Karn lets out a war cry and breaks into a full sprint towards the woods. You follow, your shield covering your chest and your sword raised. As you burst through the trees and run through the undergrowth, you hear a yell.

"Fire!"

Arrows fire down from the trees. After ten seconds which you spend huddled together with your allies, arrows thudding into your shield, half of your group is dead. Then, Elves Warriors with short swords heavier armor than the archers, though still a lot lighter than yours, coming to wipe out the unprepared, cowering Orcs that remain.
> You act offensively to fend off the warriors and protect the group
You charge forward, slamming into one of the warriors. You raise your sword and slam it down through her gut, killing her. You grab an Elf about to stab an undefended orc by his hair and yank him back, slitting his throat. The Elves notice your aggressive tactics and five of them crowd around you. You feel a brief sense of fear. They jab and slice at you, opening up your shoulder with several jabs knocking into your chest and smacking the plate armor, causing you to grunt painfully. Then, Karn arrives.

"DIE!" He screams.

He flings at throwing axe with such strength it beheads one of the elves and embeds itself in the shoulder of another elf, who drops and screams. Karn then barrels into a third Elf and begins stabbing her through the chest, leaving you with two elves to fight. You block one of their sword thrusts and parry the other's, before kicking one into a tree. You jab the other in the neck, twisting your sword to have a spurt of blood hit you in the face. The other goes to stand back up, but you kick him in the head and slash his throat.

"Come on, Orcs! We fight and we kill today!"

The Orcs are now prepared to fight, with their formations taken up and their weapons ready. The Elven Warriors quickly begin to retreat.

"Now, Orcs! Target the Archers the foolish warriors left behind!"


You raise your shield, and three arrows thuds into it.

"Orcs! Regroup, and keep those shields up!" Karn screams.

You huddle together, and as a group begin rushing uphill rapidly towards the Elves. The Elves fire a few more arrows at you both, but quickly turn heel and run. You reach the summit of the hill and watch as the Elves disappear into a small woods down the hill.

"Come on, Orcs! We follow them and make sure the worms can feast on Elf Flesh tonight!" Karn yells.
> You stop Karn from charging into what might be a trap
You let out a shout.

"Wait!"

Karn turns and snarls.

"What?"

"We shouldn't go in there. It's another Elf ambush for sure. We need to wait for reinforcements."

"Reinforcements? Is your Mama bringing fresh milk and honey? We fight and strike a blow against the Elves. You either charge with us or die."


You march through Elf territory with a little over 50 other Orcs, marching through a hilly area with some trees. You've been sent with Karn Deathreaper, the massive orc with the notched armor, to investigate a small Elf War Party. You've yet to experience any real combat, with your previous time here simply being maneuvering into flanking positions to force the enemy to retreat and moving forward. Still, the sun is particularly red, so you there'll be a battle today with Gorgok watching.

"Orcs! Halt!" Karn screams, and you stop moving.

Karn Deathreaper truly earned his name. The amount of enemies he's slain is among the hundreds if not thousands. He's a fearsome creature, and you can't wait to see him do battle.

"The sun wishes us good luck. We'll do well in the battle." One of the Orcs near you says happily.

"Cease your superstitions, Nagrak. We might not even fight today." Another replies.

"One can hope." Nagrak eagerly replies.

In the blink of an eye, a dozen Orcs are dead. You see six Elves standing on top of the hills, light golden armor and long blond hair holding bows.
> You quickly alert and direct your own Archers to the Elves
You turn to your archers, but it's clear the Elves targeted them first. Most are dead, and the few remaining drop to their knees and begin firing, but the elves are uphill, naturally better archers and have the wind in their favor. It's clear the elves have carefully chosen this ambush site.

You feel an arrow thud into your chest. It shatters on your plate armor, but the force is enough to break a few ribs and you groan loudly. You raise your shield, and another arrow thuds into it.

"Orcs! Regroup, and keep those shields up!" Karn screams.

You huddle together, and as a group begin rushing uphill rapidly towards the Elves. The Elves fire a few more arrows at you both, but quickly turn heel and run. You reach the summit of the hill and watch as the Elves disappear into a small woods down the hill.

"Come on, Orcs! We follow them and make sure the worms can feast on Elf Flesh tonight!" Karn yells.


Once you've spent your gold coins, you make your way back to Dendar's cart. Unfortunately, you find yourself in the poorer part of town, clearly having taken a wrong turn. As you make your way through a side street, a voice cries out.

"Hello! A little lost, are we?" A voice cries.

You turn, and are faced with a trio of men holding knives.

"Fuck off." You grunt angrily.

"'Fuck off', he says. What an angry orc."

A voice from behind you says.

You turn, to see two more men wielding knives.

"Listen, sir. Give us your coins, and we'll see you find your way to where you're going."
> You tell them you have no gold
"I have no coins on me."

"Really, sir? Larn, go see if our new friend's lying."

One of the men walks forward, and begins searching you.
> You grab the man
You grab the man, drawing your blade and driving you knife into his chest repeatedly, tossing his body aside. The men begin charging towards you, three on one side of the street, one on the other.
> You charge the single man
The single man is quick and manages to jab you in the side, his cold iron causing you to groan in pain. You swing your blade, slashing the man's throat, and toss him at the trio. You rush onto the main street, but the trio don't follow. You check your wound, but it's not deep. You wander through the street, until eventually you come across Dendar's Cart. You climb on the back, and lie there, as Dendar arrives with a caged chicken.

"Ah! Mazkil, how are you? Ah, you're bleeding."

"Someone tried to rob me."

"Well, I hope you made sure they'll never try again."

You nod, and Dendar chuckles.

"Well done. You're a true orc."


You grab the man, drawing your blade and driving you knife into his chest repeatedly, tossing his body aside. The men begin charging towards you, three on one side of the street, one on the other.
> You charge the trio
You run forward, leaping through the air as you slam into one of the three, stabbing him through the neck. The others grab you and a knife is painfully brought across your throat, before your limp body is released.


"I have no coins on me."

"Really, sir? Larn, go see if our new friend's lying."

One of the men walks forward, and begins searching you.
> You let him
You stand there, as one of the men walks over and begins patting on your pockets. As the few coins you have left jingle, the man quickly draws a knife and stabs you through the back, right through the heart. You yell in pain, collapsing.


Once you've spent your gold coins, you make your way back to Dendar's cart. Unfortunately, you find yourself in the poorer part of town, clearly having taken a wrong turn. As you make your way through a side street, a voice cries out.

"Hello! A little lost, are we?" A voice cries.

You turn, and are faced with a trio of men holding knives.

"Fuck off." You grunt angrily.

"'Fuck off', he says. What an angry orc."

A voice from behind you says.

You turn, to see two more men wielding knives.

"Listen, sir. Give us your coins, and we'll see you find your way to where you're going."
> You yell at the men
"FUCK OFF, HUMANS! GO SUCKLE ON YOUR MOTHER'S TITS!" You roar.

"Oi, Sir! Quiet down. Wouldn't want the Guards to..."

"FUCK YOU, YOU TWO-BIT THIEVING CUNTS!"

"Shit, Larn, shut him up."

You hear a whistling noise, and you turn to investigate. Two throwing knives plunge into your chest. You gasp, and struggle to stay standing before a third enters your heart.


Once you've spent your gold coins, you make your way back to Dendar's cart. Unfortunately, you find yourself in the poorer part of town, clearly having taken a wrong turn. As you make your way through a side street, a voice cries out.

"Hello! A little lost, are we?" A voice cries.

You turn, and are faced with a trio of men holding knives.

"Fuck off." You grunt angrily.

"'Fuck off', he says. What an angry orc."

A voice from behind you says.

You turn, to see two more men wielding knives.

"Listen, sir. Give us your coins, and we'll see you find your way to where you're going."
> You hand over your few coins
You quickly take out your remaining coins and hand them to one of the thieves. He flashes a grin, and puts his hand around your shoulder.

"Thank you, sir. Pleasure doing business."

He leads you out of the ally and points in the direction of the Dengar's cart. You walk along to it, and climb aboard the back. Dengar appears, holding a caged chicken.

"How was your time in Riverton?"

You shrug, disgusted in yourself for handing over the money. You're no true orc.


After a long ride to Riverton with Dendar who mostly insults you and Gruzub, you eventually arrive at the small town. You eyes immediately find multiple ways to spend your precious coins. There's a brothel in the poorer section of town, a large shop full of delicious foods you wish to sample, a small gambling ring and a tavern.
> You visit the Brothel
You arrive at a large building and take a deep breath, breathing in perfumes of foreign fruits and sweet incense. An elderly woman walks out, and smiles at you.

"Ah, a patron. How may I help you, Sir?"

"I'd imagine it's the same reason everyone comes here." You reply snidely.

