Grues are afraid of light!  This is why it won't leave its pitch black chamber to pursue me.  Fortunately, you still have some flint and tinder.  You originally brought it with the intention of building a campfire along the journey but things change I guess.  You light a piece of wood and wrap a piece of torn clothing (soaked in cave water) around the middle to help prevent the flames from going to far down near your hands.  You need to move fast as this is not going to last for long and you don't want to be stuck down there without light.

As anticipated, the grue backs away in a feverish effort to avoid the light your flame is generating.  You are pleased to see that the passageway at the end of this chamber has a faint light source at the end (although it is very far away).  Hauling ass as fast as you can, you head down the tunnel towards the light source as your makeshift torch is already beginning to burn itself to completion.  By the time it does, you've already made it close enough to the nearby light source that the grue wouldn't dare follow.

It seems the light is being generated by a series of torches that line a set of tracks.  It is then that you realize this cave is not really a cave at all but a mine occupied by numerous kobolds.  You were always raised to believe that kobolds had beards and wore candles on their heads, but seeing them now you realize how ridiculous that claim actually is.  Who came up with that anyway?  In reality, they are like miniture lizard folk and very scrawny too (even by your scrawny standards).  Staying at the edge of the light source, you decide to observe these creatures for a little while before planning a move.  You are reasonably certain you could handle one or possibly even two in a fight but you most certainly can't charge in or you will be overwhelmed in an instant.

Of particular notice is the kobold on the high ledge that is sporting a purple overcoat and barking orders at the laboring kobolds in whatever the hell language these things are speaking.  It occurs to you that these kobolds may very well be working for the Craxil, in which case you would very much like to get your hands on that one in the purple & green coat.  You tire of wandering the mountainside aimlessly, narrowly evading one death after another all the while having no idea where this Craxil actually is.  Perhaps you could find some way of getting to him quietly and making him talk.

There are a few problems with this plan.  For starters, the torches provide plenty of illumination in this region and there are countless kobold laborers that would detect your presence and tear you to shreds if you just went in as things are now.  You entertain the idea of making them chase you back to the grue, but you don't really have enough wood for another makeshift torch.  Even if you were to sneak along the wall on either side, there is still enough light in there to give away your location.  This is going to be tough.

You observe them more and try to formulate some kind of cogent strategy when you notice a kobold has to emerge from a nearby storage chamber to bring wood to the torches.  The storage chamber isn't illuminated and you didn't even notice it was there in the beginning.  That gives you a couple of ideas.  For one, you could hide in the storage chamber until the next kobold comes in to keep the torches going, then kill him quickly.  Once the torches go out, you can head to the head kobold in charge.  Alternatively, you can set the entire room on fire, which would undoubtedly create a diversion.  This plan is risky given that the fire would undoubtedly light the place up quite a bit, but it would also eliminate the tinder they need to light any torches later.

> You sneak Into Storage Room And Set Fire To Their Supply Of Tinder
There is no point in hiding in the storage room as they may very well send more kobolds in to retrieve the tinder.  Instead, you are going to set it all ablaze.  Even if the distraction doesn't work well enough for you, it will only be a matter of time before the quell the fire and run out of tinder for their torch basins.  You sneak in start a fire using their own flint and tinder.  Soon this fire spreads to the rest of the tinder in the room (with your help of course) and you quickly find your way out of there and out of sight before the kobolds are aware of what has transpired.

It isn't long before they take notice and flock over to their storage room.  The taskmaster kobold keeps jumping around shouting "yip yip" or whatever the hell these things say and the other kobolds are struggling to stop the fire.  You manage to slip around the corner and evade the bulk of them and you think you've found the passageway leading up towards the taskmaster kobold.  In fact, you have.  There's just one small problem.  There are two kobolds guarding the taskmaster and you would be foolish to assume the taskmaster is unarmed so that makes three.  At present, the taskmaster is clearly focused on the fire, to the point of ignoring all else, but the two guardian kobolds are still vigilant.  You're going to need another plan.

You consider using your bow again.  You are actually pretty close to the bodyguard kobolds yet still veiled in darkness so you would not likely miss from this range.  Of course, with one dead you would have to immediately focus on the other and subdue the taskmaster all in quick succession lest the entire colony become aware of your attack.  Another, possibly crazier idea is to just run past the guards before they mentally register your presence, grab the taskmaster, jump from the ledge, and just run.  The fall may be considerable for a kobold, but you are sure that as a human you can handle it.

> You use Your Bow To Take Out The Guardians Quickly, Then Subdue The Taskmaster
You are going to take advantage of the short range and the distraction you created to shoot down your target's guardians and then grabbing the target himself.  You don't want to just grab him and run as you have no secluded place in mind in which to take him and you certainly don't want to alert the rest of the colony.  It is decided then, you are going to have to use the element of surprise once again and make a risky move.

You draw your bow and notch an arrow in the drawstring.  The nearest kobold is so very close.  You aim at his head and for the first time in your life the arrow actually goes where it is supposed to.  The other bodyguard is so in shock at the sight of this that by the time it registers what is going on you already have another arrow drawn back and ready to go.  He turns to run towards his taskmaster and you put one between his shoulderblades.  Its only at this time that the taskmaster turns around and sees what has transpired.  He starts shouting more of his "yip yip" nonsense but given that he had been doing that already since the fire started the other kobolds don't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.

You grab him and pull him back into the passage before the ledge, tear the purple cloth that makes his coat, bind his wrists, and search him thoroughly for any weapons.  The creature looks at you in complete fear and for the first time you are truly taken back by the kind of things you are capable of.  After all, you've just been an underappreciated swineherd your whole life.  And a scrawny one to boot (ok, so you're still scrawny, but that's beside the point).  I guess survival and stress can make people do some pretty crazy things huh?

You draw your sword and let the kobold know that if he makes any unnecessary noise he'd quickly regret it.  Like most leaders, he's bold in words and all coward at heart.  You decide its time to begin.

"Tell me what you know about the Craxil" you demand.  You're clearly not used to being in such a position of dominance or control but damn if you're gonna let the kobold know that.

"Yip, ok.  The Craxil is the organizer, the one that unifed the scattered beastmen thoughout this region of the barren mountain range."

"Why did the Craxil do this?  What does it hope to accomplish?"

"eee.  The Craxil wants to provide for the beastmen it does!  No likes hoominz that take all nice land and push us back into barren lands yip.  Craxil wants some good lands too yip.  Takes them from hoominz he will.  You'll see"

You shove your sword under his neck as if to somehow counter his claim.  "What manner of creature is this Craxil you demand."

"Yip.  Nobody knows, least not us kobolds anyway.  We's gets our orderss from the riders we does"

"Riders?"

"Yip, humans that serve the Craxil.  Well, at least they used to be human.  Now... not anymore"

"The Craxil raised them as undead?!?"

"Yip noes, the Craxil does not perform such foul practices.  The Craxil is noble to us beasties he is.  No, the Craxil spends days performing the ritual to break their mind and make them thralls."

This last part terrifies you.  You know mindflayers are capable of turning humans into thralls, but they can do so instantly.  They don't require days and a ritual to do so.  Clearly, this Craxil is indeed a creature unlike any other.  You can hear the sound of kobold laborers gradually getting closer so you take the last bit of time you have to ask the most important question.

"Where can I find the Craxil?"

"Yip!  He resides in an underground cavern accessed from the bottom of a vast canyon up north yip.  Best way is Redridge Pass.  Rocks will be red they wills and cactii too.  Use mine shaft at end of mine that way, it takes you close.  Now let's me go yip!"

The voices are drawing closer and you don't have time for any further answers.  You decide to execute your prisoner and stash the body so you can sneak out to the passageway without alerting the rest of the kobold colony.
> You continue Sneaking To The Yours Shaft

The kobolds are not alerted to your presence yet; and with most of them trying to contain the fire you started, there aren't very many standing between you and the mine shaft.  You continue down along the tracks in the passageway.  There are multiple passages and mining spots on both sides and even some ladders leading deeper into the ground but you follow the tracks straight as told until you reach the end of the passage.  A single ladder leads up, very far up in fact.  You are beginning to develop a fear of heights just looking at how high you are gonna have to climb and given that kobolds built this place you have serious reservations about how well the ladder is gonna support your weight.

But what choice do you have?  The skeletons and grue you left behind will certainly make it difficult to leave this place the way you came and it won't be long before the kobolds discover the bodies.  You set about climbing the ladder and waste no more time thinking about it.  You just do it.  The ladder reaches higher and higher and higher and looking down you are soon aware of just how extensive these mining tunnels are.  Still, your curiosity about kobold mining practices will have to wait.  You've got a Craxil to kill and a village to save.  Finally, you reach the top and fling open the hatch.

> You move On With The Quest
You are glad to have put that unplesant ordeal behind you and now head forth in search of the Redridge Pass.  You are finally beginning to see cactii, which pleases you greatly, and the dirt/rocks are still red.  You get the sense that you must be close so this Redridge Pass is going to have to be somewhere nearby or up ahead.  You shudder when you realize there are rarely ever any formal signs in beastmen controlled territories so how will you know this pass when you get to it?

As you ponder these thoughts you notice a small hut up ahead, along your path.  Smoke rising from a brick chimney tells you someone is home though you cannot imagine what civilized being could possibly live so deep within the Craxil's territory.  How would such a person get supplies?  How would such a person survive out here with all the hostile creatures roaming about?  Perhaps this person isn't a person at all but a hostile creature himself that for whatever reason favors the abode of humans?

