Being here again made Ophie feel weird. Not Boreas in general but here, home, or at least where home used to be. She breathed deep, half expecting to catch the scent of Sirius' marked patrols, but of course he was long gone. Everyone was gone. Mixed feelings stirred in her chest, the chilly winter air rustled the distant grass beyond. Sometimes Zee would call out to her on the beach, demanding that it was bath time because Ophie had inevitably gotten all stinky from rolling in mud and dead things. She'd been told by a very smart pig that dwelling on the past wasn't always so helpful, that pain wasn't a teacher or a punishment for sins committed. Pain was pain, and it was okay to hurt.

She sniffled a little, watching the waves. Not realising she wasn't alone as she'd first thought.

Three wolfish borzoi stand before you, shifting with anticipation. Their glowing green eyes flitter and dance with an ethereal excitement. To your left, a pale and excitable wolf beckons, their tail wagging fervently behind them. In the center, a mournful wolf who's coat is such a pure slate, it seems as if she's tinged blue. To your right stands a dark abrasive looking wolf who's eyes are barely visible under his furrowed brow as he impatiently awaits your decision. In fact, it seems they are all waiting for you to make a choice between the three.

Who do you choose?

Easy Route: The Gleeful Guide

This route poses minimal risk, but also lesser rewards.
Risks: Scarring, small loss of gems/skill points

Medium Route: The Sorrowful Guide

This route poses some risk and moderate rewards.
Risks: Scarring, cosmetic disfigurement, temporary disabilities, moderate loss of gems/skill points

Hard Route: The Irascible Guide

This route poses the most risk and greater rewards.
Risks: Scarring, cosmetic disfigurement, permanent disabilities, higher loss of gems/skill points

Ophie flustered, clearly taken by surprise. She hadn't been expecting company, least of all by wolves with such long and pretty snouts. It was obvious they wanted her to follow, but Ophie was quick to fall into a self-doubt spiral as she tried to choose one out of the three. The happy wolf's energy was infectious, but the sorrowful wolf made her heart ache a little, reminded her of past pains and made her want to do all she could to make her smile again. The last one, the darkest out of the trio was kind of intimidating, to be honest. All scowly and intense.

And yet, he reminded her of family, almost. All those furrowed Fatalis brows.

"Do you um-mind if I come with you, sir? I won't be a bother, I promise."

Ophie chooses the dark and broody wolf!

The grumpy wolf's brow relaxes just slightly when you choose him. He seems to give you a moment to reconsider. After a moment, the tough looking wolf grunts in approval and turns to lead.

As you follow, a thick smoke rolls in and masks sight and smell. Through watery eyes, you are barely able to follow the guide, but eventually the smoke begins to clear and you are hit with the strong smell of Sulphur. You take a step forward and the guide pulls you back slightly. Blinking the rest of the tears out of your eyes, you realize you're on the edge of a steep chasm- a chasm filled with bubbling lava. One wrong move and it's over.

The guide motions to a wobbly wooden bridge that connects down into a cave on the other side of the canyon.

What do you do?

Strength: Dash across before the bridge can collapse.

If you're fast, the bridge won't have a chance to collapse!

Charisma: Make the guide go first.

This was his idea, so make him go first.

Dexterity: Balance lightly between the planks evenly as you go.

Most of the planks seem stable enough. If you balance evenly, surely none of them will break.

Wisdom: Evaluate the safest planks to walk on.

If you take your time, you can pick out the safest planks.

Leave.

Leave and exit the event.

Oh geeze. Bridges like this were clearly not designed for women with her physique. Ophie hesitated, ears flicking to the sides as she stared down at the massive drop, the flickering light of the lava and the reek of sulphur that filled her snoot. This was a bad idea, most certainly and yet now she'd decided to follow him she felt too chicken to back out now. He might think she was being rude and she couldn't stomach the thought of making him angry, not when he already was such a scowly fellow.