"Ah, of course. I'm sorry, you look like Gruft, the debt collector. I assumed you were a brother of his filling in."

She leads you into a back room, where you take a seat on an old dirty bed. She leaves, before arriving back with three women. One of them is a middle-aged, chubby, unattractive woman in a plain dress. She smiles at you.

"I am Helga. She says.

The second woman is a younger, plain faced woman with a nice bosom and bum, which quickly draw your attention.

"I am Liz." She says, smiling at you sweetly.

The final girl is a short, small, pale blond girl. Her features are sharp and angular, and you recognize her as an elf.

"I am Starflower." She says.

"The prices are simple." The Matron says. "Helga is five coins, Liz is ten, Starflower is fifteen."
> You pay for Helga
You pay for Helga, and all others but her leave. You quickly undress, and for the next hour, allow your animal urges to take over. You quickly fuck her, trying to focus on the feeling rather than her less than appealing appearance. Afterwards, you clean up and quickly make your way back to the street, a happier orc.


You arrive at a large building and take a deep breath, breathing in perfumes of foreign fruits and sweet incense. An elderly woman walks out, and smiles at you.

"Ah, a patron. How may I help you, Sir?"

"I'd imagine it's the same reason everyone comes here." You reply snidely.

"Ah, of course. I'm sorry, you look like Gruft, the debt collector. I assumed you were a brother of his filling in."

She leads you into a back room, where you take a seat on an old dirty bed. She leaves, before arriving back with three women. One of them is a middle-aged, chubby, unattractive woman in a plain dress. She smiles at you.

"I am Helga. She says.

The second woman is a younger, plain faced woman with a nice bosom and bum, which quickly draw your attention.

"I am Liz." She says, smiling at you sweetly.

The final girl is a short, small, pale blond girl. Her features are sharp and angular, and you recognize her as an elf.

"I am Starflower." She says.

"The prices are simple." The Matron says. "Helga is five coins, Liz is ten, Starflower is fifteen."
> You pay for Liz
You pay for Liz, and everyone but her leave. You quickly undress, and take advantage of the ample business advantages that the Gods have given her. Her bosom and ass provide great entertainment as your animal instincts take over. You greatly enjoy the next hour, eventually finishing, cleaning up and leaving the brothel with a smile on your face.


After a long ride to Riverton with Dendar who mostly insults you and Gruzub, you eventually arrive at the small town. You eyes immediately find multiple ways to spend your precious coins. There's a brothel in the poorer section of town, a large shop full of delicious foods you wish to sample, a small gambling ring and a tavern.
> You visit the Shop
You go into the shop, and buy a lamb steak, a shiny purple fruit, boiled sheep's brain and a pouch of milk. You quickly eat these delicious fruits, particularly enjoying the sheep's brain and milk. As you finish, you smile to yourself, your stomach full.

Time to find something else to do.


After a long ride to Riverton with Dendar who mostly insults you and Gruzub, you eventually arrive at the small town. You eyes immediately find multiple ways to spend your precious coins. There's a brothel in the poorer section of town, a large shop full of delicious foods you wish to sample, a small gambling ring and a tavern.
> You visit the Gambling Ring
You go inside the gambling ring, where a large half-orc stands, leaning against the doorway.

"Good evening, kind patron." He says in a dull, bored voice. "Would you care to see a fight? Five coins, make a bet."

"What's the fight?" You ask, eagerly.

"A Dragon Youngling, can barely spit fire, vs a trio of wolves we managed to catch. It's a good fight."
> You bet on the Wolves
You place a five coin bet on the wolves, and enter the gambling ring. You find a spot looking in on the ring, watching a small red dragon, snarling at the crowd. Three trapdoors open, with three wolves entering. The wolves begin howling as the dragon snarls. The Dragon lets out a short first of fire, alighting one of the wolves who begins leaping and rolling around in pain. The other two wolves jump, with the dragon lunging forward and biting into the second wolf's neck and tearing into the flesh and fur, before dropping the bleeding wolf. The third wolf lands on the dragon and begins biting and tearing at the dragon's wing. The Dragon screeches, leaping around and flinging the wolf off the ring. The dragon snarls and leaps forward, tearing the wolf's head off and flinging it out of the ring. It lands next to you, but a small child grabs it first and holds it in the air with a laugh.

You leave, five coins poorer.


After a long ride to Riverton with Dendar who mostly insults you and Gruzub, you eventually arrive at the small town. You eyes immediately find multiple ways to spend your precious coins. There's a brothel in the poorer section of town, a large shop full of delicious foods you wish to sample, a small gambling ring and a tavern.
> You visit the Tavern
You walk into the Tavern, and drop five gold coins on the counter.

"Barkeep. Get me a mug of your finest ale. No, get me however many mugs of my cheapest ale this can get."

You're slid over several mugs of ale, which you begin drinking with glee. As you do, an old man sits down next to you wearing the Kingdom of Man's military uniform.

"Good day, sir. Ah, an orc. A fierce beast, at that one."

"I am not a beast. I am a warrior." You grunt, annoyed.

"Ah, of course, of course my good friend. I was just making conversation."

You look over at him, noting a black, jagged blade at his side that you recognize as Demonic Obsidian.

"That's a nice blade. Where's it from?" You ask.

"Ah, now that's a story. I'll tell it to you for a bottle of Elvish Wine, only five coins. A man needs to drink." He winks at you.
> You pay for the man's wine
You pay for the man's drink, and he gleefully accepts.

"Thank you. Hell, your kind are far better than most around here. I was a soldier in the King's Royal Army. I was sent to fight the Necromancer's Army, at only a young age. Not the current Necromancer, mind you, the boy's father, the first Necromancer. I was sent to a small graveyard, where a local friendly giant had been buried. One of the Necromancer's Disciples had taken a group of zombies and ghouls down to raise the giant as a soldier in their army, so I was sent to kill them with my regiment. The dead were everywhere, and I sunk my sword into a zombie and lost it. There I was, unarmed and surrounded by the dead, when I saw this figure in a black cloak. I tackled him, grabbed his sword, this very weapon, and stabbed him to death. With that, the zombies lost their leader and we regrouped and repelled the dead. I wielded this very sword when we stormed Reaper's Castle and killed that blasted necromancer. Anyhow, that's my story. I'm glad someone heard it, and gladder my lips aren't as parched."

You nod and quickly finish your drink.


You walk into the Tavern, and drop five gold coins on the counter.

"Barkeep. Get me a mug of your finest ale. No, get me however many mugs of my cheapest ale this can get."

You're slid over several mugs of ale, which you begin drinking with glee. As you do, an old man sits down next to you wearing the Kingdom of Man's military uniform.

"Good day, sir. Ah, an orc. A fierce beast, at that one."

"I am not a beast. I am a warrior." You grunt, annoyed.

"Ah, of course, of course my good friend. I was just making conversation."

You look over at him, noting a black, jagged blade at his side that you recognize as Demonic Obsidian.

"That's a nice blade. Where's it from?" You ask.

"Ah, now that's a story. I'll tell it to you for a bottle of Elvish Wine, only five coins. A man needs to drink." He winks at you.
> You refuse
"No thanks."

The Soldier nods in understanding, and you continue drinking. After a few minutes, a man knocks into you, spilling your drink.

"Oi!" You yell, standing up and turning.

In front of you is a large man with a thick black beard, who looks at you.

"What?"

"You spilled my drink!" You roar at him.

"Ha! My little daughter could've held a drink with more grip than that! It's not my fault!"
> You punch the Man
You smash your fist into the man's head, knocking him backwards. The man stumbles backwards, and you leap in, punching him twice more.
> You continue punching
You continue punching, and although the man gets two hits in and you, smashing your nose, his body eventually goes limp as he falls to the ground.


You smash your fist into the man's head, knocking him backwards. The man stumbles backwards, and you leap in, punching him twice more.
> You leave the Tavern
You turn to leave as the man stands again. As you walk, the man draws a sword and yells. You turn to confront him, but he stabs you through the chest, straight through the heart.


You roll to the side, narrowly dodging a goring from the beast's tusks. As it runs past, you leap forward with your knife, cutting through thick fur and drawing a fair amount of blood. It squeals, before running forward and turning around once more for another charge.
> You have Gruzub distract it
"Gruzub! Distract the beast!"

"Distract it?" Gruzub asks quizically, before picking up a stone and chucking it at the boar.

The boar squeals and turns to gore Gruzub.

"I did it! Ah, I did it!" He yells, diving out of the way.

You charge forward, stabbing the boar repeatedly in the side. It's intestines begin falling out, and it collapses, dead.


