a tornado, and you feel like you want to hurl. As you and the girl hit the ground with a thud, the girl moans.

“Ohh, Get off me.” The girl you have saved rolls over and begins to dust yourself off.

“Where is my…” She pats her pockets. “ where is my wand?“ She glares at you and her violet eyes glow. “You dolt. You’ve lost my wand.“

“A thank you might’ve been nice.“ Your mutter under your breath.

“What did you say?“ The pixie’s cheeks red as she walks up to you, hands on her hips and gets her face as close to yours as she can.

Before you can answer, the treat nearby shimmers.

“ Lady Vivian, we ask your kind assistance,“ you say, as your bow your head as the old ways dictate.

“We, I mean, I don’t need her help. What are you anyway — a dried up dryad?” The pixie’s audacity hits you like a boulder.

But for a brief flash in her eyes, the Elven spirit shows no reaction. “Come with me.“ She turns without another word and, as she touches the tree, and 8 foot door swings open. You follow the lady into her home, and wonder briefly whether the girls will come too or head off on her own.

The inside of the tree far outsizes the outside. As you were shown a seat near the fire, the pixie jumps into it before you can, her eyes are mischievous and… You can’t quite place it but there is something else to her.

“My manners… I shall return in a moment.” The ladies long close lid across the floor but move no dirt and its ethereal state.

“She’s creepy,” the pixie said, tossing leaves out of her hair and into the fire.

“ she’s ancient as the trees and just as wise.“ Your responses flat did you look around the Elvish home. “It is said that she has lived the past, knows the present, and sees the future.”

“Lived in the past? Haven’t we all.” The pixie did not seem impressed.

The lady returned in semi corporeal form, tea cups in hand, and a basket of bread had appeared on the table. If you take the tea, the lady asks. “What do you need that you should have cast a spell to my doorstep?“

“Don’t look at me. I don’t even have a wand. ANYMORE.“ The pixie’s lip was turned up in a small smirk.

The Elven spirit looked into your eyes as if she was probing your intentions. “Well, I…” you realize that you can ask her almost anything, but she will probably only respond to one question.

How do you answer?