Despite the fact that it is still daytime, you decide to creep up and look in the window to see who is inside.  All you see is a homely old man with a beard eating plumpdinberry pie in his rocking chair.  An illusion you question?  Or perhaps your time out here in the Craxil's territory has made you jaded.  After some internal debate, you decide to go in.  You've been awake for two and a half days now and eaten nothing but the pork rines you brought with you (which you are nearly depleted on).  At this rate, you won't be able to put up much of a fight at all, even if you do get to the Craxil.  Besides, he might know something about the Craxil or the Redrange Pass and you can't afford to be wandering around aimlessly throughout the Craxil's domain.

You go back around to the front door and before you even knock the door opens...

> You dun Dun Duuuuuuunnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!

The door opens and the old man is standing there, looking at you expectantly.  He is at least two feet taller than you but looks frail in his old age.  He invites you in and you go in, though cautiously.  The inside of his home looks pretty much like you would expect for a man of his age.  A tad messy, but plenty of paintings of his family and the all too familiar old people smell.  He beckons you to join him for dinner and nervously you do so.

The food is tremendous though in all fairness, its been quite a while since you have had anything but the pork rines you brought with you.  He fills your pack with fruits and breads and now you are starting to feel guilty about it all.  This guy seems genuinely nice and you feel your guard beginning to drop, but still...you have to ask...

"Why do you live out here sir?  This is deep within the Craxil's territory and extraordinarily dangerous."

"I've lived her since before the Craxil established itself.  I'm pretty out of the way for their usual operations so they don't usually pay me much mind.  Besides, I'm old.  If they find me and its my time then so be it."

You're taken back by this strange answer but you accept it and ask further...

"If you've been here all this time, that must make you something of a hermit.  Still, you ought know something about the Craxil right?"

"Yes, I suppose I am something of a hermit, but only because the visions I have make people suspect I'm crazy.  Still, I've sensed the Craxil in my dreams and I know it is capable of having such visions as well.  That is how it is aware of you and your plans."

"WHAT?!" you exclaim.  You've always relied upon stealth and the element of surprise to make up for the drastic difference in power between you and your adversaries.  If the Craxil is aware of you and your plans, how are you going to pull this off?

"Indeed, the Craxil knows what you hope to do.  But don't dispair yet, as I've seen a good deal of cleverness in you and even if it knows your coming it doesn't know when.

Somehow that last statement doesn't offer you much consolation but after coming as far as you have you don't really see that you have any other choice than to stay the course.  After a filling dinner you lie down on a mat and get the best sleep you've had in a long time.  During this nap, you are visited by a strange dream...

> You strange Dream

You saw a soft mist of white and purple against a pitch black surrounding.  You could sense there was something or someone in the room with you but you could not see who it was.  You could not sense whether or not it was good or evil, kind or malevolent, all you could sense was its presence.  It hits you that this presence is the Craxil, and it is watching you intently as you stumble around in the darkness.

You sense one more presence, one which you are very familiar.  It's your sister!  You see her only breifly before her likeness disappears back into the darkness.  You sense fear followed by supplication coming from her.  You are now moving faster through the darness, stumbling over rocks and nearly twisting your ankles on rivets in the ground.  But no matter how quickly you move you cannot get a visual on either your sister or the Craxil, you only sense their presence.

You wake up sweating feverishly.  "That was quite a dream you had young man" the old man starts.  "You were shouting so loud I thought you were losing it.  And here people thought I was crazy..."

You aren't really sure what to make of this dream.  Was it a vision or just a nightmare?  Was the Craxil really watching you the whole time?  And what of your sister?  You last saw her being drug off by humunculi so you assumed she was dead.  Could she still be alive somehow?  She looked a lot different in that dream too.  Not the shy, reserved younger sister you knew but rather a fierce looking warrior in battle garb.  The hell is that about?  Your dream seemed so vivid you can't help wondering if it was a vision, but your logical mind tells you that the power of suggestion is at work here and its all bullocks.

Feeling full, refreshed, and well stocked on supplies you thank the old hermit for everything and really appreciate what he's done for you.  He tells you that the Redrange Pass is just over the peak to the northwest of his hut and you immediately see what he's talking about.  Its still a long way from the pass to the canyon, but you have a very clear idea of where you are going now.  Once you get to the Redrange Pass you just follow it northwest of your current position and it will EVENTUALLY lead you straight to the canyon, which you're told is hard to miss.

"Good luck young man, I'm rooting for you".

"Thank you sir, and again I appreciate it."

Nice guy.  He's the first to address you as something other than "pencil arms", "scrawny one", "bone boy", or the like.  You head out towards the peak and begin the lengthy climb upwards.

> Up The Peak
You climb the peak and though it takes a considerable amount of time to get to the top, it isn't nearly as tiring as you expected it would be.  You are now standing on an even higher plateau on the mountainside and the Redridge Pass is precisely where you expected it to be.  You are thrilled to have finally found the pass, which is really more of a trail than a pass, but you still have a lot further to go.  As you move forward you suddenly get wind of a foul stench and hear a lot of loud, obnoxious grunting noises up ahead.

You immediately get off the beaten path and find a good hiding spot.  It is midday now so there isn't a lot of darkness to aid you.  Still, you manage to crawl forward unseen until you see a small group of orcs.  This is VERY not good you think you yourself.  Orcs are exceptionally strong.  Even one on one you stand no real chance of defeating one.  There are about five blocking the path forward so you are going to simply have to sneak around them and continue on your journey.  You've interrogated lesser creatures, but if the Craxil is commanding these creatures then just how strong is the thing?  No, don't dwell on such thoughts.  You need to focus.  You've come this far and you're sure as hell not gonna let yourself be intimidated now.

Returning to the task at hand you see a couple of different options.  There is a river that runs down the middle of the orc group's position and some hollow reeds close to you.  You remember one time during capture the flag where you moved through the river underwater and breathed through reeds very similar to these.  That was an epic maneuver worth remembering, perhaps it will serve you again here?  The orc camp and you are at the same elevation; but there is a ditch that runs from your current position, along the side of the camp, and out the other side.  Presumably, if you hug the side of the ditch closest to the orcs and move along quietly they shouldn't be able to see you.  Alternatively, you still have plenty of poison.  Even if you applied it to all your remaining arrows, you wouldn't even have used half the bottle.  Orcs are large and there are only five of them...

Time for a decision.  What's your plan of action?

> You breathe Through Reeds And Move Slowly Underwater To The Other Side
Of course!  The reeds will enable you to breath from underwater.  The river water is opaque so you will not be seen and because orcs have an exceptional sense of smell, this is probably the safest way to get past them without being seen.  You quietly slip into the river water from a point that can't be seen by the orcs, get one of the hollow reeds to act as a snorkel, and slowly begin moving through the water.  You intend to move slowly, so that if any of the orcs do notice the moving reed it will look like it is just drifting downriver.

The idea is working.  You can hardly see where you are going, but you got a very good look at where the river goes and the approximate distances before you got in so you have a pretty good estimate of where you are.  Soon, you can hear the orcs talking and you know you must be in the middle of them now.  As fate would have it, a snapping turtle decides to be a pain in the ass (literally) but despite the pain this hissing bastard is inflicting you manage to keep your cool and continue moving slowly through the river.  Eventually you, make it to the other side and emerge out of the orc's view.  You pat yourself on the back for that one, this maneuver is definitely one of your favorites.

Just then the hissing bastard that bit your ass makes it known that he's still attached by tighting his bite and inflicting more pain.  You put a drop of the poison in his mouth and within moments he's off of you and squirming on the ground.  Looks like this stuff Brandolf gave you is legit after all.  You massage your sore bottom and try to walk it off.  There is a welt on your right butt cheek that still stings but you figure you will eventually get over it.

> You get Over It And Get On With The Quest
You rejoin the Redridge Pass and continue northwest towards the canyon you hope to find.  You hear a shuffling noise and you could have sworn that the vines stemming from that rather bizarre looking cactus just moved.  Nah, just a vine on the ground... from a cactus... on a mostly dry and rocky mountainside... makes perfect sense.  You continue to rationalize this in your head as you walk along only to notice a similar movement from another cactii vine up ahead of you.  Suddenly you feel one of these vines wrap itself around your left ankle and sting you.

You pull and draw your sword but other vines have taken up the call as well and you are getting grabbed and stung all over.  You still have limited movement with your limbs, but you are out of balance.  The stingers must have injected you with something because you are feeling nausious.  You need to focus and get out of this mess before you black out or you might not wake up.  You look over at the cactii these vines are coming from and they have inexplicably moved closer to your position.  Very close in fact.  The needles jutting out from them seem to have perked up and gotten longer.  Whatever these things are, they've got you and you aren't about to become their prey.

You are still able to reach your sword, but with vines slowing your arm and your lack of balance you aren't sure you will be able to sever the thick vines that are holding you in place.  You could always apply some poison to it first, but just reaching the poison is going to be a challenge as you've stored that in your backpack.  You still have flint in your front pocket and a few pieces of tinder left, perhaps if you can get a small fire going you can push them back.  Whatever you do though, it has to be quick.  You can feel the venom from the many stingers affecting your mind and it is taking all your discipline to maintain your focus right now.

