The delicate woman was traversing the swampland as carefully as she could manage. Trying not to soil her newly groomed coat, but still attempting to track something- anything down to show her brother her appreciation. A frog, a lizard, something that she could carry back with some small sense of repayment for all he had done for her. It was a rather naive manner of thinking and certainly no small morsel would be enough; but she wanted to do something...

As she wandered the muck and mire, Cierzo got a strange feeling. Like she was being watched, or perhaps it was just her anxiety...  

speech

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

Her worries were proven correct, for she was faced with three suspicious strangers. They hadn't made a sound in their approach, and they didn't even smell like anything. Was that possible? Cierzo had begun trembling, her form receding into itself as she cowered; however an attack did not come. They stood there, staring at her in a way that denoted... expectation? She knew the gaze well, and began to look closely at their faces in order to figure out what they wanted from her. One was a serious man, almost angry and she immediately felt small before him. Another was a cheerful creature, tail wagging and eye gleaming with excitement; that one made her feel the most anxious out of the three. But the last one, she felt a kindred spirit. A sadness, a mourning. Cierzo tried her best to display a more composed facade, and with a hesitant gaze she spoke to the sorrowful guide. "What's w-wrong?"

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The tearful wolf seems almost surprised you chose her, though she does not answer your question. After sniffling back some tears, she turns and motions for you to follow.

Quietly, the woman leads you into a perpetual fog. Your senses are blocked and it is impossible to know where you are going. Your only lead is the salty scent of the woman you follow and the brief grey blue flash of her tail in front of you, her body obscured by the mists.

When the shroud thins, you find yourself in a small clearing surrounded by the largest weeping willows you have ever seen. In the center of the clearing, a mirror-like pond awaits, completely still except for a small swirling whirlpool in the middle. A thin path of stepping stones trail towards the center of the lake then stop. The sad wolf sits, and motions you towards the lake, tear-filled eyes brimming with anticipation.

What do you do?

Strength: Swim into the whirlpool.

You're probably stronger than some water, right? You can just swim over and see what's up.

Charisma: Ask the guide for a hint.

The guide seems nice enough. Maybe she will help you.

Dexterity: Use the stepping stones.

There are perfectly good stepping stones here for you to use!

Wisdom: Inspect the water.

Something is amiss with the water... Maybe you can figure out what.

Leave.

Leave and exit the event.

Her question would go unanswered, but the tearful woman beckoned her to follow; and so Cierzo did with great hesitation. A quick glance behind her, hoping Mistral would not worry over her if he noticed her absence. Her anxieties would grow as the stranger led her into a fog so thick she could only see the tail of her guide, and if she had not just met the other woman she would have grabbed hold of it so as to not get lost. But when the fog thinned, the landscape itself had changed. Gone was the swamps muck, and in it's place there stood great willows, all circling them in a clearing. Instantly Cierzo felt fear in her heart. She couldn't be dreaming. This was... this was mythical. And oh how her limbs trembled. It would do no good to refuse something other worldly, so she obeyed the silent order of the sorrowful guide. She came to the edge of the water, peering into it's mirror-like surface.

Cierzo is choosing wisdom.

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You inspect the water, but see nothing there. Maybe a closer look will do. You approach the silvery surface of the water and lean in close. You think you can make something out at the bottom and lean in closer, and closer, and- oops! Your paw slips, sending you clamoring into the lake where your struggles against the currents are for naught. The last thing you remember is going around and around and around and then... down.

As you fall, you scratch your chin.

Under the whirlpool, a waterfall floats you into an underground lake. As you pull yourself from the frigid pool, an icy palace opens before your eyes. Thick layers of ice coat the cave's interior and ornate carvings decorate the walls. Your guide stands on the shore, shaking out her fur. She inspects the surroundings, and you do the same. You realize there is no discernible exit, though some of the ice looks thin and even cracked in some spots along the walls.

What do you do?

Strength: Break through one of the weak spots.

The ice looks thin enough, and you feel strong enough to burst through.

Charisma: Ask the guide where to go.

The room seems directionless... Maybe the guide knows something.

Dexterity: Try to squeeze through one of the larger cracks.

Some of the cracks and cervices look large enough for you to squeeze through.

Wisdom: Inspect the drawings on the wall.

The drawings are intricate, they must mean something.

Leave.

Leave and exit the event.

As Cierzo peered into the water, something caught her eye at the bottom of the lake. She couldn't see it clearly, so she leaner forward a bit more... a bit more... and they she slipped. Her blush form falling into an immediate struggle to swim. But the currents were strong, much too strong. She had not the brute strength of her brother, nor the skill of an expert swimmer; hell she hardly knew how to swim in the first place. As her body was dragged down by the current of the whirlpool, she felt pain as she scratched her chin on something. It was cold, she did not experience the warm hald of death- no. With a tremble she pulled herself onto an... underground shore? The chill in her bones assured her that she was alive, so she looked to her guide who was also drenched in water. The woman was searching the walls of an icy palace, text ingraved into the walls; a cracked fortress she approached while keeping a close distance to her guide. Cierzo was scared. She wanted to leave. But how could she get back with the whirlpool, let alone the fog that brought her here? Would she have to follow the other woman until the end? Maybe... if she could only squeeze through the cracks there...