Paper-Mache

By Jster02
> You start
The pain is the first thing you notice.  It feels as though someone's poured an entire vat of hot coffee over your entire body.  Somehow, you get the sense that you've been asleep a lot longer than normal. You open your eyes to find yourself laying in a patch of grass, staring up at a clear, starry sky, interrupted by the branches of nearby trees.  You don't move for a moment. How did you get outside? You don't remember going to sleep out here... as a matter of fact, you don't remember going to sleep at all. Or anything else, as a matter of fact.

The pain is fading fast, so you sit up and take a look around, pulse racing. The shadowy forms of trees surround you, the sounds of the night bombarding your senses.  It occurs to you that you're hyperventilating. Is this what it feels like to have a heart attack? No this is a panic attack of some kind. Instinctively, you find yourself focusing on a single blade of grass in the field.  With shaking hands, you pluck it from the dirt and study it, taking note of its shape, the feel of it in your hand, the nearly indistinguishable pattern of little veins running through it. Mindfulness. That's supposed to help with Panic attacks.  Somehow, you remember that. But you can't remember where you learned it.

Slowly but surely, your breathing normalizes.  You wipe the snot from your nose and the tears from your eyes as your body stops convulsing.  For the first time since you woke up, you notice the cool night breeze. You're going to be fine.  If you just keep your wits, you'll find a way out of this eventually. You take a quick inventory of everything you can remember.  Random bits of knowledge surface in your head, facts about whales, mathematical formulas, the steps to changing a tire. But no memories of the people, or events, or books that taught you those things.

As you contemplate these things, you notice a few items laying in the grass around you.  Namely, a small backpack and an odd metal disk, with a glowing screen on one side. You pick up the disk first and examine it.  "Insufficient power," flashes across its face over and over in red.  Something about it tugs at something in your memory, but you can't quite put your finger on what.  Confused, you slip it into your pocket and turn to the bag. You unzip it to find a lighter, a knife, a sleeping bag, a pillow, and... a whole mountain of Cheez-Its and Mountain Dew?  Just what kind of person are you? Still, it's better than nothing, so you slip it over your shoulders.

As you try (and fail), to take your bearings from the waning crescent moon, (not that it really matters, it's not like you know where you came from), you become aware of a strange noise in the distance.  You stop and listen. Is that yelling? Wait, yelling is a human noise, right? So, where there's yelling, there's humans. Before you can even finish processing that thought, your feet are carrying you towards the source of the noise.  You didn't know you could run this fast on pavement, much less over the uneven turf of the forest, but then, maybe you're a famous football player or something and just don't remember it.

The yelling grows louder as you draw nearer.  A dim light shines in the distance, growing brighter.  You slow down a little, these shouts don't sound like happy ones.

"Stop struggling or it'll only hurt more!" a gravelly voice says.

"Help! Stop! Let me go!"  An extremely high pitched voice this time.

You've slowed to a tip-toe now.  Whatever this is, you're not sure you want to be a part of it.  Still you creep closer until you can just make out the figures involved between the trees.  They look small from here, no bigger than children, but then, it's a little hard to tell from this distance.  It looks like they might be wearing some kind of cloaks, green ones, if your eyes don't deceive you.

"Gag her before she draws someone to us!"  Says the gravel tongued shadow to two others holding down a third, "Get her in the bag and tie it tight.  The last thing we need is another escape."

Your palms are soaked with sweat.  You should do something, anything, to help, but whoever these people are, they certainly don't sound like the kind of folks you'd like to mess with...
> You creep closer and attack
You drop into a crouch and creep closer, stopping behind trees whenever you can.   Now that you're closer, you can make out more details, and boy are these people weird.  They're even shorter up close, they'd probably only come up to your waist.  But that's the least strange thing about them.  They're skin resembles Paper-Mache, all folded over itself.  And then there's the ears, so long and pointy.  Almost as big as they are, and yet still they point straight up.  Forget whatever you thought about only humans yelling.  You must've forgotten that too, because these things are no humans.

The two biggest creatures hold down a smaller one, (perhaps that one is only a child), while the one that appears to be the leader stands and watches.  Like you thought, all but the one on the ground are clad in green cloaks, reaching nearly to their feet, with a strange symbol of something like a broken goblet embroidered on their backs in brown.

They've nearly got the child into a big sack now, but she (he? It?) still hasn't given up.

"Please!"  She cries, "I just wanna go home!  Let me go home!"

"We're giving you a new home."  Says the leader, "A better home!  Don't you want to help make your old home better?"

"No!  I want my papa!"

Just watching this makes you nauseous.  This has got to be stopped, there's no way you can sit by and let it happen.  Before you've even so much as thought of a plan, you're on your feet, charging the creatures with...
> The knife!
You flick your knife open and tense for battle.  It feels so small in your hand, so weak.  If only you had a gun, or a hatchet at least.  Still, it's better than using your fists.

Before you have the chance lose your nerve, you charge one of the creatures holding down the... other creature.  (You're really not sure what to call any of these things, you've never seen anything quite like them before).  You slam into it, knocking it to the ground before it has a chance to react.  It's eyes go wide as you plunge the knife into it's stomach, (or what appears to be it's stomach).  It penetrates easier than you expected, the knife.  Feels a little too easy.

But before you have time to fully contemplate the moral ambiguity of your actions, you see, out of the corner of your eye, the other creature charging you with some kind of sharpened stick.  You act faster than you ever thought you could, rolling to the side, just as it brings it's stick down in a stabbing motion.  The stick buries itself into the chest of the first creature, (the one with the knife still stuck in it's chest).  If it wasn't dead before, it certainly is now.

The creature with the stick stares at it's fallen friend, stunned.  You should strike now, while it's distracted, but all you can do is stare at the dead creature.  You did that.  Even though it's not exactly a human, something about the whole thing just feels wrong.  Slowly, the surviving creature turns towards you.

"Why would you do that?"  He asks,  "That was my friend!"

"You were attacking that... other creature!"  You say.  Even as you say it, the words feel hollow.  "He... had it coming!"

"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself involved in!"  He says, "You're messing with things you shouldn't you crazy monster!"  With that, the creature charges you once more, wrenching it's weapon from the chest of its dead friend.  Perhaps you should let him strike you down.  Maybe you're the monster here.  But then, what about that other creature?  The one he was tormenting?  What does that make him?  No, you were just acting as any good person should when they see someone in danger. Just as the creature reaches you, instinct takes over and you slam your fist into it's head.

These creatures don't just look like Paper-Mache, they tear like it too.  As soon as your hand makes contact, his face crumples inward and he staggers back, falling to the ground, dead.  You stare at your hand, stunned.  Either you've got some sort of hidden superpowers, or these creatures are weaker than most.  That doesn't seem normal.  Even with your broken memory, you can be pretty sure of that.

As the adrenaline wears off, you remember that there were three creatures involved.  Two doing the heavy lifting and one giving orders.  You take a quick look around you, but see nothing.  It must've run off somewhere; the only other living thing left in the area is the creature you came to save in the first place.
> You check on the fallen creature
The creature lays in the dirt, staring at you.  It trembles as you approach, inching away on its back.

"Who are you?"  It asks with trembling voice, "What do you want?  I want my papa!"

"I'm not going to hurt you,"  You say, trying to sound as soothing as you can,  "I'm here to help."

"You're... not gonna hurt me like those other guys?"

"No, I was saving you.  That's why I hurt them."

"Oh... Okay..."

You stare at each other wordlessly for a few moments, unsure of what to say.  Finally, you extend your hand to help the creature up.  It stares for a second at your arm, and asks,

"What are you doing?"

"I'm helping you up."

"How does holding your hand out help me up?"

"You grab it and... oh, never mind.  Do you know how to get home?"  (Does this thing even have a home)?

"I think so..."

"Alright, can you walk?"

The creature struggles to its feet.  "Yes."

Another moment of silence.

"I'm Pila,"  the creature says, "...thanks."

"You're welcome.  Come on, let me walk you home."

"Okay."

You set off down the path, Pila leading the way.  For a few minutes you travel in silence.  The hooting of owls and the howl of the wind are your only company as you trudge through the trees.  Finally, you can't help but break the silence.

"What are you exactly?"

Pila looks at you, her ears twitch slightly.  "I already told you, I'm Pila."

"No, I mean, what are you.  As in, what species are you?"

"What's a species?"

You struggle to come up with an explanation.  "It means, what kind of creature are you?  I don't know how else to explain it."

"I'm confused."

"Well... I'm a human."  You point to yourself, then look around for something else to name.  You spot an owl sitting on a branch, "And that's an owl,"  You point at the creature, "But what are you?  I've never seen anything like you before."

"I still don't understand... human?  Is that what you said your name was?"

It's no use trying to get anything out of her.  You sigh, and say,  "Never mind, it's not important."