> You just Draw Your Sword And Try To Cut Through The Vines
It would take too much time and energy just to reach the backpack and rumage through it for the venom right now, and you need all the time and energy you have to try and free yourself from this trap you seem to have landed in.  You are able to reach your shortsword within a short while and begin raising it against the vine holding your left arm.  You bring it down as hard as you can, but with the vine holding your right arm and the others keeping you off balance, you don't cause nearly as much damage as you would like to.  The same happens when you try again.

You decide to start using your sword like a saw instead, running the edge of the blade back and forth against a singular point on the vine holding your left arm.  It takes a while but you are about halfway through the vine when it suddenly responds.  The vine recoils abit so that the part you were working on is now out of your reach.  You are greatly disheartened by this, but set to work on it again in a new spot.  The creature's vine responds the same way again and by now the venom has clouded your mind so much you are barely able to maintain your conciousness.  You realize now that it is over.  You have no idea what they did after you blacked out, because you never woke up again.

THE END


You rejoin the Redridge Pass and continue northwest towards the canyon you hope to find.  You hear a shuffling noise and you could have sworn that the vines stemming from that rather bizarre looking cactus just moved.  Nah, just a vine on the ground... from a cactus... on a mostly dry and rocky mountainside... makes perfect sense.  You continue to rationalize this in your head as you walk along only to notice a similar movement from another cactii vine up ahead of you.  Suddenly you feel one of these vines wrap itself around your left ankle and sting you.

You pull and draw your sword but other vines have taken up the call as well and you are getting grabbed and stung all over.  You still have limited movement with your limbs, but you are out of balance.  The stingers must have injected you with something because you are feeling nausious.  You need to focus and get out of this mess before you black out or you might not wake up.  You look over at the cactii these vines are coming from and they have inexplicably moved closer to your position.  Very close in fact.  The needles jutting out from them seem to have perked up and gotten longer.  Whatever these things are, they've got you and you aren't about to become their prey.

You are still able to reach your sword, but with vines slowing your arm and your lack of balance you aren't sure you will be able to sever the thick vines that are holding you in place.  You could always apply some poison to it first, but just reaching the poison is going to be a challenge as you've stored that in your backpack.  You still have flint in your front pocket and a few pieces of tinder left, perhaps if you can get a small fire going you can push them back.  Whatever you do though, it has to be quick.  You can feel the venom from the many stingers affecting your mind and it is taking all your discipline to maintain your focus right now.

> You apply The Poison First, Then Cut At The Vines
You aren't sure if you will be able to completely sever the vines that hold you, but if you can at least cut into them, the poison should do the rest.  Unfortunately, it is stored in your pack which is a little difficult to reach right now, but that isn't going to stop you from trying now is it?  You pull your right hand back and the vine that holds it pulls back.  Somehow, you think it might realize you are trying to get something and it seeks to keep your arm out front.  You continue to pull against it with all your might but you reach a stalemate with the vine just getting your arm to your side.

The venom is starting to really kick in now.  In addition to being nausious you are now dizzying as well.  The only thing keeping you going is your sheer determination to live.  You bite and claw at the vine, you squirm, you fight, and eventually you get your arm back to your pack.  You are feeling light headed and you know you don't have much time.  You manage to get the vile of venom out of your backpack but in your situation that struggle took too much time and energy.  You no longer have the energy and wherewithall to apply it.  You black out and the vile falls uselessly to the ground.  You don't know what they did after that, because you never woke up again.

THE END


You rejoin the Redridge Pass and continue northwest towards the canyon you hope to find.  You hear a shuffling noise and you could have sworn that the vines stemming from that rather bizarre looking cactus just moved.  Nah, just a vine on the ground... from a cactus... on a mostly dry and rocky mountainside... makes perfect sense.  You continue to rationalize this in your head as you walk along only to notice a similar movement from another cactii vine up ahead of you.  Suddenly you feel one of these vines wrap itself around your left ankle and sting you.

You pull and draw your sword but other vines have taken up the call as well and you are getting grabbed and stung all over.  You still have limited movement with your limbs, but you are out of balance.  The stingers must have injected you with something because you are feeling nausious.  You need to focus and get out of this mess before you black out or you might not wake up.  You look over at the cactii these vines are coming from and they have inexplicably moved closer to your position.  Very close in fact.  The needles jutting out from them seem to have perked up and gotten longer.  Whatever these things are, they've got you and you aren't about to become their prey.

You are still able to reach your sword, but with vines slowing your arm and your lack of balance you aren't sure you will be able to sever the thick vines that are holding you in place.  You could always apply some poison to it first, but just reaching the poison is going to be a challenge as you've stored that in your backpack.  You still have flint in your front pocket and a few pieces of tinder left, perhaps if you can get a small fire going you can push them back.  Whatever you do though, it has to be quick.  You can feel the venom from the many stingers affecting your mind and it is taking all your discipline to maintain your focus right now.

> You light A Piece Of Tinder And Wield The Flame As A Weapon
You need to get out of this mess as quickly as you can.  The vines are thick, you are off balance, your arms are partially restrained, and you don't have much time.  You reason that in this situation your best bet is to start a fire and try to use it against the vines.  You lean forward and allow the flint and tinder to fall from you and onto the ground.  After a short struggle, you manage to get your hands on them and work feverishly to start a fire.  You worry that lighting the tinder on fire will make it difficult to hold against your enemies without burning yourself but you do it anyway and wrap a thick piece of cloth torn from your shirt around your hand before doing so for rudimentary protection.

It hurts, but not to the point of burning you thanks to the cloth material  and you are far more concerned about survival.  You hold the fire up close to the vine holding your left arm and it releases and recoils almost immediately.  The others follow suit pretty quick, which is good as this tinder won't last much longer before it is burned to completion.  You hold out what's left of it to keep these cactii away and rush away.

You've managed to get away, but the venom in your system is already screwing with your head and you don't think you will get much further before blacking out.  You go to the nearest area you can find without any cactii around and collapse on a large rock.  You don't awaken again until nightfall, but at least you have your mind and focus back, and you are glad you weren't attacked while you were out.  However, it isn't long after you awaken that you get a sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach.

> You uh-Oh, What Is This?
The bad feeling in the pit of your stomach returns and you realize that eating all those pork rines and only pork rines for several days until seeing the old man did not do your digestive system any good.  You spring into action, find a secluded corner, and relieve the mess that was building up inside you.  Unfortunately, it is not until after this messy endeaver that you remember you neglected to pack bottom tissue when you left on this quest.  You've braved many dangers and survived several impossible situations but now you are going to have to make a decision.  A decision that is more frightening than any you have made before.

To your left are large, round, orange leaves.  They aren't brittle and look as though they might work.  To your right are a bunch of ferns sporting three fingered leaves.  These are green with red spots.  It's time to make an all important decision.

> You wipe With The Large, Round, Orange Leaves

You choose to wipe with the large, round, orange leaves and you find them quite well suited for the task.  With your keister sanitized you have now averted another dangerous situation and decide to continue on with your quest.

The next three days of travel down the Redridge Pass are surprisingly uneventful.  You sneak past the occasional orc patrol and wild animal but nothing particularly difficult.  You half expect something to come jumping out at you from the darkness or to find some large camp around the corner but to your plesant surprise the way seems more or less clear.  Part of you wonders if it is a trap given the Craxil knows you are coming but then ... what choice do you have?

As you come up a steep incline you look down and with great satisfaction you find what you've been searching for all this time.  A colossal chasm, the canyon you've been searching for!  The old man said you would know it when you see it and damn if he wasn't right about that!  Still, this canyon is freaking huge.  It will take probably half a day just to get down to the bottom safely and once down there, there is a LOT to explore.  You know the underground cavern that houses the Craxil is accessed somewhere down there, so I guess you don't have much choice than to go down there and investigate huh?

You are about to cautiously decend when you hear the sound of hoofprints behind you...

> You turn Around

You turn around to confront the source of the hoofprint noise and you see two humans on horseback.  Their eyes appear to be in a glaze and they are looking right at you.  Thing is, you recognize these two.  They were farmhands that were captured a few weeks back.  Everyone assumed they were eaten like most of the people who are taken.  For some reason the Craxil must have decided to make them thralls and this is abundantly clear in their appearance.  These must be some of the "riders" you've heard about.

They both hop down from their horses and draw swords.  Given you were already standing at the edge of the canyon when they showed up, you don't have a lot of room to maneuver.  You know that before they became thralls they didn't really possess much fighting skill, but you have no idea now.  You don't have much time to decide what to do here.

There is a small gap between the two of them and they are widening it in an attempt to come at you from both sides.  Perhaps you should bolt between them and try to get away.  Alternatively, there is a branch sticking out of the wall of the canyon not far below you.  You could jump down to it and try to climb down the wall of the canyon to a safer ledge.  Either way, you need to get away from these two.

> You run Between Them

You make a break for it and dash between them.  You catch an unpleasant slash across the right hip and it is bleeding but you are still alive and running and that's what counts.  You contine down the Redridge Pass, determined to lose them and double back somehow.  Its only when you hear the hoofprints getting closer that you realize the tactical error you've just made.  The horseback riders quickly catch up to you and one of them puts his sword into the back of your head as he rides by.

