We were captivated by the runes, a different one calling to
each of us. They called us deep within ourselves to personal trials, where
something of a god wished to test our mettle. Afterwards, we had more time in
the dark to share our trials.
Jarod was called to a short hallway, the end of which was barred by a
large door. Upon this door was inscribed a riddle.
“insert riddle here”
He quickly guessed the answer, and the door swung open,
revealing an orc. This orc was a monster, even amongst his kind, and wield a
great spiked chain made of an eerie dark metal. Jarod matched his foe swing for
swing. With a final blow that nearly ripped the orcs head off, he found himself
falling down a pit with no end in sight.
Aida found herself on a bright
cloud. “Oh gods, am I dead…” she panicked. An old man strolled up next to her
and asked what she wanted most. She answered that she would most like her group
to be safely out of the hole they were stuck in. The old shook his head at her
lack of imagination, but had to admit her selflessness seemed sincere. He asked
her to solve a riddle.
“insert riddle here”
She eventually guessed the answer. “Very good,”
congratulated the old man, “now let’s see you solve this.” Aida found herself
suddenly underwater, and instinctually swam to the surface. One dim torch
illuminated a nearby shore, and she made her way to it. She found a hallway
leading into the rock face, and it led to three doors.
One opened easily, and held only a
table with a crust of stale bread which a rat would turn down. The other two
were sealed tight. She tried to pick the lock, force the door (less than
brilliant as the doors opened out), even using the riddle’s answer as a
passphrase, but nothing worked. The old man told her there was a simply answer
she hadn’t tried. She sat against a wall, weary from overthinking. In a flash
of clarity, she knocked on the door. It swung open invitingly, and its
guardians swung their swords towards her stomach. She tried to fight them off,
but they just wouldn’t go down. Searching for secret escape, she kicked open
the sarcophagus in the center of the room. The crumbling bones inside clutched
a beautiful bronze dagger to its chest. Aida snatched it up as the skeletons
ran her through. She too found herself falling down one of those stereotypical
nightmare spirals.
Ethiriel met the old man in a
clearing. He asked her a riddle. When she answered, he presented her with two
prizes. First was her packhorse, whom she had missed sorely since they were
whisked away in the sewers. Second was Sloan, who was aiming a bow at her head.
She rolled out of the way of the speeding arrow. In a brief moment of sanity,
Sloan called out to Ethiriel “What’s going on?” “You tried to shoot me!” she
yelled. “Oh shit, there are the voices again… DODGE!” he struggled as he
unwillingly readied another arrow. Woosh, it missed, barely. They tried many
tactics, splitting up, breaking arrows, restraining Sloan, but he was always
magically able to fire upon her when the voices compelled him. She found the
answer in the riddle, and allowed the next arrow to find its mark. She fell into
a bright void, and imagined it was death.
Sloan was sent to a pleasure
palace, and, after being forced to fire on an ally, was rather unsurprised to
be greeted by a strange old man. A riddle was asked and answered, as reward
Sloan was sent on a mission worth 2k platinum to assassinate a male drow who
was somehow climbing through the military ranks. Sloan gladly accepted, and was
given a magical map which showed his position, but not his target. He quickly
found an expensively armored drow, relieving himself, and managed to sneak up
on him. The first arrow crippled the man, allowing time for two more shots
before the drow could reach Sloan. A solid blow with his heavy pick finished
the job smoothly. As his target fell to the ground, Sloan slipped through a
rift in time and space, and began orbiting a small comet at the edge of the
universe.
Igor was more aware of the illusory
nature of his situation, and introduced himself when the old man appeared. He
was congratulated on his politeness, and the old man apologized that he could
not return the introduction at the time. Riddle, trial, falling, let’s move on
with the story.
All were thrown against a wall of
the pit as they returned to reality, and took a well-earned nap.
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