choose your own adventure, episode 9a
KNIGHT SWORD, EPISODE 9A
“Wait!” you shout.
Caius, Rodrik, and Rodrik’s bouncers turn to stare at you, along with every other eye in the Ghost Boar Inn.
The cloaked man in the corner bounds to his feet, eyes glittering in the darkness of his hood.
“Handing us over to the orcs is a bad idea,” you say, thinking fast.
Caius’s jaw drops a bit.
Rodrik guffaws. “Really, little girl? And just why is that?”
“Because the orcs will keep the reward money and kill you,” you say.
Rodrik snorts. “They’ll take a cut, aye. But the Blood Queen rewards any man who hands over a Paladin’s sword to her.”
“A Night Raven leads the orcs,” you say.
Caius flinches a bit at that, and the bouncers share a look.
“Do you really think the Raven won’t just kill you all?” you say, hefting the sheathed longsword. “Especially if he finds the sword here? He might think you’re rebels. Better to just take the sword and kill you. As a warning to others.”
“Boss,” says one of the bouncers, “the wench has a point, and…”
“Shut up, Kurt,” says Rodrik, his eyes not leaving your face. You might not have frightened him, but you have alarmed him a bit. Everyone knows that the High Queen and her Knights of the Raven do not show mercy to rebels. “So, lass. If I don’t turn you in for the bounty, what do you have in mind?”
The cloaked man stops, still staring hard at you.
“Let us go,” you say. “I bet you have a secret way out of the town, to avoid the Count’s tax collectors. We go, and disappear, and you never hear from us again. And the Raven never knows we were here.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” grunts Kurt, squinting at you. “Kill them both, Rodrik, and give the Night Raven the sword. We give him the bodies of two rebels along with the sword, and he’ll know we didn’t plot treason against the High Queen.”
Rodrik opens his mouth to answer, and the cloaked man’s hand flies to his belt.
Then the door to the Inn explodes open. Vlacht stands framed in the doorway, his disfigured face ghastly in the flickering light, and his eyes fall upon you.
And the sword in your hands.
“There!” he bellows.
“But I’m loyal!” protests Rodrik. “Loyal! Truly!”
“You, get the Raven,” says Vlacht, and you hear the sound of an orc running down the street. “The rest of you, kill them all and take the sword!”
The orcs storm into the Inn, even as the patrons surge to their feet and draw swords.
Rodrik whirls and vanishes into the back room, closely followed by Kurt and the second bouncer. The cloaked man beckons to you, eyes flashing beneath his hood.
“Come with me,” he snarls, “if you want to live.”
But he’s looking at the sword in your hands.
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