THE END


You turn around to confront the source of the hoofprint noise and you see two humans on horseback.  Their eyes appear to be in a glaze and they are looking right at you.  Thing is, you recognize these two.  They were farmhands that were captured a few weeks back.  Everyone assumed they were eaten like most of the people who are taken.  For some reason the Craxil must have decided to make them thralls and this is abundantly clear in their appearance.  These must be some of the "riders" you've heard about.

They both hop down from their horses and draw swords.  Given you were already standing at the edge of the canyon when they showed up, you don't have a lot of room to maneuver.  You know that before they became thralls they didn't really possess much fighting skill, but you have no idea now.  You don't have much time to decide what to do here.

There is a small gap between the two of them and they are widening it in an attempt to come at you from both sides.  Perhaps you should bolt between them and try to get away.  Alternatively, there is a branch sticking out of the wall of the canyon not far below you.  You could jump down to it and try to climb down the wall of the canyon to a safer ledge.  Either way, you need to get away from these two.

> You jump To Branch And Climb Down
You aren't going to be able to outrun them if they have horses so you take the only option you got and jump.  You are scared out of your mind but you successfully grapple the hanging branch and the two riders can do nothing but glare down at you and growl.  The tricky part is getting down from here.  You have never really been afraid of heights but you are REALLY high up.  The nearest ledge is almost halfway down the canyon and the rockface isn't easily climbable.  Still, you don't have much of a choice so you try anyway.

You make it most of the way down until one of the groves you were holding onto comes out and you fall.  Thankfully, you land on the ledge and you were already most of the way there so aside from knocking the wind out of you and hurting like hell you are pretty much alright.  Its possible you might have a broken rib but you have no way of knowing and it isn't precluding you from going on even if it is broken.  After taking time to recover a bit and catch your breath, you look around a bit and find a clear way to climb down to the bottom of the canyon and downward you go.  Fortunately, you make it to the bottom of the canyon without further incident.

You have now reached the bottom of the canyon and you know the entrance to the Craxil's chasm must be around here somewhere, but it is a massive canyon to explore.  You spent almost 7 hours down there until you come across three bizarre looking doors.  One is red and bears the emblem of a bear.  The next is green and bears the emblem of a spider.  The last is blue and bears the emblem of a wolf.  This whole ritual gets even more bizarre when you notice a rabbit approach and stand beside the red door as if to beckon you in that way.  A squirrel approaches the green
door and stands atop the frame as if to endorse that one, and an owl flies down to a rock near the blue door.  Its times like these you wish you were a druid so you could better understand what the hell these critters are trying to tell you.  Still, you have a decision to make and your instincts (whatever they are worth) are telling you that you only get one shot at this.

~Hint:  Depending upon the path you took to get here, you may or may not have seen one or both of the creatures on the correct door already.  If not, you are just going to have to guess.~

> You enter The Red Door With Bear Emblem, Endorsed By The Bunny

Who can resist a cute widdle fluffy wuffy bunny hmm?  You open the red door with the bear emblem and as soon as you enter, the door slams shut and locks behind you.  It looks like you really don't have much of a choice but to continue down this passageway.  At the end is a large, circular chamber with numerous torches illuminating the entire chamber.  You are trying to decide which of two passageways to proceed down until you notice two bears, one coming out of each passage.  They lock eyes on you and give chase almost immediately.  You turn and run back to the door you entered from but it won't budge.  It seems you've made the wrong decision, and now the bears are eviscorating your midsection.

THE END


You aren't going to be able to outrun them if they have horses so you take the only option you got and jump.  You are scared out of your mind but you successfully grapple the hanging branch and the two riders can do nothing but glare down at you and growl.  The tricky part is getting down from here.  You have never really been afraid of heights but you are REALLY high up.  The nearest ledge is almost halfway down the canyon and the rockface isn't easily climbable.  Still, you don't have much of a choice so you try anyway.

You make it most of the way down until one of the groves you were holding onto comes out and you fall.  Thankfully, you land on the ledge and you were already most of the way there so aside from knocking the wind out of you and hurting like hell you are pretty much alright.  Its possible you might have a broken rib but you have no way of knowing and it isn't precluding you from going on even if it is broken.  After taking time to recover a bit and catch your breath, you look around a bit and find a clear way to climb down to the bottom of the canyon and downward you go.  Fortunately, you make it to the bottom of the canyon without further incident.

You have now reached the bottom of the canyon and you know the entrance to the Craxil's chasm must be around here somewhere, but it is a massive canyon to explore.  You spent almost 7 hours down there until you come across three bizarre looking doors.  One is red and bears the emblem of a bear.  The next is green and bears the emblem of a spider.  The last is blue and bears the emblem of a wolf.  This whole ritual gets even more bizarre when you notice a rabbit approach and stand beside the red door as if to beckon you in that way.  A squirrel approaches the green
door and stands atop the frame as if to endorse that one, and an owl flies down to a rock near the blue door.  Its times like these you wish you were a druid so you could better understand what the hell these critters are trying to tell you.  Still, you have a decision to make and your instincts (whatever they are worth) are telling you that you only get one shot at this.

~Hint:  Depending upon the path you took to get here, you may or may not have seen one or both of the creatures on the correct door already.  If not, you are just going to have to guess.~

> You enter The Green Door With Spider Emblem, Endorsed By The Squirrel

You choose the green door with the spider emblem, endorsed by the squirrel.  After all, what is more trustworthy than a cute little squirrel?  You enter and immediately thereafter the door slams shut behind you and locks in place.  It seems you haven't much of a choice but to move forward down the passageway.  It is exceptionally dark down here, but given that you are a sneak that is actually a good thing.  You suddenly find yourself stuck and after fidgeting around for a while you come to the sudden realization what it is that has trapped you and why the door has a spider emblem on it.  It seems you aren't the only one that enjoys sneaking around in the dark...

THE END


You aren't going to be able to outrun them if they have horses so you take the only option you got and jump.  You are scared out of your mind but you successfully grapple the hanging branch and the two riders can do nothing but glare down at you and growl.  The tricky part is getting down from here.  You have never really been afraid of heights but you are REALLY high up.  The nearest ledge is almost halfway down the canyon and the rockface isn't easily climbable.  Still, you don't have much of a choice so you try anyway.

You make it most of the way down until one of the groves you were holding onto comes out and you fall.  Thankfully, you land on the ledge and you were already most of the way there so aside from knocking the wind out of you and hurting like hell you are pretty much alright.  Its possible you might have a broken rib but you have no way of knowing and it isn't precluding you from going on even if it is broken.  After taking time to recover a bit and catch your breath, you look around a bit and find a clear way to climb down to the bottom of the canyon and downward you go.  Fortunately, you make it to the bottom of the canyon without further incident.

You have now reached the bottom of the canyon and you know the entrance to the Craxil's chasm must be around here somewhere, but it is a massive canyon to explore.  You spent almost 7 hours down there until you come across three bizarre looking doors.  One is red and bears the emblem of a bear.  The next is green and bears the emblem of a spider.  The last is blue and bears the emblem of a wolf.  This whole ritual gets even more bizarre when you notice a rabbit approach and stand beside the red door as if to beckon you in that way.  A squirrel approaches the green
door and stands atop the frame as if to endorse that one, and an owl flies down to a rock near the blue door.  Its times like these you wish you were a druid so you could better understand what the hell these critters are trying to tell you.  Still, you have a decision to make and your instincts (whatever they are worth) are telling you that you only get one shot at this.

~Hint:  Depending upon the path you took to get here, you may or may not have seen one or both of the creatures on the correct door already.  If not, you are just going to have to guess.~

> You enter The Blue Door With Wolf Emblem, Endorsed By The Owl
After careful consideration, you trust the owl and enter the door with the wolf emblem.  The door shuts and locks behind you and you see no choice but to move forward.  An eery glow beckons you forward down a passageway that is leading you deeper and deeper underground.  You can't tell if that is a good thing or a bad thing but you follow it anyway.  When you reach the bottom you see a large room decorated to look like the antechamber of a church.  You aren't sure what to make of all this, but you feel like you must be getting close to the Craxil now.

The next chamber is substantially different than the one you just entered from.  Instead of being all decorated and kept, you see half eaten farm animals in a pen and three large lizardfolk guarding a doorway.  They bear polearms and plate mail and you don't think you would be able to take even one of them in combat.  The blue door has shut behind you and you don't really see any reliable means of setting a trap.  You have dealt with these types of situations before though.  You just have to keep your cool and figure a way to deal with this.

For one, you could start a fire in the antichamber to distract the lizardfolk from the door, then slink in.  The antichamber is big, but a fire large enough to attract their attention might also illuminate most of the room, making it hard for you to operate unseen.  Another possibility is their food source.  You surmise the half eaten farm animals are what they've been feeding on during their meal breaks.  You could try using some of the poison Brandolf gave you on some of the meat of the freshest looking animal and wait until they feed again.  Of course, there is no telling how long you will have to wait for them to feed again.  Your call adventurer.

> You start A Fire To Distract The Lizard Folk
You don't have any tinder left after that incident with the cactii, but you do have some flint.  You look around the large antichamber-like room for anything wooden and you find a few things that look like they might be combustable.  You set about lighting them with the flint, then quickly cast them in the direction of a large wooden table in the center of the room and run to the corner just before the room with the lizardfolk.  As you had hoped, two of the lizard folk eventually come out and because you are hiding in their blindspot, they don't see you.  The creatures rush over to quell the fire as best they can but there is a problem.