"I'm- I hope you don't mind if I take it a little slowly?" She glanced over her shoulder at the stern stranger, before she very slowly began to cross the bridge. Slow and steady won the race, right? If she was smart and picked the sturdiest of planks surely she wouldnt' fall to her death and began an Ophie-roast, right?

Ophie will try and use her wisdom!

You observe the planks one by one. Some are well worn, some are charred. You do your best to pick the most solid looking ones. Your eyes burn against the heat of the lava, but eventually your observant nature pays off and you find yourself on the other side safely. The guide follows with a smirk that he quickly wipes from his face with a huff as he leads you into the cave ahead. On your way, you also pick up 160 Gems.

Inside the cave, warm lava lights the way. Small pools bubble and small streams flow from tiny cracks in the walls. Several boulders act as stepping stones across larger gaps, and small wooden bridges span other areas. Around the walls of the room, a thin edge navigates above any threat of lava. It is clear you need to get to the end of this room if you wish to continue your journey.

What do you do?

Strength: Take the stepping stones.

The stepping stones look sturdy and all you have to do it jump a little.

Charisma: Ask the guide to lead the way.

The guide should know the way through the pass.

Dexterity: Take the thin edge.

Creeping on the thin edge keeps you above and away from danger.

Wisdom: Take the bridges.

The bridges are obviously there for a reason, so use them.

Leave.

Leave and exit the event.

Ophie couldn't help but wag her tail in delight, she'd made her way across and her guide had even smiled a little! She got the sense he wasn't a smiley guy and that made her kinda nervous, but maybe he was just the stern type, maybe he was a good guy after all. Looks could be deceiving after all. Ophie glanced at all her options, there was no way she was gonna be able to fit on the thin ledge, cause come on, look at her. It felt kinda silly that it was even presented as an option to begin with. She didn't think she was athletic enough to hop across either so... the bridge then, she'd done well on it last time, so she felt somewhat confident in giving it another shot.

"Let's go slow and steady again." She decided, they weren't in any rush, right?

Ophie relies on her wisdom and uses the bridge again

You decide to use the bridges. They seem to have stood the test of time, being singed here and there. They're easy to cross, and you progress steadily until one snaps out from under you. You scramble at the surface just enough to save yourself from falling in with a little help of the guide. The lava sputters, splashing you across the left side of your chest. The lava singes through your fur, leaving a deep burn about the size of a wolf's paw (5in x 4in). Ouch! that's gonna leave a scar.

Across the lava room stands a flat piece of smooth stone, so level and flat, it is as if thousands of paws had worn it over time. It looks cool to the touch and vaguely important. Surrounding it is a mote of lava, separated only by sharp stalagmites that impale it to point towards the open ceiling. There is no discernible path across. You know you must get there one way or another, but you're not sure you'll be able to go back the same way you came if you cross.

What do you do?

Strength: Jump over the gap.

If you push off real hard, you can close the gap... probably.

Charisma: Ask the guide to help.

Maybe just this once...? He's got to know something!

Dexterity: Use the stalagmites as stepping stones.

If you're careful, some of the tips of the stalagmites look wide enough to balance on.

Wisdom: Build a bridge with the materials from the other room.

It'll take a while, but it should work...

LAST CHANCE TO LEAVE.

If you proceed further, you will not be able to leave. Abandoned threads may result in failed rolls.
Risks: Scarring, cosmetic disfigurement, permanent disabilities, higher loss of gems/skill points

Ophie winched, a flash of pain rips across the side of her chest and she whips her head around to try and examine the damage. She would have to tend to it in time, make sure it didn't get infected and that it healed as clean as possible. But she had no time to do that now, the guide pressed on and she toddled after him. Once again she was presented with choices, all of which didn't seem...too great to her.  She knew her weight and heft better than anyone else, so it seemed feasible to think she could work out what materials would support her weight and what couldn't. It would be slow and she already felt as thought the guide might be getting angry at how much she was dawdling...

"Let me- I'll be back, gonna get some things from the other room!"

Ophie chooses to use her wisdom to build a bridge.

