Tomorrow you will join the others and venture into Wave Echo Cavern.
Into the unknown.
[[But tonight... | Restless]]
As you pass through the common area of the Stonehill Inn, only those most dedicated to the pursuit of ale and lost memories are about. You ignore their drunken slurs and [[step outside->Empty Streets]] this melancholy warmth...Into the empty [[streets...->Town Walls]]Past the town [[walls...->Into the night]]And into the [[night...->Beckon]]The Call beckons.
Driven neither by divine providence nor arcane magic, you follow your own path --
Your hunter's instict.
It leads you through a forest to
[[A cave.->Snarl]]A ferocious snarl warns you to back away. You scry the form of a fierce cat just inside the mouth of the cave.
This could be your quarry.
But it too is a hunter.
Perhaps *you* are the prey.
You [[stealth away->Sneak away]], back into the night.
You draw your [[dagger.->Dagger]]
You ready your [[longbow.->Longbow]]You're not afraid of a pussycat.
With one deft move, you draw an arrow from your quiver and notch it against your bowstring.
As you boldly step towards the cave --
*FWOOSH*
A crossbow bolt whizzes by your head from behind --
Plinks off of the exterior cave wall.
As [[you spin around->Bugbear]], a voice bellows,
"It's been a long time since I've tasted gnome meat!"
(set: $weapon to 'longbow')A furry goblinoid creature sprints out from the eaves of the trees --
You recognize immediately,
It's a Bugbear.
And it's coming right at you!
{
(if: $weapon is 'dagger')[
[[And your dagger is ready to meet it.->Dagger fight]]
](else-if: $weapon is 'longbow')[
[[You let your arrow fly.->Bow fight]]
](else:)[
[[No time to draw a weapon. Run!->Run]]
]}
(link: "Fight the Mighty Dragon!")[
(set: $ehp to 200)
(set: $mhp to 200)
(set: $ename to "Dragon")
(set: $turn to "you")
(set: $hp to 100)
(set: $eatk to 15)
(set: $eatkname to "MOTHERF*CKING FIRE")
(goto: "Combat")]{<div id="enemy">$ename HP: $ehp/$mhp.
</div>}
{<div id="log">
<font color="green">
(if: $log is "you")[It is your turn.]
(elseif: $log is "atk")[**You use '$atk' on the $ename, dealing $atkdmg damage.**]</font><font color="red">
(elseif: $log is "enemy")[**The $ename uses '$eatkname' on you, dealing $eatk damage.**]</font>
</div>}
<div id="you">Zanzibar: $hp/46
{(if: $turn is "you")[
(if: $weapon is 'dagger')[
(link: "Dagger strike!")[
(set: $ehp to it - 23)
(set: $atk to "Dagger Strike")
(set: $atkdmg to 23)
(set: $turn to "enemy")
(set: $log to "atk")
(goto: "Combat")]]
(elseif: $weapon is 'longbow')[
(link: "Unleash another arrow")[
(set: $ehp to it - 30)
(set: $atk to "Unleash another arrow")
(set: $atkdmg to 30)
(set: $turn to "enemy")
(set: $log to "atk")
(goto: "Combat")]]
]
(elseif: $turn is "enemy")[
(link: "Continue")[
(set: $log to "enemy")
(set: $turn to "you")
(set: $hp to it - $eatk)
(goto: "Combat")]
]
(if: $hp <1)[(goto: "Lose")]
(if: $ehp <1)[(goto: "Win")]
</div>}
You are [[restless. |Restless2]]Each passing second seems like hours.
[[You follow the call.->The Inn]]
[[You try to sleep.->Sleep]]Tick-tock,
Tick-tock,
Tick-tock,
[[Time is a flat circle. | Restless]]You're not afraid of a pussycat.
Your dagger glimmers in the moonlight as you boldly step towards the cave.
*FWOOSH*
An arrow whizzes by your head from behind --
Plinks off of the exterior cave wall.
As [[you spin around->Bugbear]], a voice bellows,
"It's been a long time since I've tasted gnome meat!"
(set: $weapon to 'dagger')
You dash into the undergrowth.
If you can only get out of sight, you can easily use your stealth to hide from the Bugbear.
But [[he's gaining on you.->Trapped]]You sprint to an escarpment,
Jump on a large piece of bark,
And surf it down the steep hillside.
The Bugbear hurls its javelin --
*SKINNT*
The javelin impales your barkboard, pins it to the ground, and sends you flying. You take a nasty tumble and land prone on the hard ground below.
Wiping blood from your lip, you stand to [[face your attacker...->fist fight]]It's out of respect for the beast - not fear - that you begin to back away. You make eye contact in the dark and you sense a mutual admiration from the animal.