Only two of the lizardfolk emerged to deal with this threat.  The third one still stands guard at the door.  Lizardfolk are known for their fierce dedication to their duty and unfortunately it seems they are also smarter than the majority of your adversaries as well.  After quelling the fire the two begin searching the room, leaving no stone unturned so-to-speak.  They must suspect that it was caused by someone.  You move around from one dark hiding spot to another, hoping to evade their search until they retire back to the door but you step down on the charred remains of the table and an audible crunch is heard.

To your credit, you kept them searching for a long time due to your skill at evasion but given that you just removed any and all doubt about your presence, it was only a matter of time before they found you.

THE END


After careful consideration, you trust the owl and enter the door with the wolf emblem.  The door shuts and locks behind you and you see no choice but to move forward.  An eery glow beckons you forward down a passageway that is leading you deeper and deeper underground.  You can't tell if that is a good thing or a bad thing but you follow it anyway.  When you reach the bottom you see a large room decorated to look like the antechamber of a church.  You aren't sure what to make of all this, but you feel like you must be getting close to the Craxil now.

The next chamber is substantially different than the one you just entered from.  Instead of being all decorated and kept, you see half eaten farm animals in a pen and three large lizardfolk guarding a doorway.  They bear polearms and plate mail and you don't think you would be able to take even one of them in combat.  The blue door has shut behind you and you don't really see any reliable means of setting a trap.  You have dealt with these types of situations before though.  You just have to keep your cool and figure a way to deal with this.

For one, you could start a fire in the antichamber to distract the lizardfolk from the door, then slink in.  The antichamber is big, but a fire large enough to attract their attention might also illuminate most of the room, making it hard for you to operate unseen.  Another possibility is their food source.  You surmise the half eaten farm animals are what they've been feeding on during their meal breaks.  You could try using some of the poison Brandolf gave you on some of the meat of the freshest looking animal and wait until they feed again.  Of course, there is no telling how long you will have to wait for them to feed again.  Your call adventurer.

> You poison Their Food Supply And Wait For Them To Feed Again

Brandolf gave you more than enough poison to kill the Craxil.  It takes only trace amounts to kill even the largest of creatures so why would you need to save the entire vial?  You carefully creep up and apply poison to various parts of the bovine flesh, particularly the meaty parts, and take care to poison all the carcasses in the pen so you don't have to try and guess which ones they will feed off next.  You then back away to the antichamber-like room and begin waiting the long wait.

It is almost 7 hours later and only now do the lizardfolk appear to be conversing with each other and gravitating towards the food pen.  "About damn time" you think to yourself, eagerly waiting for them to begin eating as you watch them from a dark corner in the next room.  You struggle to contain your glee as the first one sinks his teeth into the freshest cow and another picks up a smaller animal you also poisoned.  Before long, they are all dry heaving and you are doing a silent victory dance in the darkness.  For some reason it took a while for one of them to finally die, but when he did the way to the door was clear.

Crossing through the doorway and into the underground chasm, you come to realize the Craxil is NOTHING like what you had expected...

> The Craxil

The Craxil is nothing like what you were expecting.  You are standing in a massive underground cavern that extends as far as the eye can see in all directions (except the one you came from).  Running across it is an underwater stream and floating above it is a beautiful woman bathed in pure white light.  It almost appears to leave an after image of itself behind as it moves.   You aren't really sure if you would categorize this as a ghost or spirit or what, but you remember that it is a supposed to be a creature unlike anything since discovered.

Almost as if reading your mind the Craxil remarks "Indeed... I am not like any other creature your kind has ever seen before, but then I believe I have already told you that haven't I?"

To your shock and horror she transforms into the likeness of Brandolf the Bray, the mage who visited you in the village of Jacquescrappe, then into the old man who watched over you as you slept.  Was it really the Craxil all along?!?  Is this why you had that dream that it was watching you the entire time?!?  What does this mean for your sister, is she still alive?  And what of the poison?  Surely she wouldn't give you something that would actually work on her.

Sensing the millions of questions that flurry through your mind, the Craxil begins to laugh and float about you in circles.  The door once guarded by lizardfolk now slams shut and locks on its own.  With this door shut, there is no longer any light and the Craxil itself is the only thing left that you can actually see.

"I can take whatever form I please swineherd, and I have been watching you in various forms throughout the entirety of your journey.  You fancy yourself the king of sneak yet you were clearly unaware that you were being watched the moment you entered my territory."

Your face grows pale and you have no idea how you are going to deal with this being.  She knows all your secrets.  She knows your plan.  You haven't any element of surprise whatsoever.  Hell, you aren't even sure if your weapons are going to work and you're sure as hell certain the poison isn't going to be effective given that it was her that gave it to you.  Your mind races to discern a proper course of action as she continues to toy with you.  However, your concentration is broken when another figure enters your view...

> The Other Figure
You turn to find your sister, dressed in one of the war garbs you saw in your dream, walk out towards you from the shadows.  She doesn't look as glossy-eyed as the other riders you encountered (in fact she looks perfectly normal) but from her demeanor and obvious reverence to the Craxil you know she is in fact a thrall.  How can this be?  This is the same war garb from the dream!  But your sister has never been like that.

"We have big plans for her" the Craxil coes.  "She is the carrier of a great plague, a slower acting yet more contagious version of what you carry in that vial I gave you.  As a carrier she will be immune to its effects, but she will spread them among the humans whereever she goes."

"Why?!?  Why would you do something like that you sick bitch?!?"

The Craxil only laughs at your insult and seems to take delight in your obvious fear and frustration at this moment.

"With the surrounding kingdoms of Mihtana and Lima buckling from the plague, there will be little resistance when we move out of the mountain range and into their lands.  As you may have noticed on the way here, I have many humunculi, goblins, grippli, kobolds, and even a handful of orcs all gathered here in these mountains."

"So you really are planning an invasion then?"

"I believe that poor servant you so ruthlessly interrogated several days ago already explained that much to you."

You struggle not to be blinded by your anger at this point, but there is nothing you can do to stop her.

"The humans are a truly repugnant race.  They have no respect for those that labor, those that produce, those that sacrifice for the good of others.  Whenever they want something (be it money, power, or respect) they simply take it for themselves, and only those who do are respected.  This is why the beastfolk I serve have been pushed deep into this barren mountainside."

To your astonishment, you actually find yourself identifying with the Craxil.  Even when you agreed to stick your neck out on their behalf they snickered comments about your intelligence under their breath.  Even now, after all the dangers you've faced, you're sure they have probably already assumed you're dead and are likely redistributing your property as we speak.

"The beastfolk here are loyal to me and to themselves, they have honor.  And they certainly deserve the lands of their ancestors, taken from them by the humans."

"And you think slaughtering humans is the answer?"

"Since when has diplomacy not ended with a beastman's head on a human's table?  Since when did the humans ever sit down to negotiate with my brethren?  The humans understand only the simplicity of death and destruction so that is what we will bring to them."

You know this is morally reprehensible, but from a purely stoic and logical standpoint you can understand the rationale behind the Craxil's argument.  You wonder if peace between humans and the beastmen really is possible.  Since the beginning of time, beastmen have always preyed on humans and humans have always responded with military force on their camps.  Perhaps there really is no better way to advance their position right now but you cannot stomach the loss of life that would come with it.

"My beast brothers have every right to be happy, and so they shall.  They humans will be brought to the breaking point with this plague and the forces I gathered will retake the lands they deserve.  But I am not without understanding.  I can see you have an open mind and have considered my position.  You were wondering if peace between human and beast is possible.  It is a noble but impractical thing.  If you were to join us, I could make you powerful..."

You think to yourself "damn, does this Craxil thing read my mind too?"  Still, it is a tempting offer.  You have always toiled as a swineherd, providing the ever popular hams and bacon that are so popular at festivals and weddings and even fed those without homes, yet you've always been looked down upon as a swineherd by those who have probably never worked a day in their lives.  You've seen girls you had feelings for go for men who were of "higher social standing" than yourself.  You've always wanted respect, maybe even a little money or even power.  You think about what the Craxil said, about how only those who TAKE it can ever HAVE it, and upon reflection you must admit it makes sense.  But the Craxil's plan would involve massive loss of life and you are unsure if you want that on your hands.

"Your sister did not understand the situation as well as you and I, so I had to make her a thrall.  When the acquisition is finished, I will return her to you... but only if you join me and help spread this plague throughout the human lands."

The Craxil, now clearly curious about all the thoughts running through your head, moves closer until her face is less than a foot away from your own.  "Well human, how do you respond?"

> You Will Join You, And Seize The Respect And Power you Deserve
The humans of Mihtana refused to send aid to the villagers of Jacquescrappe (even when people were dying) because it didn't suit their political or military interests.  The villagers practically elected you for this quest without even asking you if you wanted to, then mocked your intelligence when you accepted on their behalf.  You're sick of being looked down upon as a low class swineherd despite all the hard work you've done to provide for your community.  All of that is about to change.

You proclaim your allegiance to the Craxil and to your astonishment she is actually overjoyed.  Seems she needs as many people as possible to help spread the plague and your sister is the only thrall that doesn't look like an obvious thrall.  Your voluntary support to the Craxil's plan is well recognized.  You and your sister are made to be carriers of the great plague.  When you return to the village of Jacquescrappe, you misinform the people that the Craxil is dead and deliver a liquid dose of the plague into the town's wine supply and shaking hands with everyone who comes to congratulate you.  Shortly thereafter, you make sure to thoroughly infest all your pork before the next big wedding in Lima.  Meanwhile, your sister gets a position as a laysister at a cathedral in the kingdom of Mihtana.  By poisoning the holy water, she manages to infect everyone who comes in for a blessing.