"Okay!" She says

As you're talking, you come to the side of a hill, with little stairs carved into the side for you to climb down.  Lights twinkle a little ways below; must be some kind of village.

Pila points at the lights.  "That's where I live. It's also where my mama and my papa live.  And all of my friends.  Let's go!"

With that, she dashes down the stairs.  They're the perfect size for her little feet, (if a little big).  As for you though, you may as well be going downhill on gravel.  You nearly slip at least three times as you descend, but in the end you make it to the bottom unscathed.

"We're almost there now,"  Pila says, running up the path.

You follow as quick as you can, it wouldn't do to lose her again.  If that happened you might as well have never saved her at all.  As you jog along the path, you pass a strange plant, just taller than you are.  It grows on a thin, blue stalk, straight up, until it droops over at the top, opening into a strange, orange bulb.  The bulb glows in the dawn, lighting the whole path beneath your feet.  Just a few moments later, you pass by another on the opposite side of the path.  The entire trail leading up to the village is lined with these plants, lighting the way like streetlights on an old city road.
> You pila's house
It soon becomes apparent that you are closer to the village than you thought.  Is it just you, or are those buildings smaller than they seemed from afar?  You come to the edge of the village to find that the smallest of the houses are about your height.  Everything is half the size it should be, from the road through town to the stones that pave it.  Stranger still, it all has the same Paper-Mache quality as Pila's skin.

You follow the little creature through a twisting maze of streets, just a tad bit too small for you.  You begin to see other creatures like Pila milling about.  Most stare at you, terrified, a few even run the other way, screaming.  But every time that happens, Pila shouts after them,

"It's okay, he's nice!  He saved me from bad people!"

After about five minutes of walking, a high pitched whistle cuts through the air.  You try to ignore it, but it persists.

"What is that?"  You ask.

"Oh that?"  Pila stops and turns,  "That's the alarm.  People sound it whenever there's an emergency.  Then the watchmen come and help whoever sounded it.  My papa is the leader of all of the watchmen."  She beams with pride.

"Shouldn't we be worried."

"No, this happens a few times every day.  My papa will take care of it, whatever it is."

"Well, alright."

You walk for a few minutes more, then the alarm stops, leaving you in complete silence.

"See?"  Pila says, "Everything's going to be-"

A voice from behind interrupts her, "What in the name of the water-pit are you?"

You and Pila turn in unison to see a whole squadron of creatures, all pointing little wooden spears your way.  But before you can do or say anything, Pila runs straight up to them.

"Papa!"  She cries, flinging her little arms around the one who appears to be their leader.

"Pila?"  He says,  "What are you doing with this... thing?  Did it hurt you?"  He turns his gaze on you.  "What were you doing with my Daughter, you monster?"

"No, Papa!  You don't understand!  This is human, he saved me from a bunch of really mean people.  They tried to put me in a big bag, but then he came out of the forest and beat them up!"

Pila's father is quiet for a minute.  Then, he turns to the creatures behind him and says, "You can relax.  Looks like we won't be needing spears."  He turns back to you, and takes a few steps in your direction.  "I apologize... human, is it?  It's just that no one's ever seen anything like you before.  So it was only natural the alarm was sounded.  They all thought you were some kind of monster!"

"I thought the same when I first saw creatures like you."  You say,  "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you?  I've never seen anything quite like you either.  At least, I don't think I have."

"You stand in a village full of Oalkwardners."  The Creature says,  "I am Merk, head of the Watchmen of Arrorn.  I help to protect this place from any sort of outside invaders or natural disasters.  That's why I came when I heard you had arrived.  By the way, thank you so much for rescuing my daughter.  If you ever need anything at all, just come find me and I'll do my best to make it happen."   He stops and thinks for a moment.  "Are you planning on staying here a while?"

"Actually,"  You say, "I have no idea how I got here in the first place.  So, I guess I'm kinda stuck till I figure out how to get back home."

"That's strange indeed,"  Merk says,  "Come with me, if you need, you may stay with me and my family while you're here. You did save Pila, after all.  It's the least we can do."

"I guess I have nowhere else to go,"  You say.

"Yay!"  Pila says,  "It'll be like when we have all the family over for a feast!"

And once again, you set off through the streets.  As you walk, you explain to Merk how you woke up in the forest with no memory and found Pila in trouble.

"What were you doing out there, Pila?"  Merk asks, "Why on earth did your mother let you go out so late?  And why on earth did you take this long to come back?  From what Human said, it doesn't sound like you were too far from town."  Merk frowns, "In fact, you'd better come up with a pretty good explanation as to why you were out so late, or else you're in hot water!"

"It's not my fault!"  Pila says, "I went out to play hide-and-seek in the woods with my friends.  The sun was going down, but we knew it would still be light outside for a little bit, so we thought it would be okay.  But I really wanted to win.  I never win at hide-and-seek, so I needed a plan to make sure they'd never find me.  So I went really far away on the road.  But then it started to get dark, and I got scared.  And then, the ground started shaking, and I got really scared.  So I ran away into the trees.  But then I got lost, so I was really really scared.  It took me a long time to find my way back to the road, and then when I was walking back, the mean guys came and tried to put me in a bag!"

"You said the ground started shaking?"  Merk asks, "But I didn't feel anything here.  I was on the night-watch, so I know."

"But it's true, Papa!"  Pila says, "There was a really bright light in the sky too!  It was like lightning, but it stayed there for a looooooong time."

"Don't make up stories, Pila."  Merk sounds a little irritated now, "When we get home, you're going to have to do some chores."

"But Papa-"

"Let's not do this in front of our guest, alright?"

Pila sighs,  "Yes Papa..."

"Good girl.  Oh look, we're here."

The streets are a bit wider here, and the houses a bit bigger.  They're all spaced apart, each one with a good five-or-so acres of space.  You've stopped in front of a beautiful yellow one, that looks like it might be two stories high, (though it's hard to tell what with the strange sizes of everything).

"We have the best house in the village!"  Pila beams, "That's because Papa has the best job.  I wanna do it when I grow up too, so I can have this same house."

Merk laughs.  "I'm glad you think this house is the best.  You've never told me that before.  Come on, lets go inside."

You follow Merk to the front door, where it becomes apparent that you might have a problem.

"I'm... not sure I can fit,"  you say, staring at the door.  It comes up only to your chest and looks just a little too narrow for you to fit through.  "I don't want to mess up your house."

Merk thinks for a moment, wringing his hands.  "That really is a shame.  We might have to figure out somewhere else for you to stay, I'm sorry."

It's then that you remember, you've got camping supplies in your backpack

"I can just sleep outside,"  You say,  "I've got a sleeping bag and a pillow, I'll just lay it out in your yard somewhere, if that's alright.

Pila's face brightens,  "Papa, can we eat outside with Human too?"

"I guess we may as well, so long as it stays nice outside,"  Merk says,  "Now you'd better go get some sleep.  I'm not sure how you can be this chipper after staying up all night like that.  Besides, you'll need your rest if you ever want to get done with the massive list of chores you're gonna get once I figure out just how much trouble you're in."

Pila sighs, and starts towards the door.  "Yes papa..."

You spend the rest of the day on Merk's property, not daring to re-enter the village for fear that someone might see you and sound the alarm.  ("Just until we get the word around that you're not a threat," Merk says). For a while you talk with Merk, trying to figure out where exactly you are.  Eventually, Merk pulls out a map of the area, and you find that you don't recognize any of the landscape.  (Though, you can't quite remember any other landscapes either).  You just can't make heads or tails of the situation.

Once evening rolls around, Merk's wife, (who you quickly learn is named Fila), brings you dinner in a bowl, much too small for you to properly hold.  It's filled with some kind of goop that smells like burning rubber, and doesn't taste much better.  But you don't say anything, and just choke it down best you can.  You know you can eat some of the Cheez-Its from your bag after everyone else goes to bed.

After an hour-or-so more of small talk, everyone decides to hit the sack.  As the Oalkwardners head inside, you spread out your sleeping bag and lay down, staring up at the stars.  The moment your head touches the pillow, all the energy you spent today hits you at once.  You're asleep within minutes...
> A living nightmare
Your dreams are a confused mass of pictures and images.  Lots of formulas and numbers, the strange disk you found in the woods, a violet light engulfing you...

A whisper in your ear breaks you from your slumber.

"Wake up, strange beast.  I need to talk to you."

You open your eyes so find that it's still dark.  The face of an Oalkwardner stares down at you, blocking out the moonlight.  It startles you so much, you sit straight up; if it wasn't for the creature's swift reflexes, your head would've smashed right into it.  That's when you get a good look at it in the light of the moon.

"What the heck do you think you're doing here?"  You ask, "You were the guy that ran away after I saved Pila!"

"Not so loud," He hisses, "Do you want to give me away?"

