CORPSEGHOUL SWAMPLANDS and WITCHES HOLLOW

You may choose up to one companion and one accessory to take through the swamp. There is great risk involved to all that you bring along as well as your chosen character, though you may find there will also be equally great benefit.

Any rewards gained in your adventure will be account bound and therefore not tradeable. A handful of the benefits will be for the character you bring only.

Your choice in character, companion, and accessory will impact your story. Different attributes and aspects of your character, companion, and accessory will provide risks or benefits depending on the various encounters, and where one wolf would fail a situation another wolf might pass it with ease.

As the story progresses, encounters will become riskier though you can choose to abandon the adventure at any time. If you choose to remain, you do so understanding the risks!

Venom has the option to choose one of her companions and one of her accessories, please mention in your reply what you may be bringing along.
Lets begin!

CORPSEGHOUL SWAMPLANDS - The Beginning

You enter through the low hanging fog into the Corpseghoul Swamplands. Ahead of you lies a large pond surrounded on all sides by boggy and mucky terrain. Frogs in the distance occasionally bellow out an ominous croak (and if you listen closely it sounds a little like "muuuuuurDER." Creepy.)

To move onward towards the Witches Hollow you must go deeper, but how will you overcome the swamp?

1. The pond appears to be deep, and the water is so murky that you can’t tell what lies in wait beneath. There’s gross foliage that might make swimming it difficult, though a larger wolf may be lucky enough to be able to touch the bottom. Do you choose to brave the water?
   
   
2. The terrain surrounding the water is gross, mucky, and squishy when tested with a paw. There is better visibility through this way, though there is the possibility that the ground may not hold your weight at all. Boggy foliage and obstacles are strewn about, that you’ll need to go around, under, or atop. Will you risk the potentially unsteady ground beneath your paws?
   
   
3. SKILL LOCKED: You do not meet the requirements for this path.
   

This wasn’t one of Venom’s favorite places, but she had pledged to get the know the lands around Ashen better. Perhaps it would have been better to just try and light the whole swamp on fire. Traversing the soggy ground was nearly impossible, and Venom couldn’t imagine taking residence here. She couldn’t see much with the fog that lingered over the land, while she enjoyed fog and mist in most situations it somehow made the swamplands even worse.

With an odd sense of beginning rather than an end Venom was made to halt by the existence of a lake. The Empress frowned. Magenta eyes looked up to the moss covered trees to find Poison’s eyes peering down at her, silently daring her to make a decision. She had no desire to submerged herself in the water, and leaned towards the more treacherous muck. Her legs were already covered in mud, what was a little bit more. She wasn’t particularly happy about her knife getting mucky, but she’d clean it later.

Venom carries her hidden knife (Offensive Accessory) and is accompanied by Poison the malabar giant squirrel (Boosted Battle Companion)

Venom chooses Option 2

FAILURE

With each step you take your paws sink further into the muck, and with the ground grasping you so tightly you lose some of your precious agility, too. The obstacles that were already difficult for a large wolf to crawl beneath are harder, and you bonk your head a few times on fallen logs as you make your way through. By the time you make it out of the muck, you feel like you've lost something. Whatever it was, it's long gone and consumed by the earth by now.

[Venom lost 32 gems!]

THE WITCHES HOLLOW

Further into the swamplands sits a decayed, broken down cottage. The roof appears to have collapsed long ago, and it appears as if no one has been here for quite some time. Jars, broken glass, and beakers lay strewn about the floor covered in a thick layer of dust and grime. Only three items within the hut appear to have been disturbed recently, and your attention is drawn inexplicably towards them.

In the far corner of the room is a package of fresh, aromatic meat. Upon a hook on the wall beside you a gourd full of paint hangs from a thin string. Lastly, a mysterious corked vial of a crystal clear liquid sits alone in a tray on a nearby shelf. Beside the door you see as a small pouch that can fit one item snugly.

The cottage is eerily silent and outside the sun is beginning to set. You cannot stay long, though you have time to take something on your way out.

Your response at this part of the adventure will have great potential impact later in the story. It is not multiple choice, though multiple choices lay before you. Make your choice in character and write your wolf attempting their exit.

The young Empress was met with an old near collapsed structure. It looked nothing like what Toxicity had built with Obi. She left muddy paw prints in her wake as she moved forward to find the three odd items. First she was drawn to the meat, her family and the Armada often spiced their meats but this one was odd. Why had it been left here? The paint interested her the most, her mind jumped to her sister quickly. She wasn’t sure about her level of devotion, and wondered if painting relics on her fur could be similar to Toxicity’s laborious scars. The third item looked like a bit of water in a jar, though its presence was equally mysterious.