Between the two of you, and the increased contagiousness of this version of the plague, you are able to infect a massive segment of the population.  You work to continue spreading the disease, but the damage is already done.  Quarantines are set up in Mihtana and Lima in a desperate attempt to quell the spread of the plague.  Those who are uninfected (or who believe themselves uninfected) revolt against the guards in a desperate bid for self preservation.  Others lock themselves in their homes and arm themselves in hopes of outliving the vile plague.  Criminals take full advantage of the choas to operate unchecked and before long both kingdoms (and their militaries) are completely at their knees.

When the beastmen move forth to retake human lands, there is nothing to stop them.  As you and your sister have become the Craxil's right and left hands so-to-speak, you are now recognized as a person of power and all respond with fear and respect when in your presence.

"The Craxil was right" you think to yourself.  "If you want respect, you have to take it.  If you want power, you have to take it.  Nobody else is going to recognize your merit and deliver these things to you.  To have anything worth having in life, you simply have to take it."

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite what you imagined.  You enjoy your newfound respect and power, but the fear felt by everyone else only makes you feel more alienated and alone.  By choosing this path, you have seized what you've always wanted, but what good is respect if it comes with the kind of fear that pushes people away?  What good is power if there is no one to share it with.

When the time comes, the Craxil honors its agreement to release your sister and as you feared, she is appauled by what the two of you have wrought.  You recieve word the next week that she was found in a clearing in the woods.  She hung herself in the field where she used to play as a child.  You try to establish some sort of peace between humans and beastfolk, but given what you have done the humans want nothing to do with you.  They only respect you out of fear because of the beastmen you now command.  Realizing you are now completely alone, you go to meet your sister in the clearing and follow her to whatever lies beyond.

CONGRATULATIONS!

This is official ending #1 of 2


You turn to find your sister, dressed in one of the war garbs you saw in your dream, walk out towards you from the shadows.  She doesn't look as glossy-eyed as the other riders you encountered (in fact she looks perfectly normal) but from her demeanor and obvious reverence to the Craxil you know she is in fact a thrall.  How can this be?  This is the same war garb from the dream!  But your sister has never been like that.

"We have big plans for her" the Craxil coes.  "She is the carrier of a great plague, a slower acting yet more contagious version of what you carry in that vial I gave you.  As a carrier she will be immune to its effects, but she will spread them among the humans whereever she goes."

"Why?!?  Why would you do something like that you sick bitch?!?"

The Craxil only laughs at your insult and seems to take delight in your obvious fear and frustration at this moment.

"With the surrounding kingdoms of Mihtana and Lima buckling from the plague, there will be little resistance when we move out of the mountain range and into their lands.  As you may have noticed on the way here, I have many humunculi, goblins, grippli, kobolds, and even a handful of orcs all gathered here in these mountains."

"So you really are planning an invasion then?"

"I believe that poor servant you so ruthlessly interrogated several days ago already explained that much to you."

You struggle not to be blinded by your anger at this point, but there is nothing you can do to stop her.

"The humans are a truly repugnant race.  They have no respect for those that labor, those that produce, those that sacrifice for the good of others.  Whenever they want something (be it money, power, or respect) they simply take it for themselves, and only those who do are respected.  This is why the beastfolk I serve have been pushed deep into this barren mountainside."

To your astonishment, you actually find yourself identifying with the Craxil.  Even when you agreed to stick your neck out on their behalf they snickered comments about your intelligence under their breath.  Even now, after all the dangers you've faced, you're sure they have probably already assumed you're dead and are likely redistributing your property as we speak.

"The beastfolk here are loyal to me and to themselves, they have honor.  And they certainly deserve the lands of their ancestors, taken from them by the humans."

"And you think slaughtering humans is the answer?"

"Since when has diplomacy not ended with a beastman's head on a human's table?  Since when did the humans ever sit down to negotiate with my brethren?  The humans understand only the simplicity of death and destruction so that is what we will bring to them."

You know this is morally reprehensible, but from a purely stoic and logical standpoint you can understand the rationale behind the Craxil's argument.  You wonder if peace between humans and the beastmen really is possible.  Since the beginning of time, beastmen have always preyed on humans and humans have always responded with military force on their camps.  Perhaps there really is no better way to advance their position right now but you cannot stomach the loss of life that would come with it.

"My beast brothers have every right to be happy, and so they shall.  They humans will be brought to the breaking point with this plague and the forces I gathered will retake the lands they deserve.  But I am not without understanding.  I can see you have an open mind and have considered my position.  You were wondering if peace between human and beast is possible.  It is a noble but impractical thing.  If you were to join us, I could make you powerful..."

You think to yourself "damn, does this Craxil thing read my mind too?"  Still, it is a tempting offer.  You have always toiled as a swineherd, providing the ever popular hams and bacon that are so popular at festivals and weddings and even fed those without homes, yet you've always been looked down upon as a swineherd by those who have probably never worked a day in their lives.  You've seen girls you had feelings for go for men who were of "higher social standing" than yourself.  You've always wanted respect, maybe even a little money or even power.  You think about what the Craxil said, about how only those who TAKE it can ever HAVE it, and upon reflection you must admit it makes sense.  But the Craxil's plan would involve massive loss of life and you are unsure if you want that on your hands.

"Your sister did not understand the situation as well as you and I, so I had to make her a thrall.  When the acquisition is finished, I will return her to you... but only if you join me and help spread this plague throughout the human lands."

The Craxil, now clearly curious about all the thoughts running through your head, moves closer until her face is less than a foot away from your own.  "Well human, how do you respond?"

> You Cannot Abide The Senseless Slaughter You're Scheming, you Would Rather Die
Humanity may not be perfect, but it certainly doesn't deserve the kind of death and destruction the Craxil has in mind.  You announce to her that you would rather die than support her in this plan.  You were terrified that this being might become infuriated and attack, but instead she calmly and slowly backs away... then looks to your sister.  Your sister looks back at the Craxil and you realize the Craxil has just given her a nonverbal order.  By now your sister's blade is unsheathed and she is coming at you.

She fights with a furocity and intent that is completely out of character for your shy and reserved little sister, but her physical strength is the same.  There is nothing special about her swordplay technique either and you are pleased to see that you can block and parry her attacks.  Still, this is your sister, and you don't want to kill her if you don't have to.  The Craxil is obviously enjoying this and you can't help but think that if you could just find some way of killing her then perhaps your sister can be saved.

The Craxil is currently in her noncorporeal true form, but she has taken corporeal forms before when she was watching you.  You wonder if striking her while she's in one of these corporeal forms might actually damage her.  Alternatively, you wonder why a shapeshifting being with noncorporeal capability would even need others to spread the plague in the first place.  Perhaps she isn't immune like you once thought or perhaps she felt secure from it in her noncorporeal form.  Would you still need to get her into corporeal form for that first or could you try and give it to her while she's in her noncorporeal state.  Or perhaps there is some other way of getting your sister back to normal.  Unlike you, she knows some very basic magic.  Perhaps she will have something that will damage the Craxil in its noncorporeal state.

While your mind wonders to ponder these things, your sister manages to get a shallow cut across your right shoulder and you respond by kicking her onto the ground and stopping down on her sword hand.  You remove your sister's weapon and the Craxil moves in as if to protect its vassal.  You quickly begin to go over your previous ideas in your head knowing you will need to try something and soon lest the Craxil decides to attack first.

> You call Out To Your Sister And Try To Free Her From Her Servitude
You call out to your sister and try to reach her as her brother.  You remind her of the grove you two played in when you were young.  You recall times when you organized a surprise gathering for her birthday.  You remind her how much she cares about the well being of others and beg her to come to her senses.  Unfortunately, whatever magicks control her mind apparently override any logical or emotional argument you put forth and she instantly follows whatever order the Craxil gives her.

You have her weapon, but she still has her basic spell casting abilities.  She puts a magic missile into your leg and you are unable to stand.  From here, the Craxil decides to turn you into another one of her mindless thralls.  You spend your days serving her whims, spreading the plague, and standing guard against intruders until one day many monthes later a real hero lops your head off while fighting the Craxil's minions.

THE END


Humanity may not be perfect, but it certainly doesn't deserve the kind of death and destruction the Craxil has in mind.  You announce to her that you would rather die than support her in this plan.  You were terrified that this being might become infuriated and attack, but instead she calmly and slowly backs away... then looks to your sister.  Your sister looks back at the Craxil and you realize the Craxil has just given her a nonverbal order.  By now your sister's blade is unsheathed and she is coming at you.

She fights with a furocity and intent that is completely out of character for your shy and reserved little sister, but her physical strength is the same.  There is nothing special about her swordplay technique either and you are pleased to see that you can block and parry her attacks.  Still, this is your sister, and you don't want to kill her if you don't have to.  The Craxil is obviously enjoying this and you can't help but think that if you could just find some way of killing her then perhaps your sister can be saved.