Cierzo is choosing dexterity.

speech

You try to squeeze through and almost make it. You can see the other room! One problem being... you're stuck. It takes the guide several moments before she's able to push you through, a sharp piece of ice cutting the tip off your left ear as you plop out the other side, leaving a small scar.

On the other side of the ice wall, what was once a neat hallway has been utterly destroyed. Carved pillars lay broken and elaborate art shattered.

The tunnel ahead looks a little unstable, and proceeding further may be very dangerous. You know if you go on now, you may not return in the same condition you entered.

What do you do?

Strength: Charge through the tunnel.

If you're plenty quick, the tunnel won't have a chance to collapse!

Charisma: Convince your guide to lead the way.

One wrong step could lead to the tunnel failing. Perhaps the guide knows a better way.

Dexterity: Carefully tread down the hallway.

If you go slow and carefully, you can leave the tunnel undisturbed.

Wisdom: Study the cave and find the safest path.

If you look closely, you can see where the cracks and freshly broken ice are.

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, temporary disabilities, moderate loss of gems/skill points

Cierzo was aflame with embarassment as the realization that she was stuck hit home. Her guide pushing and pushing until she was through with a sharp wince. A small piece of her ear left behind on the wall. Cie felt her eyes well with tears, wondering if Mistral was going to be angry with her for letting it happen.

But there was a more pressing issue to attend at the moment. She shook her delicate head, peering ahead at her surroundings. Everything was destroyed here. A tunnel almost beckoning her terrifyingly to continue on. How could she not? With all her fears, how could she stop this.. this mission from some divine god? She hesitantly pressed forward.

[Cierzo is choosing Dexterity.]

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Slowly you start working your way down the hallway, though you take far too long to traverse it and you hear the tunnel beginning to crack and splinter around you.

As the tunnel behind you begins to collapse, you find yourself getting battered and bruised by a multitude of ice shards, their blades cutting through your fur and smashing onto the ground below. You begin to falter, but with a final push from your guide, you make it to a more stable part of the tunnel. You notice an injury on the right side of your jaw that's sure to leave a scar.

At the end of the collapsed tunnel, what appears to have once been an elaborate shrine at some point in time lays demolished. A part of the wall carves out and opens to an open room full of jagged ice floating in deathly waters. In the center, a large, flat expanse is frozen, and on the other side, what look like daylight shines through a small opening.

What do you do?

Strength: Break through the jagged ice to the exit.

The ice doesn't look so tough, you can probably break through the tips and clear a path.

Charisma: Convince your guide to lead the way.

The guide may know how to get through the treacherous cave.

Dexterity: Jump from jagged peak to peak towards the exit.

If you time your jumps just right, you think you'll be able to use them as stepping stones.

Wisdom: Look for the safest path to the exit.

Looking ahead, there has to be one safe path... if only you can spot it.

Cierzo timidly made her way down the crumbling hallway, each step feeling perilous. The tunnel threatened to collapse around her, showering her with icy shards that cut through her fur. Despite her injuries, she pressed on with the help of her guide.

Emerging from the collapsed tunnel, Cierzo gazed upon the ruins of what had once been a grand shrine. Ahead lay a chamber filled with jagged ice, with a faint glimmer of daylight in the distance. With determination, she stepped onto the frozen expanse, her heart set on reaching the opening to the outside world. She looks around, fear gripping her heart as she searches for a safer path than the floating ice.

[Cierzo is choosing Wisdom.]

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You think you've chosen the safest path. You navigate carefully, your eyes scanning for the best route. You didn't choose right, you realize as you look over and see a flatter path. Your distraction costs you, and you slip into the icy spikes below. Above you, now spinning, you see the streaks of your own blood melting down the broken and jagged ice. As your vision tunnels, the guide runs to your side and all you can think about is how warm her tears are.

You awaken out by the lake, battered and beaten and so. so cold. 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 ache, but you will heal fine; you can tell somehow by the way the fireflies buzz around you.

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've made it out alive, though not without injury. You notice a deep wound on your left shoulder, which will no doubt turn into a noticeable scar (about 6 inches long). Likewise you feel you've lost some knowledge along the way, losing X skill points. Any items you've found lay beside you, and will be revealed later.

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...

• Noffin'
  

You Lost These Along the Way...

• Minor injury - chin
  
• Minor scar - tip off left ear
  
• Minor scar - right jaw
  
• Major scar - left shoulder