"Yeah, actually.  I should call Merk right now, or better yet, do you in myself!"  You take a deep breath to let out a shout.

"Don't!"

Something about the creature's tone stops you, if only for a moment, from alerting the Oalkwardners in the house.  What would drive any intelligent creature to walk into the lion's den like this in the first place? It just doesn't add up.

"At least hear me out."  Pleads the creature, "I need your help."

"What makes you think I would help a kidnapper?  Seriously, are you crazy?"

"It's not just me you'd be helping, but them too!"  he gestures towards the house, "In fact, you'd be helping every Oalkwardner in this village."

"Is that a threat?"  You ask, "Are you going to kill them or something if I don't cooperate?"

"My word, you must really think I'm some kind of monster, monster.  No, I'm not here to hurt anyone. Like I said, I'm here to help."

"How does kidnapping children help anyone?"

"I was getting to that.  This village, Arrorn, I believe it's called, is not as peaceful as it seems.  It is under the rule of King Faerdalm, a cruel, ruthless tyrant."

"Sound like something a teenager would come up with for a writing contest,"  You say, rolling your eyes.

"Will you let me finish?"  The creature glares at you, "He takes their food, says they owe it to him for getting to live in such a 'great and powerful country.'  It's all a load of bull, of course. He takes so much that a good many of the villagers die every year from starvation. I'm part of a resistance group trying to stop it.  We've been working on a way to get rid of Faerdalm once and for all, so everyone can be free, just like in the good old days. That's why we've needed to take children, to run tests on them.  We're developing a way to make ourselves stronger, so we can finally stand up to him. But we're still a ways out from perfecting it. It's going to take a lot more people, a lot more deaths, to finally perfect it.  To be quite frank, I'm getting quite sick of it."

"So, where do I come in?"  You ask.

"Never in my life, have I ever seen a creature as powerful as you." He says, "If you were to join us, we would be able to achive our goal much quicker. And the quicker we achive it, the less needless deaths must occuer." He extends his hand, as if to shake yours, "So, are you in?"
> You shake his hand
The Oalkwardner smiles as you shake his hand.

"Very well then,"  he says, "We must go at once, there are many preparations to be made."  he stops for a moment and looks at you,  "You may call me Bolard, by the way."

With that, he makes a single clicking noise with his mouth, and a whole hoard of Oalkwardners dressed in the same cloaks as Bolard step out from the shadows, surrounding the two of you.

"We're heading back to base,"  Bolard says,  "Better get moving if you wanna get any sleep tonight!"

"Hold on a second!"  you say, "Were you planning on ambushing me if I said no?"

"Of course not!"  Bolard says,  "They were just here in case you were... unreasonable, and decided to attack me."

Something about his tone puts you on edge, but you can't exactly do anything about it with all these guards around.  You follow the pack into the forest...

Bolard leads the group back up the path you came from, past the place where you witnessed the attempted kidnapping.  You walk for hours, never stopping for even so much as a five minute break.  As the sun's rays begin to peak over the horizon, the leaders of the pack turn off the trail abruptly and lead you into more densely wooded area.

As the sun grows higher in the sky, you notice that there is still a sort of trail here, just fainter and harder to see than the one you left.  It seems this way has been traveled a few times before, the vegetation trampled underneath it.  After a few more hours of walking, the group stops abruptly, and you nearly trip over the Oalkwardner in front of you.

You sigh with relief.  This must be some kind of break.  Thank goodness, your feet feel like they're about to fall off.  But instead of dispersing and finding spots to sit down and talk, the Oalkwardners stay where they are.  There's motion at the front of the pack, someone's doing... something, you're not sure what.  Then, a great wooden hatch opens up from the ground, revealing a spiral staircase descending down into the earth.  You didn't see it because it was camouflaged by dirt and leaves, somehow stuck on top of it.

The assembly moves forward, down the stairs, and you follow at the middle of the pack.  You reach the bottom and find yourself in a hard packed dirt tunnel, with a few paths branching off from it.

"To your barracks, everyone!"  Bolard says, "I must speak with the monster for a moment."

The crowd disperses, heading down various tunnels, chattering amongst themselves.  Bolard turns to you.

"I'm not going to have you stay in the barracks with the others,"  He says, "You're a might too big for the beds there, and I don't want you rolling over and crushing someone or something.  Instead, I think you ought to take one of the private suites, which are usually reserved for our highest ranking officials.  Thankfully enough, we've got a few to spare.  Come, I'll take you there now.  I'm headed that direction anyway."

You follow Bolard through the tunnels, trying your best to remember how to get back to the hatch.  Thankfully, it isn't too far.  After a few minutes, the dirt walls become wooden, which feels a little nicer.  It's like being in a regular hallway, (if a bit cramped, due to your size).

"This is your room,"  Bolard says, opening the door at the very end of the hallway, "Take some time to get acquainted with your new surroundings.  I will return shortly,  there are a few matters of grave importance which I must discuss with you."

He shuts the door, leaving you to explore your new accommodations.  Not to say there's all that much to explore, the room is quite barren.  The only furniture is a sleeping pad that looks like it's woven from grass and a little table on the far side of the room.  It's all too small for you, but you'll just have to make do. You take off your backpack and sit on the mat. It feels so nice to take a rest after all that walking.

While you sit, you begin sifting through the contents of your bag, laying them out on the floor in front of you.  You stop when your hand touches the strange metal disk you found in the forest when you woke up. The screen still flashes, "insufficient power," over and over again.  Maybe if you can get it charged up again, you might be able to uncover some clue about your past.  You flip it over and look at the back. There's a little tank strapped to this side, with a tiny bit of green fluid inside.  Is this the stuff that powers it? If you fill it up, will the disk work again?

As you ponder all these things, the door opens and Bolard walks in.

"Come, monster,"  he says,  "I need to relay the plan to you, so that we're ready."
> The plan
Bolard leads you back out into the hallway and through another nearby door.  This room is less barren than the one you sleep in, and it's set up more like an office.

"Sit,"  Bolard gestures towards a stool, too small for you, in front of a desk in the middle of the room.  You obey, sitting uncomfortably low, as Bolard walks around the desk and sits on a stool of his own on the other side.

"Monster," Bolard says,  "You have displayed great strength.  Strength enough, perhaps, to take out an entire army single handedly."

"What do you mean?"  you ask, "I've never fought anyone in my life since yesterday.  At least, I don't think I have."

"Training will be provided of course,"  Bolard says, "With your great strength, and the proper training, you may lead us to victory."

"You're crazy!  What kind of insane thing do you want me to do anyway?"

"I want you to storm the king's palace.  In two weeks time, there'll be a banquet, and all his advisors and officials will be there.  If you attack then, you'll be able to cripple his regime, creating a power vacuum with no one to fill it.  That's when we'll step in and take over, creating a new era of peace and prosperity."

"But why just me?  Why should I do this alone?"

"Because if you don't, more innocent Oalkwardners will die!  They'll keep doing experiments, stealing more children to use as lab rats!  We've got someone inside the palace who can get you inside.  There's no turning back, you agreed to this when you shook my hand."

You open your mouth to argue, but then close it.  It's useless to argue.  If you refuse to do as he says, he'll probably have you killed or something.

"Any questions?" Bolard asks.

You don't say anything.

"Good.  You may spend the rest of the day as you wish.  Go explore the facility, if you want.  Get to know your way around so you feel more comfortable here."

You turn and walk out the door, back to your room.  There's nothing else to say.
> The note
You return to your room to find a note, laying on your pillow.

"Come to the mess hall at midnight.  There's something we must discuss."

Confused, you turn it over to see if there's anything on the back, but there's not.  For a moment, you stand there, staring at the piece of paper in your hands.  What's going on?  You've hardly met anyone yet, and already someone wants to talk with you privately?  Is it some kind of trap?  But what if it's important?

Curiosity burns within you.  You have to find out what this is all about.  If things go wrong, you'll just have to find a way out of it.

That night, you creep out of your room and head to the mess hall at what you think is about 11:30.  (It's hard to tell, the Oalkwardners use a complex system of hourglasses to tell time. It's nothing like what you're used to).  Luckily, you explored most of the tunnels beforehand, so you find your way easily enough, with ten minutes to spare.

You enter the mess hall to find... nothing out of place.  There's not another person in sight. You're not surprised, you are early after all.

Something touches your shoulder.  You whirl around to see a cloaked Oalkwardner with a wooden mask over their face, standing behind you.

"What-"  you start to say, but the Oalkwardner puts a finger to its lips.  It beckons for you to follow, and scurries down a tunnel at the far side of the room, one of the few you have yet to explore.  You follow behind as best you can, trying your best not to lose them in the twists and turns of the passage. Soon, you reach a staircase, leading up to a hatch.