The gourd of paint was the only item that she didn’t feel like she could readily access. There was nearly holy water in the empire, and she could ask someone to spice her some meat. Venom tucked the item into the conveniently located bag. With that Venom turned to leave the cottage, maybe she would come back with her shinobi or young warlord to explore it more thoroughly.

Venom chooses to take the gourd of paint.

SUCCESS

As you move to place the gourd into the pouch, you hear the distinctive sound of it tapping up against something metallic and shiny. Peering into the bag you see the prize the prior owner left behind for you - a handful of money! Sweet. The gourd still fits tightly within the pouch, and you make your way out of the hut without issue.

[Venom received 24 gems!]

THE FOUNTAIN

Deeper through the marshes you notice a faint glowing, and are inexplicably compelled to follow it. The trees and reeds open up to a pool of clean, clear water that seems out of place in the gross boggy swamp. Bathing within it are tadpoles, hatchling snakes, and other various baby animals.

You may stop for a moment and investigate, though you cannot stay long and must continue forward before the night grows too dark.

1. Your thirst is calling to you. There are many other bodies of water to satiate it nearby, though something about the strange water is enticing. Do you take the chance to drink from the fountain?
   
   
2. You would not be the first wolf to worry about ingesting something so odd and unnatural, though some part of you knows the water’s importance. Do you take a moment to soak in the fountain rather than drink from it?
   
   
3. If you are exceptionally cautious you might decide against having anything to do with the unnatural pond. You may leave without any part of it touching you, if that is what you wish.
   
   
4. SKILL LOCKED PATH UNLOCKED!: Being a more intelligent creature then most, you realize not only the potential of the fountain you've discovered but also how to best harness it's power. You may use your time here to brew the mystical waters into something new instead!
   

She couldn’t help her mud covered paws as she was drawn to the glowing pool of clear water. The cottage had been odd enough, but this was something else. Venom hesitated only slightly, inching forward as magenta eyes searched the pool. It was teaming with life. Poison chattered over her shoulder while she pondered what to do with the water. She hadn’t worked with the last bit but maybe she could add this to the shrine at home. Forever clear beautiful water. The Empress set the squirrel to be a lookout as she focused what time she had here on the waters. Already she was hesitant of the swamps, but this was a special find she was sure.

Venom chooses option 4.

SUCCESS

A young monkey generously offers you an empty vial he'd stolen from another wolf who'd passed by, and you're able to make your mixture within it. You stay for a while, experimenting with the water and surrounding herbs until you think you've got something suitable, and eventually slip it into the pouch. It's a tight fit and the bag no longer can close, but it should do at least for the moment as long as you're careful not to jostle it and cause it to drop from the sack.

[Venom received a [REDACTED] reward to be revealed at adventure's end or early abandonment!]

NOT SUNFLOWERS NOR DAISIES

Journeying deeper, you encounter a bog of all types of sentient plants as wide as the eye can see. Their herbaceous mouths hang open, and they appear to be waiting for an unaware creature to brush by and fall victim to its fast-shutting clasp. You watch in awe as one particularly large one snaps an unaware eagle right out of the air. You must get past them, but how?

1. These dudes look hungry and unlike anything you’ve ever seen but you need to get past them somehow. If you are quiet and appear unappetizing, perhaps you can wander carefully by without drawing their attention.
   
   
2. If you believe you may appear too tantalizing for the carnivorous plants to ignore, you could try your luck with speed instead. As scary as the field of plants may be, they are rooted to the ground and cannot chase you if they miss their first bite.
   
   
3. SKILL LOCKED: You do not meet the requirements for this path.
   

After bagging her well earned concoction Venom continued on, she was ready to get home at this point. Her attention was quickly brought to the strange plants that littered her path. They were huge and as one simply plucked an eagle from the sky Venom stopped. Surviving crossing this path would be nothing short of a miracle. Venom was fast, but she wasn’t eagle fast. Maybe if she moved slowly through the deadly forest.

This was a difficult decision. Carefully Venom took a few steps forward. She walked with near silence and her movements were fluid and graceful, perhaps she really would make it to the end without drawing the wrong kind of attention.

Venom chooses option 1

SUCCESS

Upon close inspection you notice certain birds and bugs have evolved a color scheme that the plants do not seem to react to. You use your paint to copy their appearance to the best of your ability, and with your new camouflage manage to sneak past unharmed! You still have some paint left in the container that perhaps you can use when your adventure ends!

[Venom received a [REDACTED] reward to be revealed at adventure's end or early abandonment!]
AND
[Venom received a Post-Acceptance Marking Pass!]

THE WITCHES BODYGUARD

An angry, oversized bullfrog with bright red glowing eyes stands in your way and lets out a bellowing, menacing croak. It stands upon a pile of bones three times it’s height and looks prepared to add your skull to it's collection.

