A cold wind blows, sweeping along the dried-up river bed and cutting through Eldritch’s coat like a knife. Clouds roll across the sky, dampening the moonlight and casting long shadows across the land. The male does not shiver in the chilly air because he is used to the frigid conditions and even finds it familiar, comfortable, and reassuring. He stalks along, searching for a late-night snack while also exploring.

Night is when he is the most comfortable, his darker pelt more able to adapt to the shadows instead of standing out like a dark blot against the snowy backdrop. Something strange hangs in the air tonight, a current of danger and excitement that makes the air feel like it is a live wire. Yet, as he continues to move, he does not find any reason for this sensation. Intrigued, Eldritch continues to move, wishing to find what strange sights this night might offer him.


"Eldritch Amarix" | "Latin"

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

The moonlight glitters of the snow in a beautiful display as Eldritch ghosts across the land, the breeze slicing through his coat as he goes. A sudden, strong gust of wind picks up snow from in front of the man and sends in hurtling toward his face, temporarily blinding him and forcing the dark male to come to a stop. Shaking his head, Eldritch attempts to blink away the powder that stings his eyes. When the world resolves once more, the man immediately goes into a defensive stance, fur bristling as he readies for the wolfish Borzis to attack him.

Where the fuck had they come from? White eyes snap from wolf to wolf, assessing them, weighing them and realizing… they want him to follow one of them. Coat flattens as he coldly inspects them again, grimacing in disgust at the happy, excited one and rolling his eyes at the sorrowful woman. That left him one choice. With powerful strides, Eldritch approaches the dark male Borzoi with the furrowed brow and grunts his acceptance, his own brow mirroring the other male’s as he awaits instructions.


"Eldritch Amarix" | "Latin"

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.

The two dark male creatures simply stare at each other, Eldritch giving the stranger a grunt in greeting as he approaches him and waits for the other to speak. The only sign of acknowledgment is a grunt of approval that is given from the serious Borzoi before he turns to lead Eldritch away. The Amarix male is fast behind him, keeping close to his guide as a thick, choking fog suddenly envelopes the pair. It blinds almost every sense that the dark wolf has and he is forced to squint his white, water-filled eyes in the hopes of finding his guide through the mist. Flashes of the dark coat ahead are the signs he gets of his guide and he follows it boldly through the swirling smoke.

Finally, after what seems like forever, the thick fog begins to abate and, where his nose had been blind mere seconds before, Eldritch is suddenly punched in the face by the strong, acrid scent of sulfur. It is strangely calming to the dark man and definitely an improvement over the obstructing gray he had been in. Blinking away the last of the tears that the fog had left behind, the man is unexpectedly pulled backward by the Borzoi guide. Lips peel back into a snarl and he wonders, for a brief moment, if he is about to fight his guide.

However, as his vison resolves, his lips and fur fall back into their neutral state as he realizes that he standing at the edge of a chasm and that he had almost just stepped off. A grunt of surprise is given as Eldritch stares down at the bubbling lava, that fills the deep chasm below, watching the liquid death as it flows freely below them. His guide catches his attention, motioning him towards a wobbly wooden bridge that connects the area where they are standing to a cave on the other side of the wide canyon.

White gaze carefully inspects the planks that lay before him and notices that the bridge is a sad start of disrepair but appears to be mostly solid… mostly. A grunt of understanding is given as he walks up to his guide, dipping his head in acknowledgement. Taking a deep breath, he turns to the bridge, muscles coil tightly as he prepares himself. As he slowly exhales, Eldritch releases all the tension in one, fluid motion as he attempts to dash across the rickety wooden bridge before it has a chance to collapse on him. As much as he enjoys the heat the lava below them gives off, he is in no hurry to take a lava bath.