The Oalkwardner leads you through the hatch and into the cool night air.  You hadn't realized how much you missed the surface until now, and you cherish each breath of fresh air.  They lead you a little ways into the forest, then stop.

"So,"  the Oalkwardner says,  "You're the one Bolard was talking about.  The one that's gonna save the entire rebellion."

"I... guess."  you say, confused.  "What did you want to talk about, exactly?"

"Do you want to know how Bolard sees you?"  The Oalkwardner asks.

"What?"

"When he looks at you, he sees only a pawn.  A monster which he can bend to his will and use for his own gain."  The Oalkwardner turns to face you. "But you are not the only one. He treats everyone that way.  All of the high ranking Oalkwardners do, at least in this rebellion."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"If their plan succeeds, and they manage to take power, I fear they will estate an even worse government than there already is.  You are the key piece in their plan. But if that key piece were to fail..."

"What, you want me to die on purpose?"

"No, of course not!  But I want you to fake your own death.  Me and some others are ready to desert this crazy rebellion and take whatever the king has to throw at us.  It can't be worse than what they've got planned. Not only that, but we want you to tip the king off about their plans while your at it.  We'll write a note, and we want you to leave it somewhere they'll find it once you're inside the fortress."

"Wait, so am I going into the fortress or am I faking my death?"

"You're faking your death at the fortress.  They'll just think you failed your mission, but you'll actually have run away, with me and the others."

"I hardly know you!  Why should I trust you?"

"I'll give you until the day of the attack to think it over, alright?"  The Oalkwardner says, "I get that this can be hard, but I'm begging you, please don't fail us."

You sigh.  "I'll think about it."

"Good.  Now, go get some rest.  You've got a long couple of weeks ahead of you."
> The choice...
The next two weeks are a blur.  You train for six hours a day, preparing for the big day.  Before you know it, it's nearly arrived.  The night before, you find another note on your pillow, this one a little longer than the last.

"Enclosed is the note you must plant in the fortress," It reads, "I hope you've decided to help us, as we desperately need it.  Meet us in the woods behind the fortress once you've done the job, and we can escape."

There's another piece of paper, this one explaining everything about the rebellion, where to find their headquarters, and how best to stop them.  You skim it, then shove it in your pocket.  You're still not sure whether to go along with the rebellions plan, or join the defectors.  Whatever you do, you'll have to decide now...
> You tell Bolard about the defectors and end this right here and now
There's no point risking complications during the mission. You'd better tell Bolard about this right now.  You stand and head to his office.  He's still in there, organizing some of the books on his shelves, as you enter.

"Hello, monster."  He says, nodding to you.  "What can I do for you?"

"Defectors,"  you say,  "They've been trying to get me to help them, I've got proof!"

You show him the note.  He reads it, his eyebrows rising higher and higher with every sentence.

"My word!"  he cries,  "We must do something about it before it's too late!  I'll initiate a surprise inspection, we'll catch those filthy traitors yet!"

He rushes out of the office.  You head back to your room and sit on your bed.  Did you do the right thing?  There's no stopping it now, so you'd best try and get some sleep.  It doesn't come easy though.  There's a lot of yelling and screaming from the other tunnels, probably the defectors.  You try your best to ignore the conflicting feelings in your stomach as you drift into an uneasy sleep...
> The attack
The next day, you begin the journey to the fortress, escorted by a few rebels, and Bolard himself.  It takes several days to get there, and you get to pass by Arrorn on the way, so that's fun.  (Though, you don't get to actually enter the village.  Too much risk of being recognized or something).

Finally, you spot it, sitting on a hilltop just on the horizon.

"Alright," Bolard says, "There's a little side door you're going to be let in through.  It leads straight to the great hall.  Once you get inside, kill as many people as you can, alright?  Especially the ones that look super regal, because those are probably royalty."

"Anything else?"  you ask, dryly.

"Actually, yes.  The king wears this magic armor all the time.  He doesn't get hurt by physical attacks."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"  you protest,  "What do you want me to do about him if I can't hurt him?"

"I'm getting to that!"  Bolard sounds annoyed,  "I do have something that'll kill him."

He reaches into his bag and pulls out a glass bottle full of... water.

"What's this for?"  You ask.

"What do you think?  It'll get through the cracks in his armor, and kill him!"

"It's water."

"Exactly!  Water kills people!"

"I don't follow."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that water disintegrates people?  The skin soaks up too much and it just falls apart."

"That's not how it works for Humans," you say,  "We can touch water, no problem."

"Really?  Well, that sure makes things easier.  This way you can cross the moat, no problem!  I was wondering how we'd do that."

"Yeah... Okay."  You roll your eyes.  "Just give me the bottle.  I'll smash it over his head or something."

As you get closer to the fortress, you start to make out more detail.  It looks like it mainly consists of a bunch of towers, surrounded by a wooden wall.  By the time the sun sets, you're within a hundred yards of the walls.

"Perfect!"  Bolard says,  "Look, all the nobles are already inside."  He points to the closed drawbridge, as if to prove it.  "The doorway is just around the back of the fortress.  Good luck, monster."

"Thanks," you say, rolling your eyes.  You grab your knife and hop into the moat, making it across in less than a minute. You rush around the side of the wall and find a door, carved into the side.  Just as you reach it, it flies open, and a female Oalkwardner beckons you inside.

As soon as you enter the fortress, the nauseating smell of Oalkwardner food hits your nose.  You ignore it best you can and take a look around.  You're in an alcove at the edge of the great hall, which consists mainly of a bunch of wooden tables lined up together.  Over fifty Oalkwardners sit around it, laughing, eating, getting drunk...

This is perfect!  If they're tipsy, you can strike much more easily.  Quickly, you locate the king, (his armor sets him apart from the rest quite nicely), and sneak up behind him.  Then, in one quick motion, you bash the bottle over his head, shattering it into a million pieces.  The water splashes everywhere, (it definitely wasn't a small bottle), and the entire room goes silent.  Then, the king begins to scream, and the room erupts into chaos.

Quick as you can, you start punching, kicking, stabbing right and left.  Oalkwardners go flying everywhere, most dying the instant you touch them.  You manage to take out about half of the nobles before they get wise and start running for the door.  At the same time, some of the guards seem to be getting ready for a counter attack.  You'd better figure out what to do next, and fast...
> You get out now, while you still can. (You've already killed the king, and that's all that really matters).
You dash out the door before the guards can strike back.  Soon as you make it to the moat, you know you're home free.  The guards can't follow you here.  Before you know it, you've reached the other side.

"Bolard!"  You call, "I got the king!"

He and the other guards come running from around the corner.

"Great!"  Bolard says,  "That should be enough!  Worst comes to worst, and we have to launch another assault.  They're crippled without a leader, it should be easy."

"Good to know.  Now why don't we get out of here before they come after us?"

Bolard laughs.  "Yes, let's get on that."  And you run off into the forest together.


The next day, you begin the journey to the fortress, escorted by a few rebels, and Bolard himself.  It takes several days to get there, and you get to pass by Arrorn on the way, so that's fun.  (Though, you don't get to actually enter the village.  Too much risk of being recognized or something).

Finally, you spot it, sitting on a hilltop just on the horizon.

"Alright," Bolard says, "There's a little side door you're going to be let in through.  It leads straight to the great hall.  Once you get inside, kill as many people as you can, alright?  Especially the ones that look super regal, because those are probably royalty."

"Anything else?"  you ask, dryly.

"Actually, yes.  The king wears this magic armor all the time.  He doesn't get hurt by physical attacks."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"  you protest,  "What do you want me to do about him if I can't hurt him?"

"I'm getting to that!"  Bolard sounds annoyed,  "I do have something that'll kill him."

He reaches into his bag and pulls out a glass bottle full of... water.

"What's this for?"  You ask.

"What do you think?  It'll get through the cracks in his armor, and kill him!"

"It's water."

"Exactly!  Water kills people!"

"I don't follow."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that water disintegrates people?  The skin soaks up too much and it just falls apart."

"That's not how it works for Humans," you say,  "We can touch water, no problem."

"Really?  Well, that sure makes things easier.  This way you can cross the moat, no problem!  I was wondering how we'd do that."

"Yeah... Okay."  You roll your eyes.  "Just give me the bottle.  I'll smash it over his head or something."

As you get closer to the fortress, you start to make out more detail.  It looks like it mainly consists of a bunch of towers, surrounded by a wooden wall.  By the time the sun sets, you're within a hundred yards of the walls.

"Perfect!"  Bolard says,  "Look, all the nobles are already inside."  He points to the closed drawbridge, as if to prove it.  "The doorway is just around the back of the fortress.  Good luck, monster."