1. A bullfrog can’t have been the worst thing you’ve fought or seen others fight, surely it is a winnable battle. You may choose to stand your ground and enter combat with the frog but be warned, he’s a more formidable opponent than he looks.
   
   
2. Sometimes power comes in small packages, and you are not willing to underestimate this particular opponent. While you may not be willing to put tooth and claw against him, there’s always the chance you can outrun him.
   
   
3. SKILL LOCKED: You do not meet the requirements for this path.
   
   

-----

Venom was no greenhorn when it came to things not appearing as they seemed. Poison the squirrel was much more powerful than he seemed and this giant toad likely had similar attributes. It’s bright red eyes seemed to peer deep inside her soul. He opened a path to his own and Venom stared back. She was defiant, her stance defensive and defiant. Venom wasn’t one to back down and she wouldn’t do so now. How many times before had she faced opponents greater than her?

The young Empress flagged her tail and lowered her head as she lifted her lips in a low snarl. He was going to get out of her way and she was going to finally get out of this damn swamp!

Venom chooses option 1

FAILURE

The bullfrog does not stand down from your challenging posture, pleased to have a formidable opponent to test at last. The fight begins, though you each get only a few attempted bites and slashes in before he leaps backwards away from you. He lifts himself into the air with a mighty hop and when he lands, the ground shakes beneath him. A crack in the earth opens up at your feet and you are unable to catch yourself in time. Your leg slides in and your body twists, and you hear a resounding CRACK before you feel any pain. The limb is broken, and when your adrenaline wears off surely it will be unable to bear weight.

The toad looks overly-pleased with himself, and sits back upon his bones with a smug grin. It's not his job to let anyone through to see the witch, though some part of him is impressed by your strength. You may get yourself out of the crack and limp onwards towards the end.

[Venom received a BROKEN LEG as punishment! It will heal on the 1st of Winter]

THE WITCH HERSELF

In a flash of sizzling smoke and mist, an old crone apparates. Stooped in posture, she outstretches an arm in your direction, pointing a knobby finger right at you. "You stole my paint and the secret of my bathwater!" She accuses, spittle flinging from her dry, thin lips. Her speech continues in a language unintelligible to you, though it occurs to you that it sounds a heck of a lot like a curse!

1. You have only a few moments before her chanting is complete, and without any idea what exactly the witch has in store for you, perhaps you should take this opportunity to run for it!
   
   
2. For all you know her curse doesn’t require line-of-sight, you might not be free from it even if you flee successfully. Would you like to instead try to explain yourself, reason with her and apologize?
   
   
3. SKILL LOCKED PATH UNLOCKED: Your life of combat has prepared you for this moment, and this witch is not the only scary beast you've encountered. You may attempt instead to battle her, though be warned she may be the hardest foe you've ever faced!
   

Venom didn’t feel the pain yet, but she had already started swelling around the break and knew she was in for a long recovery. For now all she could do was move on until the shrill voice found her ears. Despite her injury Venom stood as tall as she could, chin high and eyes defiant as the witch chanted at her and accused her of theft.

”Obviously you should have guarded it better!” Venom retorted, finding herself gasping for breath more than she expected. Still, she hadn’t been beaten down completely. She was still standing, so she would continue to fight. Her quills and hackles rose along her back as she stared just as defiantly at the dark woman. A growl laced her lips as she aimed to fight her way through even with her unusable leg.

Venom chooses option 3

SUCCESS

The witch is impressed with your strength and willingness to fight a losing battle. She looks over at you with a look of mild amusement and levitates upwards into the air out of your reach, wagging her finger side to side at you in mock-disappointment. "Silly dog." The crone croaks with a laugh.  "I don't have time for this. Leave here and never return before I change my mind and make you into one of my battle-frogs." While she is too proud to give up anything more, she would not be allowing you to live if you had not impressed her they way you did.  She disappears with an audible 'poof', and a rain of currency pours down from the sky into a pile where she once was.

[Venom has received a REDACTED reward, to be revealed later!]
AND
[Venom has received 521 gems!]

THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Venom received a total of 6 rewards and 2 punishments.
1 punishment is a loss of 32 gems
1 punishment is a broken leg (this will give you a fight disability, and will heal on season change to Winter!)
1 reward is 24 gems
1 reward is post-acceptance marking pass
1 reward is 521 gems
1 reward is REDACTED and to keep things mysterious for other players still deciding their paths, will be revealed closer to the adventure deadline.
1 reward is REDACTED and to keep things mysterious for other players still deciding their paths, will be revealed closer to the adventure deadline.
1 reward is REDACTED and to keep things mysterious for other players still deciding their paths, will be revealed closer to the adventure deadline.

Stay tuned for REDACTED reveal!

Thank you for your participation!
- Your Event Staff writer

NOTE: ALL PRIZES FOR THIS EVENT REDEEMED HERE!!!!!