You decide that building a bridge across is your best bet. Gathering materials from the other room, you get to building, only stopping once you're sure the bridge is sturdy.

You begin to make your way across, though when you're nearly at the other side you feel the materials begin to splinter and crack beneath you. You try to scramble to the other side, but you feel yourself falling...

All you remember is the hot blazing heat and then... cool darkness. You awake outside of the chasm on a smooth, flat rock.

A familiar form kneels beside you, tending your wounds. It takes several blurry moments to realize this is not your guide, but a cluster of fireflies in a cloak the same color as your guide's fur. Your injuries are blindingly painful, but you will live; you can tell somehow by the way the fireflies buzz around you. However, the deep wound (about 6 inches long) that you notice on the right side of your abdomen will turn into an obvious scar as it heals. You feel like you've lost something else along the way too, losing 80 Healing skill points.

You realize loosely how little sense that makes and you wonder if this is real, but a warm force closes your eyes and bids you to think of home, of safety. When you awake next, you are in a safe place, one which you might have imagined.

You decide trying to cross the gap as-is is just too dangerous, and you get to gathering materials from the other room to begin building a bridge across. After a long period of building and ensuring your bridge is safe, you begin to cross and your guide follows, seeming impressed with your work despite his stoic demeanor. Though you make it across, a sound behind you catches your interest, and you turn to see what it could be...

A giant, glowing worm erupts from the molten chasm below, lava sputtering onto the ground before you. It screeches, towering over the stage and you immediately recognize its name as Jerry. The guide growls, his stance rigid and wide. This is an enemy that must be dealt with if you wish to escape with your life.

What do you do?

Strength: Find a way to attack the worm.

With the way the worm's head begins to lower toward you, surely you can find time to strike...

Charisma: Convince the guide to deal with the worm.

Surely he has a better idea how to deal with this than you do, right?

Dexterity: Try to dodge the worm and stay out of its range.

Surely there's got to be a way to escape this worm, if you're just quick enough!

Wisdom: Study the worm to figure out how to deal with it.

You've never seen anything quite like this, so maybe acting too rashly isn't the best idea. You decide to study it inside and see what information you can gather.

Rerolled using Firefly's Favor.

Oh wow um. Ophie might have had all the training of the Armada under her belt but she still didn't feel like much of a fighter. In theory, she could hold her own, but did she want to? Not really, no! Least of all against a giant worm!! But she knew deep in her gut she couldn't really back down, not now, it didn't even feel like an option. She stared at the beast as it reared up, her teal gaze flicking about its form, she wouldn't just toss herself at it like a bowling ball. That'd be really stupid. Ophie uses her wisdom!

You stop to study the enraged worm, somehow thinking this was a good idea. Before you can react, the worm screeches, showing off its splintered mouth and too many teeth. Before the guide can even jump in the way, the worm in upon you.

All you remember is the hot blazing heat and then... cool darkness. You awake outside of the chasm on a smooth, flat rock.

A familiar form kneels beside you, tending your wounds. It takes several blurry moments to realize this is not your guide, but a cluster of fireflies in a cloak the same color as your guide's fur. Your injuries are blindingly painful, but you will live; you can tell somehow by the way the fireflies buzz around you. One in particular will stand out, the missing tip of your tail You feel less knowledgeable at having gone on that adventure as well, losing 98 Fighting skill points.

You realize loosely how little sense that makes and you wonder if this is real, but a warm force closes your eyes and bids you to think of home, of safety. When you awake next, you are in a safe place, one which you might have imagined.

Three wolfish borzoi bow their heads in appreciation. Thank you for playing the Halloween 2023 event! All is calm as you look out, but there's no telling what's on the horizon... or perhaps even under it...

Look forward to peeks into the event, hiccups, and maybe some hints into the next adventure!

You Gained This Along the Way...

• 160 Gems
  
• Extra Companion Slot
  
  

You Lost These Along the Way...

• Medium scar - left chest
  
• Major injury - tip of tail
  
• -98 Fighting skill points