"Thanks," you say, rolling your eyes.  You grab your knife and hop into the moat, making it across in less than a minute. You rush around the side of the wall and find a door, carved into the side.  Just as you reach it, it flies open, and a female Oalkwardner beckons you inside.

As soon as you enter the fortress, the nauseating smell of Oalkwardner food hits your nose.  You ignore it best you can and take a look around.  You're in an alcove at the edge of the great hall, which consists mainly of a bunch of wooden tables lined up together.  Over fifty Oalkwardners sit around it, laughing, eating, getting drunk...

This is perfect!  If they're tipsy, you can strike much more easily.  Quickly, you locate the king, (his armor sets him apart from the rest quite nicely), and sneak up behind him.  Then, in one quick motion, you bash the bottle over his head, shattering it into a million pieces.  The water splashes everywhere, (it definitely wasn't a small bottle), and the entire room goes silent.  Then, the king begins to scream, and the room erupts into chaos.

Quick as you can, you start punching, kicking, stabbing right and left.  Oalkwardners go flying everywhere, most dying the instant you touch them.  You manage to take out about half of the nobles before they get wise and start running for the door.  At the same time, some of the guards seem to be getting ready for a counter attack.  You'd better figure out what to do next, and fast...
> You go after the rest of the so-called nobles
You can't leave any behind to take the king's place, or else the entire mission is a failure.  You rush out after them, easily catching up to them with your longer legs.  Guess they're not the types to exercise... or do whatever it is these creatures have to do to get stronger.  You plow through them like they're snowmen.  But the guards begin to come after you, and they clearly do exercise.  They begin to surround you as you chase the last noble across the courtyard.  (Most of them never made it past the great hall door).

Just as the guards close in, you leap atop the last noble, crushing him under your weight!  He dies instantly.  Unfortunately for you, the guards reach you at that exact moment, stabbing you in about fifteen different places at once.  You also die instantly.

But hey.  At least you saved the kingdom.  Sort of...


The next two weeks are a blur.  You train for six hours a day, preparing for the big day.  Before you know it, it's nearly arrived.  The night before, you find another note on your pillow, this one a little longer than the last.

"Enclosed is the note you must plant in the fortress," It reads, "I hope you've decided to help us, as we desperately need it.  Meet us in the woods behind the fortress once you've done the job, and we can escape."

There's another piece of paper, this one explaining everything about the rebellion, where to find their headquarters, and how best to stop them.  You skim it, then shove it in your pocket.  You're still not sure whether to go along with the rebellions plan, or join the defectors.  Whatever you do, you'll have to decide now...
> You go along with the defectors plans
What are you thinking?  Of course you're going along with them!  This rebellion kidnaps children, for crying out loud!  There's no way they'd make good rulers.  You finger the note in your pocket, your resolve slowly growing.  Tomorrow, you get to leave this place forever.  With that thought in mind, sleep comes easy...

The next day, you begin the journey to the fortress, escorted by a few rebels, and Bolard himself.  It takes several days to get there, and you get to pass by Arrorn on the way, so that's fun.  (Though, you don't get to actually enter the village.  Too much risk of being recognized or something).

Finally, you spot it, sitting on a hilltop just on the horizon.  The King's fortress.

"Alright," Bolard says, "I didn't have much to do last night, so I thought a lot about the plan.  We've got an informant inside the fortress who can let you in so you can carry out the mission.  Just do what we discussed and we'll be fine."  He thinks for a moment, then says,  "Also, I brought something in case the king doesn't fall so easy.  He's got this enchanted armor, and I'm not quite sure you'll be able to break through it. So, I procured a bottle of water."  He pulls a glass bottle out of his bag and hands it to you carefully.

"What's this for?"  You ask.

"What do you think?  It'll get through the cracks in his armor, and kill him!"

"It's water."

"Exactly!  Water kills people!"

"I don't follow."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that water disintegrates people?  The skin soaks up too much and it just falls apart."

"That's not how it works for Humans," you say,  "We can touch water, no problem."

"Really?  Well, that sure makes things easier.  This way you can cross the moat, no problem!  I was wondering how we'd do that."

"Yeah... Okay."  You roll your eyes.  "Just give me the bottle.  I'll smash it over his head or something."

As you get closer to the fortress, you start to make out more detail.  It looks like it mainly consists of a bunch of towers, surrounded by a wooden wall.  By the time the sun sets, you're within a hundred yards of the walls.

"Alright,"  Bolard says,  "Good luck monster!"  He gives you a shove towards the moat.  You jump right in and swim across, making it to the other side in less than a minute.  You head around the back of the castle, where you find door carved into the wall.  As you're contemplating how to get inside, it swings open and a female Oalkwardner beckons you inside.

That's when you realize you'll have to kill her so she doesn't reveal that you're a traitor once you escape.  As soon as she shuts the door, you bash her over the head with your fist, taking her out instantly.  You feel a little guilty about it, because after all, she did let you in.  But then, the king is probably gonna execute all of the rebels anyway, right?

You're in a little alcove in the great hall, unseen by the group of people at the table, talking and laughing.  There's another door nearby, presumably to the courtyard.  You'll head out there in a moment, but first you've gotta figure out the best way to deal with the note...
> You go up to the table and deliver it yourself
You have to make sure the king gets this note, don't you?  So, you walk right up to the table, reaching in your pocket for the note.

But before you can say so much as a word, someone screams.  Now what on earth could've caused that?  You look around, but realize they're all looking at you, backing away.  You open your mouth to say that you come in peace, but before you do, a guard rushes over and stabs you in the gut!  You're so surprised, you don't do anything when the others come and follow suit!

You fall to the ground, still clutching the note in your hand.  Your vision swims, then fades to black.  Hopefully they'll still find the note in your hand.  They'll probably feel pretty stupid about killing a potential ally, but that's their loss...


What are you thinking?  Of course you're going along with them!  This rebellion kidnaps children, for crying out loud!  There's no way they'd make good rulers.  You finger the note in your pocket, your resolve slowly growing.  Tomorrow, you get to leave this place forever.  With that thought in mind, sleep comes easy...

The next day, you begin the journey to the fortress, escorted by a few rebels, and Bolard himself.  It takes several days to get there, and you get to pass by Arrorn on the way, so that's fun.  (Though, you don't get to actually enter the village.  Too much risk of being recognized or something).

Finally, you spot it, sitting on a hilltop just on the horizon.  The King's fortress.

"Alright," Bolard says, "I didn't have much to do last night, so I thought a lot about the plan.  We've got an informant inside the fortress who can let you in so you can carry out the mission.  Just do what we discussed and we'll be fine."  He thinks for a moment, then says,  "Also, I brought something in case the king doesn't fall so easy.  He's got this enchanted armor, and I'm not quite sure you'll be able to break through it. So, I procured a bottle of water."  He pulls a glass bottle out of his bag and hands it to you carefully.

"What's this for?"  You ask.

"What do you think?  It'll get through the cracks in his armor, and kill him!"

"It's water."

"Exactly!  Water kills people!"

"I don't follow."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that water disintegrates people?  The skin soaks up too much and it just falls apart."

"That's not how it works for Humans," you say,  "We can touch water, no problem."

"Really?  Well, that sure makes things easier.  This way you can cross the moat, no problem!  I was wondering how we'd do that."

"Yeah... Okay."  You roll your eyes.  "Just give me the bottle.  I'll smash it over his head or something."

As you get closer to the fortress, you start to make out more detail.  It looks like it mainly consists of a bunch of towers, surrounded by a wooden wall.  By the time the sun sets, you're within a hundred yards of the walls.

"Alright,"  Bolard says,  "Good luck monster!"  He gives you a shove towards the moat.  You jump right in and swim across, making it to the other side in less than a minute.  You head around the back of the castle, where you find door carved into the wall.  As you're contemplating how to get inside, it swings open and a female Oalkwardner beckons you inside.

That's when you realize you'll have to kill her so she doesn't reveal that you're a traitor once you escape.  As soon as she shuts the door, you bash her over the head with your fist, taking her out instantly.  You feel a little guilty about it, because after all, she did let you in.  But then, the king is probably gonna execute all of the rebels anyway, right?

You're in a little alcove in the great hall, unseen by the group of people at the table, talking and laughing.  There's another door nearby, presumably to the courtyard.  You'll head out there in a moment, but first you've gotta figure out the best way to deal with the note...
> You leave it stuck between the door and the wall on your way out
You slip out the door before anyone notices you, leaving the note behind.  Now, you're in the fortress courtyard.  Luckily, it's deserted, probably thanks to the banquet.  Even more lucky, you spy another exit door just across the courtyard.  You head straight for it and try to open it.  To your immense surprise, it swings right open.  Are they really this under prepared?  What if someone broke into the fortress through that?