The Craxil is currently in her noncorporeal true form, but she has taken corporeal forms before when she was watching you.  You wonder if striking her while she's in one of these corporeal forms might actually damage her.  Alternatively, you wonder why a shapeshifting being with noncorporeal capability would even need others to spread the plague in the first place.  Perhaps she isn't immune like you once thought or perhaps she felt secure from it in her noncorporeal form.  Would you still need to get her into corporeal form for that first or could you try and give it to her while she's in her noncorporeal state.  Or perhaps there is some other way of getting your sister back to normal.  Unlike you, she knows some very basic magic.  Perhaps she will have something that will damage the Craxil in its noncorporeal state.

While your mind wonders to ponder these things, your sister manages to get a shallow cut across your right shoulder and you respond by kicking her onto the ground and stopping down on her sword hand.  You remove your sister's weapon and the Craxil moves in as if to protect its vassal.  You quickly begin to go over your previous ideas in your head knowing you will need to try something and soon lest the Craxil decides to attack first.

> You fire A Poison Coated Arrow Into the Noncorporeal Form Of The Craxil
You draw a poison coated arrow from your pack and immediately notch it into your bow.  You realize you don't have a lot of time so you draw it back, aim, and fire immediately.  The Craxil does not move.  Instead, she allows the arrow to pass directly through her noncorporeal state and land somewhere in the dark distance.  You realize she only felt secure enough to give you the poison in the first place because she existed in this noncorporeal form whenever she wasn't spying.  You attempt to quickly consider your other options but it seems she doesn't much care for you any longer.  She stretches forth her hand and it feels as though you are being lifted into the air by your own skeleton.  You scream as you feel what feels like a brain aneurysm.  You continue to suffer the pain until it kills you.

THE END


Humanity may not be perfect, but it certainly doesn't deserve the kind of death and destruction the Craxil has in mind.  You announce to her that you would rather die than support her in this plan.  You were terrified that this being might become infuriated and attack, but instead she calmly and slowly backs away... then looks to your sister.  Your sister looks back at the Craxil and you realize the Craxil has just given her a nonverbal order.  By now your sister's blade is unsheathed and she is coming at you.

She fights with a furocity and intent that is completely out of character for your shy and reserved little sister, but her physical strength is the same.  There is nothing special about her swordplay technique either and you are pleased to see that you can block and parry her attacks.  Still, this is your sister, and you don't want to kill her if you don't have to.  The Craxil is obviously enjoying this and you can't help but think that if you could just find some way of killing her then perhaps your sister can be saved.

The Craxil is currently in her noncorporeal true form, but she has taken corporeal forms before when she was watching you.  You wonder if striking her while she's in one of these corporeal forms might actually damage her.  Alternatively, you wonder why a shapeshifting being with noncorporeal capability would even need others to spread the plague in the first place.  Perhaps she isn't immune like you once thought or perhaps she felt secure from it in her noncorporeal form.  Would you still need to get her into corporeal form for that first or could you try and give it to her while she's in her noncorporeal state.  Or perhaps there is some other way of getting your sister back to normal.  Unlike you, she knows some very basic magic.  Perhaps she will have something that will damage the Craxil in its noncorporeal state.

While your mind wonders to ponder these things, your sister manages to get a shallow cut across your right shoulder and you respond by kicking her onto the ground and stopping down on her sword hand.  You remove your sister's weapon and the Craxil moves in as if to protect its vassal.  You quickly begin to go over your previous ideas in your head knowing you will need to try something and soon lest the Craxil decides to attack first.

> You challenge The Craxil To Take On Other Corporeal Forms, Then Infect Her With The Poison
"It is clear that I have neither the means nor the ability to complete my quest, so as a dead man I ask that you grant one dying wish" you proclaim.

"Throwing in the towel already?" she scowls, obviously disappointed that you didn't have some clever trick in mind.  "From your past exploits in my territory I thought you'd at least think of something to try.  What do you want?"

"I want to know how you were able to keep tabs on me during the journey.  What other forms did you take besides Brandolf and the old man?"

"I took many forms.  From birds, to rocks, to the very water you swam through to get past the orcs."

"Show me" you demand, "I want to more fully understand how I was bested before this ends.  Let me die with that peace."

As she's talking, she starts by taking the corporeal form of Brandolf the Bray and you seize upon the opportunity.  As rapidly as you can you grab a poison coated arrow, notch it in your bow, drawback the drawstring, aim, and release.  The poison arrow lands in her forearm and she promptly removes it and tosses it aside.  You fear she was unaffected by this arrow and she begins to laugh.

"It seems I misjudged you, you haven't surrendered at all have you?  Attacking me in my corporeal state... that does sound like you.  But I have the ability to reform my corporeal state just as easily as I formed it in the first place.  This is a simple matter of..."

She stops midsentence as if she somehow came to the realization of what you've done.

"That arrow..."

"The same stuff you gave me on day 1.  It looks like I managed to complete this quest after all"

The Craxil bursts with laughter as if somehow impressed with your creativity or perhaps the irony of the situation.  She doesn't stop laughing even when the nausea and vomitting come.  You can tell her power is waning because you sister suddenly regains control of her facilties and runs to your side.  The Craxil laments that the beastmen will no longer maintain unity after her death and expresses genuine concern about their well-being.  You aren't sure why, but you promise to try and convince the human leaders in Mihtana and Lima to recognize the importance and advantages of peace and even integration of beastmen into civilization.  She smiles and then the light that made up her corporeal being goes out.

> You continue The Story
Unfortunately, this story takes a tragic end for your sister, who remains a carrier for the plague even after the Craxil's death.  You explain to her what the Craxil was and what it planned to do.  She backs away from you immediately as if not wanting to infect you.  In fact, it dawns on both of you that she will never again get to experience the physical touch of another person in any way ever again without killing them.  In a deep state of sadness, she decides to remain in the wilds as a hermit, embarking on a quest to find a cure for this condition.  You want to stop her but in all honesty, you cannot possibly think of anything better for her right now and bringing her to civilization would be a bad idea right now.  You wish you could hug her or comfort her somehow, but you both understand why you can't.  Instead, you wish her the best of luck and hope she one day finds what she's needs.  From this point on, there is not a single night that goes by for the rest of your life that you don't pray for her.

With the death of the Craxil, the doors that sealed behind you are no longer fixed.  The infighting amongst the now disunified beastmen makes it easy for you to get through unnoticed on your way back to the village.  Along the way you see grippli attacking goblins, kobolds fighting amongst themselves, and the orc patrols seem to have raided numerous humunculi settlements.  The large, unified force they once represented is now thinned out considerably, and although the journey is long and your rations are low, you eventually make it back to the village.

The villagers are shocked to hear that the Craxil is dead and you tell them all about it.  Some believe you are full of it and think the Craxil still lives.  Others admit they bet good money you would die.  You were right to assume they'd have redistributed your property under this very assumption and it takes some doing getting it all restored.  Unfortunately, they decided to slay your friends Oinky and Snout for ham while you were away and for the first time in your life you chose not to take it lying down anymore.  If this journey taught you anything, its that you are going to have to demand respect if you hope to get it.

However, this journey has taught you a lot more than that.  As promised, you travel to meet with leaders in both Mihtana and Lima so that you can try to convince them why peace between the humans and the beastfolk might actually be beneficial.  You explain how the Craxil was able to rally them together and organize them and how some of them demonstrated a higher level of intelligence than you originally thought them capable of (i.e. - the kobolds extensive mining techniques and the goblin's tinkering).  Unfortunately, despite your best efforts, the world is just not ready to view them as anything other than dangerous savages to be on guard against and you realize that this is how it is going to stay.

Eventually you return to your farm and begin shoveling out all the pig dung that had been piling up in your absence.  As you are working, a girl you took notice of at the local tavern looks over to you.  You smile with confidence and she smiles back and suddenly you think... this might not be so bad after all.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You've found real ending #2 of 2.


Humanity may not be perfect, but it certainly doesn't deserve the kind of death and destruction the Craxil has in mind.  You announce to her that you would rather die than support her in this plan.  You were terrified that this being might become infuriated and attack, but instead she calmly and slowly backs away... then looks to your sister.  Your sister looks back at the Craxil and you realize the Craxil has just given her a nonverbal order.  By now your sister's blade is unsheathed and she is coming at you.

She fights with a furocity and intent that is completely out of character for your shy and reserved little sister, but her physical strength is the same.  There is nothing special about her swordplay technique either and you are pleased to see that you can block and parry her attacks.  Still, this is your sister, and you don't want to kill her if you don't have to.  The Craxil is obviously enjoying this and you can't help but think that if you could just find some way of killing her then perhaps your sister can be saved.

The Craxil is currently in her noncorporeal true form, but she has taken corporeal forms before when she was watching you.  You wonder if striking her while she's in one of these corporeal forms might actually damage her.  Alternatively, you wonder why a shapeshifting being with noncorporeal capability would even need others to spread the plague in the first place.  Perhaps she isn't immune like you once thought or perhaps she felt secure from it in her noncorporeal form.  Would you still need to get her into corporeal form for that first or could you try and give it to her while she's in her noncorporeal state.  Or perhaps there is some other way of getting your sister back to normal.  Unlike you, she knows some very basic magic.  Perhaps she will have something that will damage the Craxil in its noncorporeal state.

While your mind wonders to ponder these things, your sister manages to get a shallow cut across your right shoulder and you respond by kicking her onto the ground and stopping down on her sword hand.  You remove your sister's weapon and the Craxil moves in as if to protect its vassal.  You quickly begin to go over your previous ideas in your head knowing you will need to try something and soon lest the Craxil decides to attack first.