"Eldritch Amarix" | "Latin"

You kick off, launching yourself down the shaky bridge. You can hear the guide grunt in surprise behind you. Your paws crash down on the warm, dry wood. About halfway through the bridge, your paw crashes through a plank, sending your body tumbling into the weakened structure. The guide is fast behind you, scruffing you and shoving you down the bridge one step at a time. At the end, he releases you and ushers you quickly into the cave with an eyeroll.

In the struggle, you scrape the outer part of your back left leg. It bleeds a little, but will heal just fine.

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 is 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.

Eldritch kicks off, muscles rippling smoothly as he dashes off and down the down the rickety wooden bridge with a surprised grunt of his guide following after him. The wood is warm and he can feel just dry each board is as his paws thunder across them. Half-way down the span, just when the dark male starts to believe that he is home free, one of his front paws strikes a piece of wood… and keeps going through. Eyes widen slightly, as he is pitched forward, body now careening down into the weakened structure.

For a moment, as he tumbles ass over head, the man cannot help but wonder if this bridge will continue to hold. Thankfully, the grumpy guide is right behind him and Eldritch’s lips peel back as he feels his scruff being grabbed. With a little more shoving than the dark male appreciates, the pair finally make it to end, where solid ground waits and the hold is released. A glower is shot at the guide as the Borzoi disappears into the opening of the cave with an eyeroll and the slightly irate male takes a moment to compose himself before following after.

It is then that he realizes he scraped the outer part of his back-left leg and, while it is bleeding slightly, he doesn’t think it will leave any permeant mark.

With a small shrug and not giving it a second thought, Eldritch moves into the dark cave where warm lava lights the area. White eyes roam from rocks, to bridge, to the lava itself as he moves to join the guide. The pair stand there as the dark man tries to puzzle out what to do since it is obvious that they need to get through this place to continue on. With a glance at the guide, he moves to the first wooden bridge while thinking that, they have to be here for a reason. This time he tries to be more careful as he begins to try and cross the bridges to get to out of this room.


"Eldritch Amarix" | "Latin"

You decide to use the bridges. They seem to have stood the test of time, only being singed here and there. They're easy to cross, and you progress steadily, even finding a bundled item along your way - you grab it and decide to open it later. Soon, you find that the bridges end and you are in a vast, lava-filled room.

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

Carefully, Eldritch makes his way over the slightly singed bridges. Progress is steady and along the way, a bundled item catches his eye so he greedily snatches it up and tucks it away for examination at a later time. The bridges deposit him and his guide onto a large, level, flat stone and the dark male gets the impression that thousands of paws have touched it over an untold number of years.

Once he is done examining the stone that they find themselves on, Eldritch turns his attention to the area around him… and that is when his troubles start. There is no clear, discernible way to get from this stone to the next area and his brow slowly furrows in frustration. White eyes find several options and for several, long moments, he weighs the pros and cons of each. Eyes dart over to his guide who stoically stands guard and immediately scratches one idea off his list.

Finally, Eldritch releases a short, pensive sigh and turns around, trotting to the spot furthest from the stalagmites. Spinning to face them, the man crouches, muscles coiling and storing the energy for the moment soon to come. Taking a deep breath, he holds it for a space of four heartbeats before slowly pushing it out through his mouth. At the same time, he kicks off, rocketing across the flat space between him and the first stalagmite. Once close enough, he bends his knees and leaps into the air, hoping against hope to use the series of stalagmites as stepping stones.


"Eldritch Amarix" | "Latin"

You decide to use the stalagmites as stepping stones. At first it seems like a solid plan as you begin to make your way across, but then suddenly the one you're standing on begins to crack and splinter, giving out completely beneath your paws.

Somehow you manage to scramble almost all the way across, but as you make the final leap to the edge of solid ground you feel yourself begin to fall...

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, a deep, ugly wound that lies across your right hip, that will leave an impressive scar (about 6 inches long). You feel less knowledgeable at having gone on that adventure as well.

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...

• Glittering Concoction
  

You Lost These Along the Way...

• Minor injury - left outer back leg
  
• major wound/scar - right hip