You step outside the walls, and realize that there's no handle on the other side.  Closed, the door blends seamlessly with the wall, making it completely invisible.  How interesting, looks like they had an escape route planned in case of an attack.  So smart of them.

You cross the moat and hurry back into the forest, hoping against hope that Bolard doesn't see you.  Once you're a good hundred feet in, a voice from besides you nearly makes you jump out of your skin.

"Did you do it?"

You turn to see the masked Oalkwardner and a few others looking at you, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah," you say,  "It's done."

"Perfect!"  The Oalkwardner pulls off his mask, revealing his face.  "Now that I know I can trust you, I can take this stupid thing off.  I was just wearing it in case you betrayed us or something.  My name is Culmad, by the way.  Now what do you say we get the heck out of here?"

"Yeah,"  you say, "Why don't we?"

And you set off into the forest, together.

When word gets out about what you did, you will be hailed as a hero, the savior of the kingdom.  But for now, perhaps you ought to just try your best to make a life for yourself in this place.  It seems like you've already got yourself a few friends to start your new life with.  Best of luck...


Your dreams are a confused mass of pictures and images.  Lots of formulas and numbers, the strange disk you found in the woods, a violet light engulfing you...

A whisper in your ear breaks you from your slumber.

"Wake up, strange beast.  I need to talk to you."

You open your eyes so find that it's still dark.  The face of an Oalkwardner stares down at you, blocking out the moonlight.  It startles you so much, you sit straight up; if it wasn't for the creature's swift reflexes, your head would've smashed right into it.  That's when you get a good look at it in the light of the moon.

"What the heck do you think you're doing here?"  You ask, "You were the guy that ran away after I saved Pila!"

"Not so loud," He hisses, "Do you want to give me away?"

"Yeah, actually.  I should call Merk right now, or better yet, do you in myself!"  You take a deep breath to let out a shout.

"Don't!"

Something about the creature's tone stops you, if only for a moment, from alerting the Oalkwardners in the house.  What would drive any intelligent creature to walk into the lion's den like this in the first place? It just doesn't add up.

"At least hear me out."  Pleads the creature, "I need your help."

"What makes you think I would help a kidnapper?  Seriously, are you crazy?"

"It's not just me you'd be helping, but them too!"  he gestures towards the house, "In fact, you'd be helping every Oalkwardner in this village."

"Is that a threat?"  You ask, "Are you going to kill them or something if I don't cooperate?"

"My word, you must really think I'm some kind of monster, monster.  No, I'm not here to hurt anyone. Like I said, I'm here to help."

"How does kidnapping children help anyone?"

"I was getting to that.  This village, Arrorn, I believe it's called, is not as peaceful as it seems.  It is under the rule of King Faerdalm, a cruel, ruthless tyrant."

"Sound like something a teenager would come up with for a writing contest,"  You say, rolling your eyes.

"Will you let me finish?"  The creature glares at you, "He takes their food, says they owe it to him for getting to live in such a 'great and powerful country.'  It's all a load of bull, of course. He takes so much that a good many of the villagers die every year from starvation. I'm part of a resistance group trying to stop it.  We've been working on a way to get rid of Faerdalm once and for all, so everyone can be free, just like in the good old days. That's why we've needed to take children, to run tests on them.  We're developing a way to make ourselves stronger, so we can finally stand up to him. But we're still a ways out from perfecting it. It's going to take a lot more people, a lot more deaths, to finally perfect it.  To be quite frank, I'm getting quite sick of it."

"So, where do I come in?"  You ask.

"Never in my life, have I ever seen a creature as powerful as you." He says, "If you were to join us, we would be able to achive our goal much quicker. And the quicker we achive it, the less needless deaths must occuer." He extends his hand, as if to shake yours, "So, are you in?"
> You do not. (No way you're helping this guy).
You stare at the Oalkwardner's hand.  Slowly, you shake your head, and he draws back his arm, frowning.

"I figured this might happen,"  he says,  "I suppose you won't be much use as an assassin if you don't cooperate.  But we may be able to find... another use for you."

"What are you talking about?"  You ask, "I said no!  I'm not going to help you!"

But he doesn't respond.  Instead, he makes a popping sound with his mouth, three times in a row.  Suddenly, an entire hoard of Oalkwardners appears from all directions, all holding spears, all wearing the same cloaks as the leader before you.

"I feared it might come to this,"  he says,  "That's why I brought backup.  The data we gather from studying you might just help us yet."

You leap to your feet and tense for a fight.  "You're going to kidnap me now?  Bring all the Oalkwardners you've got, I'll just do them in like I did your other friends!  You said it yourself!  I'm a force to be reckoned with!"

The Oalkwardner shakes his head and raises his hand.  All of his soldiers, or whatever it is they are, leap towards you as one.  There are far too many to fight off, even if you're stronger than they.  Even still, you put up your fists and start swinging madly as you are engulfed in a wave of papery skin.  Each swing of your arm makes contact, sending the creatures flying right and left.  But as much as you punch and kick, they still manage to get a grip on you, pulling you this way and that, crawling up your legs and weighing you down.  For some reason or other, none of them have spears.  Not that you're complaining, if it weren't for that fact, you'd probably be dead already.

A single Oalkwardner is light as a football, easily tossed around in a fight.  But a whole hoard?  That's enough to crush a grown man under their combined weight.  Slowly, your knees begin to weaken as more and more of the creatures pile on top of you.  You stagger around for a few moments until you finally collapse, falling backwards into the grass.  It's hard to see anything, they cover your face, blocking your view.  But over their cries, you can just hear the leader's voice.

"You should've taken my offer, monster.  Perhaps then, we could've been friends."

A pain slashes across your wrist.  Something's cut you!  Before you have time to figure out what that might be, you begin to feel dizzy.  The edges of your vision close in until all that's left is one small pinprick of light.  Then, even that is extinguished, and the world fades away...


You drop into a crouch and creep closer, stopping behind trees whenever you can.   Now that you're closer, you can make out more details, and boy are these people weird.  They're even shorter up close, they'd probably only come up to your waist.  But that's the least strange thing about them.  They're skin resembles Paper-Mache, all folded over itself.  And then there's the ears, so long and pointy.  Almost as big as they are, and yet still they point straight up.  Forget whatever you thought about only humans yelling.  You must've forgotten that too, because these things are no humans.

The two biggest creatures hold down a smaller one, (perhaps that one is only a child), while the one that appears to be the leader stands and watches.  Like you thought, all but the one on the ground are clad in green cloaks, reaching nearly to their feet, with a strange symbol of something like a broken goblet embroidered on their backs in brown.

They've nearly got the child into a big sack now, but she (he? It?) still hasn't given up.

"Please!"  She cries, "I just wanna go home!  Let me go home!"

"We're giving you a new home."  Says the leader, "A better home!  Don't you want to help make your old home better?"

"No!  I want my papa!"

Just watching this makes you nauseous.  This has got to be stopped, there's no way you can sit by and let it happen.  Before you've even so much as thought of a plan, you're on your feet, charging the creatures with...
> The lighter!
Common sense says the knife would be the better choice.  I mean, how much damage can you really do with a lighter?  It takes too long to set someone's clothes on fire; you'll be tackled from behind before you have a chance to hold the flame in place long enough.  But for some strange reason, the lighter just feels like the right tool for the job.

Before anyone even has a chance to process the fact that you're there, you tackle one of the creatures holding the... other smaller creature down.  It's like running into a giant beach ball, except made of Paper-Mache.  You thought it would be harder to send the creature flying, but it's so light, you hardly notice the impact.  By the time the two of you hit the ground, you've already pressed the lighter to the thing's head and flicked it on.  To your amazement, it's skin goes up in flames faster than a pile of dry pine needles.  So fast, you nearly burn yourself before you manage to get far enough away from it.  These things not only look like they're made of paper, the also burn like it too.

"What is this?"  The leader cries, "What the heck are you?"

There's no time to respond.  The other creature (not the leader), is already upon you.  It charges towards you, so fast you can barely get the lighter around in time... But you do.  The creature runs right into the flame, recoiling as if it's been stabbed.  Within seconds it's reduced to ashes, just like the first one.

The leader stares at you and takes a few steps back.

"P-please..."  he says,  "D-don't hurt me!"

Before you have a chance to react, he's already running away, off into the forest.  He's far too fast for you, that's for sure.  By the time you get to your feet again, he's already disappeared into the trees.

As the dust settles, the weight of your actions sets in.  You've just killed two intelligent creatures.  Even if they're not quite human, they still talked.  What if they had family?  Kids?  You had no way of knowing the lighter would kill them.  You just thought you might give them a scare, send them running.  But the way they treated that other creature... there's no way they were really worth sparing... right?

Speaking of which, you'd better make sure that other creature is alright...