> You challenge The Craxil To Take On Other Corporeal Forms, Then Strike Her Down With Your Sword
"It is clear that I have neither the means nor the ability to complete my quest, so as a dead man I ask that you grant one dying wish" you proclaim.

"Throwing in the towel already?" she scowls, obviously disappointed that you didn't have some clever trick in mind.  "From your past exploits in my territory I thought you'd at least think of something to try.  What do you want?"

"I want to know how you were able to keep tabs on me during the journey.  What other forms did you take besides Brandolf and the old man?"

"I took many forms.  From birds, to rocks, to the very water you swam through to get past the orcs."

"Show me" you demand, "I want to more fully understand how I was bested before this ends.  Let me die with that peace."

The Craxil takes the form of Brandolf the Bray first and you seize upon you opportunity.  Walking forth with feigned curiosity you unsheath your sword and charge at her with a firm sense of purpose.  You bring the blade down through her collar bone and into her chest while she's still in the Brandolf form.  She looks surprised, and the look of disappointment is replaced with a smile and a laugh.

"So that's it eh?  Not bad.  But you see, I can reconstitute my form."  You withdraw your blade and watch as her flesh comes back together and restores itself anew.

"It was not a bad idea, it really wasn't.  The kind of thing a guy like you would probably try.  But this is where it is going to have to end.

While your attention is focused upon the Craxil, your sister springs forth and grabs your arm.  The significance of this move is lost on you until you realize she's the carrier of the new plague.  You shirk her off and back away but it is too late.  The Craxil and your sister then leave, discussing various ideas for disseminating the plague, leaving you to spend the last few hours of your life in complete darkness.

THE END


The bad feeling in the pit of your stomach returns and you realize that eating all those pork rines and only pork rines for several days until seeing the old man did not do your digestive system any good.  You spring into action, find a secluded corner, and relieve the mess that was building up inside you.  Unfortunately, it is not until after this messy endeaver that you remember you neglected to pack bottom tissue when you left on this quest.  You've braved many dangers and survived several impossible situations but now you are going to have to make a decision.  A decision that is more frightening than any you have made before.

To your left are large, round, orange leaves.  They aren't brittle and look as though they might work.  To your right are a bunch of ferns sporting three fingered leaves.  These are green with red spots.  It's time to make an all important decision.

> You wipe With The Three Fingered Green Leaves With Red Spots

You choose the three fingered green leaves with red spots and it is not long after your sanitation ritual that you realize what a mistake that was.  Whatever manner of herbs those were you have a burning rash all along and in your backside.  Between that and the turtle bite, you are finding it difficult to walk without pain.  You really hope this journey ends soon, you really do.

The next three days of travel down the Redridge Pass are surprisingly uneventful.  You sneak past the occasional orc patrol and wild animal but nothing particularly difficult.  You half expect something to come jumping out at you from the darkness or to find some large camp around the corner but to your plesant surprise the way seems more or less clear.  Part of you wonders if it is a trap given the Craxil knows you are coming but then ... what choice do you have?

As you come up a steep incline you look down and with great satisfaction you find what you've been searching for all this time.  A colossal chasm, the canyon you've been searching for!  The old man said you would know it when you see it and damn if he wasn't right about that!  Still, this canyon is freaking huge.  It will take probably half a day just to get down to the bottom safely and once down there, there is a LOT to explore.  You know the underground cavern that houses the Craxil is accessed somewhere down there, so I guess you don't have much choice than to go down there and investigate huh?

You are about to cautiously decend when you hear the sound of hoofprints behind you...


You climb the peak and though it takes a considerable amount of time to get to the top, it isn't nearly as tiring as you expected it would be.  You are now standing on an even higher plateau on the mountainside and the Redridge Pass is precisely where you expected it to be.  You are thrilled to have finally found the pass, which is really more of a trail than a pass, but you still have a lot further to go.  As you move forward you suddenly get wind of a foul stench and hear a lot of loud, obnoxious grunting noises up ahead.

You immediately get off the beaten path and find a good hiding spot.  It is midday now so there isn't a lot of darkness to aid you.  Still, you manage to crawl forward unseen until you see a small group of orcs.  This is VERY not good you think you yourself.  Orcs are exceptionally strong.  Even one on one you stand no real chance of defeating one.  There are about five blocking the path forward so you are going to simply have to sneak around them and continue on your journey.  You've interrogated lesser creatures, but if the Craxil is commanding these creatures then just how strong is the thing?  No, don't dwell on such thoughts.  You need to focus.  You've come this far and you're sure as hell not gonna let yourself be intimidated now.

Returning to the task at hand you see a couple of different options.  There is a river that runs down the middle of the orc group's position and some hollow reeds close to you.  You remember one time during capture the flag where you moved through the river underwater and breathed through reeds very similar to these.  That was an epic maneuver worth remembering, perhaps it will serve you again here?  The orc camp and you are at the same elevation; but there is a ditch that runs from your current position, along the side of the camp, and out the other side.  Presumably, if you hug the side of the ditch closest to the orcs and move along quietly they shouldn't be able to see you.  Alternatively, you still have plenty of poison.  Even if you applied it to all your remaining arrows, you wouldn't even have used half the bottle.  Orcs are large and there are only five of them...

Time for a decision.  What's your plan of action?

> You move Through The Ditch To The Other Side
The orcs might notice a moving reed and get suspicious and attacking a superior number of superior enemies is just inviting death.  You decide the best bet is to move through the ditch and move through while tightly hugging the wall closest to them, thus minimizing your chances of being seen.  You hop in and start moving.  A tiny little stream trickles through and much of the ground here is mud.  The stench of orc shit is strong in here and you begin to realize this is where they've been dumping it (no pun intended).  Still, you brave on knowing this is a life or death situation and no time to be getting squeamish.

You are now so very close to the orcs but they haven't yet seen you.  You move even slower than before but you are confident you will make it.  That is, until one of them lifts his nose and sniffs the air.  It seems you forgot to take into account the fact that orcs have an exceptionally keen sense of smell.  Despite the fact that you are clean, and the fact that the orc manure should be overpowering their senses right now, it seems they've identified your scent.  They move over and it isn't long before you are seen.  You try to run, but you stumble in the mud that has taken your shoe.  You try to run without it but you don't get very far.  The orcs were put there on the path to stop you from reaching the Craxil and they've succeeded.

THE END


You climb the peak and though it takes a considerable amount of time to get to the top, it isn't nearly as tiring as you expected it would be.  You are now standing on an even higher plateau on the mountainside and the Redridge Pass is precisely where you expected it to be.  You are thrilled to have finally found the pass, which is really more of a trail than a pass, but you still have a lot further to go.  As you move forward you suddenly get wind of a foul stench and hear a lot of loud, obnoxious grunting noises up ahead.

You immediately get off the beaten path and find a good hiding spot.  It is midday now so there isn't a lot of darkness to aid you.  Still, you manage to crawl forward unseen until you see a small group of orcs.  This is VERY not good you think you yourself.  Orcs are exceptionally strong.  Even one on one you stand no real chance of defeating one.  There are about five blocking the path forward so you are going to simply have to sneak around them and continue on your journey.  You've interrogated lesser creatures, but if the Craxil is commanding these creatures then just how strong is the thing?  No, don't dwell on such thoughts.  You need to focus.  You've come this far and you're sure as hell not gonna let yourself be intimidated now.

Returning to the task at hand you see a couple of different options.  There is a river that runs down the middle of the orc group's position and some hollow reeds close to you.  You remember one time during capture the flag where you moved through the river underwater and breathed through reeds very similar to these.  That was an epic maneuver worth remembering, perhaps it will serve you again here?  The orc camp and you are at the same elevation; but there is a ditch that runs from your current position, along the side of the camp, and out the other side.  Presumably, if you hug the side of the ditch closest to the orcs and move along quietly they shouldn't be able to see you.  Alternatively, you still have plenty of poison.  Even if you applied it to all your remaining arrows, you wouldn't even have used half the bottle.  Orcs are large and there are only five of them...

Time for a decision.  What's your plan of action?

> You attack With Poison Tipped Arrows

You have way more poison than you need to kill the Craxil so why not use it to help you get there as well?  If Brandolf was right about this stuff, it should kill anything that ingests it or is stabbed by it.  The orcs are very large creatures too, so you hope you will be able to hit them.  You apply the poison to about a dozen of your arrows and take your stance.  You pull out the first poison arrow, notch it in your bow, pull back the drawstring as far as you possibly can, and release.

The first shot is a success.  One of the closest orcs takes it in the shoulder and it isn't long before the poison takes effect.  He is laying on the ground vomiting and though he isn't dead yet, you know it won't be much longer for he has the look of death upon him.  The other four are now charging at you.  The two in front have their shields out, as if to block any subsequent shots.  You quickly let fly another arrow.  It goes precisely where you aimed but one of the front orcs anticipated it and blocked it with his shield.  You manage to get one of the ones in back in the leg with your next shot, bringing your enemy's total to three but they are nearly upon you now.  You only have enough time for another two shots and the forward orcs manage to block them with their shields.  They've certainly developed a clever counterstrategy to your strategy haven't they?

Now they are upon you, hacking you to pieces and bellowing insults like "stupid morra".  You don't live long enough to hear him finish his next line.

THE END