As you take your leave,
*FWOOSH*
An arrow whizzes by your head from behind --
Plinks off of the exterior cave wall.
[[You spin around->Bugbear]] as a voice bellows,
"It's been a long time since I've tasted gnome meat!"(set: $ehp to 50)
(set: $mhp to 50)
(set: $ename to "Bugbear")
(set: $turn to "you")
(set: $hp to 46)
(set: $eatk to 25)
(set: $eatkname to "Morningstar Bash")
(goto: "Combat")]Your shot is true!
Your arrow is impaled in the Bugbear's chest. He rages and continues to charge toward you.
[[Unleash another arrow->Bow Win]]{(display: "Enemy")(display: "Log")(display: "You")}The Bugbear's morningstar crushes you with a [[critical hit!->crit]]Double-click this passage to edit it.*THWACK*
Your arrow strikes the Bugbear in the neck, passing through clean, dragging its esophogas with it as it exits the other side.
The Bugbear falls dead.
[[You sense a presense->Bow Cat]] watching over you...You look up to see the beast from the cave standing on a rock outcropping above you. Here in the full moonlight, you get a clear view of it for the first time:
A fierce black panther.
Somehow you know it was watching you the whole time. You felt its presence guiding you when your arrow struck true.
It leaps into the air, landing gracefully in front of you, staring you eye to eye.
[[Hold its gaze.->Gaze]]
[[Look away.->Look Away]]The panther seems to be staring into your gnomish soul. You sense a great, primal power, first in the panther, then growing inside of you.
The panther roars, then bows down, indicating a willingness to bear you as a rider.
[[Ride the panther->Mount]]You try to match the beast's gaze, but the primal fury in its eyes is too great even for you.
When you look away, the panther cocks its head, amused. It roars with a triumphant dominance. [[You are but a trifling thing->Guide]] to it.The panther bounds through the forest with you on its back. It leaps up and down the boughs of the trees, across chasms, and over hill and hollow.
Now, in this moment, [[you are anything but restless->How long]].It remains to be seen for how long.As you make your through the forest, back towards town, you hear footfalls at your back. You turn to see the panther following at a distance. Your intuition - the same intuition that guided you here in the first place - tells you that you have a connection with the creature, and you somehow know it wants to teach you something.
What that something is is beyond you, but you contemplate the possibilities as it follows you all the way back to town.Your weapons were lost in the fall.
You're too hurt to run.
[[You're going to die here->death]] and you know it.The Bugbear staggers back.
You [[look up->looms2]] to see...The Bugbear smashes its morningstar at you.
Where you find the fortitude to dodge, who can say? But you do...
You roll to the side, using the last of your strength to [[uppercut the creature...->right]][[right->in]][[its->bugbear]][[in->its]][[bugbear->balls]][[balls.->Panther looms]]It pins you between its weapon and the ground, beginning to crush your bones like a meat grinder.
As [[the last bit of life fades->fades]] from your body...You look up to see...
Two points of
[[<font color="yellow">yellow light->yellow]]
They're eyes.
The beast from the cave looks down on you from a rock outcropping above. Here in the full moonlight, you get a clear view of it for the first time:
A fierce black panther.
The panther seems to be staring into your gnomish soul. You sense a great, primal power, first in the panther, then growing inside of you.
You summong the last of your energy, [[reach for your knife->stab]]
And fling it up into the Bugbear's neck.
You hit the juggular.
Blood gushes out, spraying you like a fountain.
The Bugbear gurgles its death throws and collapses in a heap.
You're too exhausted to stand. You lie on you back, looking up.
The panther hasn't moved a muscle.
It's eyes
are still fixated upon
[[you->town]].The last thing you see before you fade away are those two points of
[[<font color="yellow">yellow light->wounds healed]]
gazing upon you
unblinking,
understanding,
unrelenting.You wake in the medical ward of Phandalin the next morning.
Your friends are happy to find you'll make a full recovery.
Happier still is the panther that slept at the foot of your bed,
that bore you on its back to town,
that the town healer found outside her door,
licking your wounds.The beast from the cave stands on a rock outcropping above you. Here in the full moonlight, you get a clear view of it for the first time:
A fierce black panther.
It seems to be looking down on you with amused approval.
It roars and leaps between you and the Bugbear. With a mighty swipe of its paw, it gashes the Bugbear across the neck. Blood spills on the ground. The Bugbear collapses, dead.
The panther turns to you, staring you eye to eye.
[[Hold its gaze.->Gaze]]
[[Look away.->Look Away]]