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Pathfinding: An Adult Choose Your Own Adventure

Sixtieth Entry

By Gideon Kalve Jarvis

Vote Tallies

Ambush! - 1

Valkyries - 16

Loot Y/N - 14/0

Additional Votes

* Wicker's virgin buns belong to Cassidy - 3

* Shara gangbanged (all-female and all-male both suggested) - 8

* Rufus bottoms to Windtooth (his father, the Blue Feather alpha male) - 9

* Kyte/Rufus - 5

* More Hanaro sex scenes (Rufus and Urtan primarily) - 8

* Fix Urtan's throat, let him talk - 11

* Brief genderflipping for Rufus and/or Rael - 6

* Incestuous foursome with Windtooth, Wauken, Rufus, and Erlend - 2

* Spark goes back into the sex machine, and this time he has sex with himself - 1

Vote Options in Progress

* Urta/Rael/Adel/Rufus scene; family dynamics in action

* Shara and Padmini learning flesh magic and non-lethal skills (sex quite likely)

* Rufus/Urtan scene, where they finally go at it

* Share Calanon and Durion with the Valkyries (will take place at the Valkyrie city)

* Lesage's gradual sexual corruption

* Challenge Jutta to a contest of strength, and the loser submits to the winner

* Get the Valkyries to join the Blue Feather camp (may tie in with the vote above)

Author Notes

Not even a contest for whether we get loot. Which amuses me to no end. Also, glad that folks wanted to head to the Valkyries' city first, since that's actually the last major stop on our trip around the Far North of Summer Country. Once the Valkyries are onboard, then we're ready to face the Warlord, and the winding up of our long adventure finally begins. Which, of course, is a perfect time for treachery...

Pathfinding Sixtieth Entry

Violence. Plunder. These were the major motivations of the mercenary and the adventurer. Perhaps there was more of a focus on one over the other, depending on one's specific inclinations, but they were powerful draws all the same. As the leader, Rufus set the party to work sorting through the trolls' treasures. Like most trolls, they'd set up their camp with a decent-sized cave nearby, more for storage purposes than for living, and a wide assortment of junk and trash was collected in the place, cluttering it badly. Worse yet, the place stank of troll. Fortunately, Skaeth was an old hand at looting worse places than this, being the oldest member of the party there, and a longtime campaigner, while Kyte's draconic blood let her navigate even the most disorganized hoard - as long as there was treasure to be found, no trollstink could deter the green dragon's nose for loot.

After almost an hour of scouring the lair, a small pile of gemstones and coins was accumulated, useful for when the trolls traded with other monstrous creatures. Along with the minor valuables, however, were a small collection of magical trinkets, wrapped in the vestments of a priest of Lord Phoenix, god of cleansing fire. The trolls had probably waylaid a lone missionary at some point in the distant past, and considered his things to be of sufficient worth to keep them. The cleric himself, of course, was not present with the spoils - the trolls had undoubtedly eaten him, and anything that was organic and not of a magical nature. Magical things tended to disagree with even a troll's legendary digestive system. It was quite lucky that the missionary's scriptures had been protected by a puzzle lock, however - it had prevented the illiterate brutes from putting its pages to less-than-savory uses.

The journey through the wilderness was uneventful, once everything was sorted and the party set themselves to the task. Uneventful, that is, except for the occasional glimpse of something in the underbrush, or hiding behind rocks. The party's shadows didn't appear until two-and-a-half days out on their journey, and their initial arrival was almost immediately noticed by the sharp-eyed and sharper-eared Cassidy. After the first day, however, the party generally relaxed about their shadows - they were halflings, and they didn't seem hostile. Actually, they just seemed to be there to observe, never approaching, but never really leaving the group alone, either.

Not having anything against halflings, per se, so long as they kept their distance, and didn't use their well-known skill with thrown objects, Rufus made it a general policy to ignore the halflings. This seemed to suit both sides, party and shadows, just fine.

It was on the fourth day of travel that the party, Cassidy first (as usual) heard the sounds of fighting. Rufus knew what was going on before Cassidy, with Wicker in tow (since the reindeer boy regularly accompanied the lapida now, Cassidy taking extra time and effort to train the young actaeon as a proper scout), returned to report, however - the scent of blood was on the wind. Rallying his band, Rufus rushed forward in time to see a skirmish between barbarians and Valkyries taking place on a low, treeless plain. Watching for a moment from the wooded hill overlooking the battle, Rufus gave a short snort, then motioned with his hands to where he wanted his companions. Though they were a little slower to respond, Erlend, Boskan, Vin, and Landis moved as well, obeying Rufus' unspoken commands, their free time during the trip having been spent training so that they could fight together as a more effective group. As soon as everyone was in position, Rufus raised his weapons high, then gave a blood-chilling howl, before he rushed forward, down the hill, and right into the thick of battle. Arrows flew over and around him as he charged, cutting down enemies on all sides before his muscular body slammed hard into a knot of barbarians.

Swinging his axe and sword to one side and then the other, Rufus almost didn't notice that the creatures he was striking down weren't exactly human. Apparently Belthin's enchantments, which had granted the barbarians the power of totem animals, still had some effect, or else the barbarians had their own shamans who'd simply repeated the magic the dark-haired sorceress had used. Either way, Rufus was very glad when, a moment later, Urtan skewered a barbarian with a head like a wild boar from the side, holding the hefty male pinned to the ground while he and Adel cut the warrior down properly. These barbarians didn't have the sense to fall down when they were dead! Even Jonna and Skaeth, with their powerful bodies and wide, sweeping blows driving a brutal wedge into the enemy ranks, shields pressed outward to make a near-unbreakable wall, had to put their all into the fight, making sure that every strike crushed bone, ensuring their opponents couldn't get up again even if they weren't slain outright.

Fortunately, the battle had been just on the edge of going either way when Rufus and company arrived. Pinned between the forces of the Valkyries on one side and the party on the other, the barbarians eventually fell, leaving the winners standing on opposite ends of the field of battle, regarding each other warily.

"Jutta sent for us," called out Rufus, cleaning off his weapons on the ragged furs of a fallen barbarian, then returning them to his weapons belt. "We're here at her invitation."

"Huh," grunted the lead Valkyrie, a tall and muscular woman with forest green hair. "The animal outlanders. Yes, we were told to expect you." She nudged a dead foe with her boot. "We can use the help, I'll admit, even if you are a puny male: these raiding parties have been coming more frequently all the time. We might be worth ten of them for every one of us, but when we face odds of twenty to one, I'm not so proud as to turn away help when offered."

Animals. The term rankled, as did being called a beast, or similar derogatives. Beastfolk, of all the non-monstrous races, received some of the heaviest discrimination without ever quite being despised like orcs often were. It was as though the smooth-skinned races regarded beastfolk as though they were indeed just a sort of talking animal, rather than a potential equal, requiring special treatment and handling like brute beasts rather than respect and consideration for their feelings like any other sophont. Though not unused to such demeaning treatment, Rufus hadn't had to endure it for some time now while he'd been traveling through territory most heavily controlled by his fellow beastfolk, and now that he was returned to lands dominated once more by smoothskins, it was a bit jarring.

Swallowing his pride as best as he could, however, Rufus simply nodded to the green-haired Valkyrie, then glanced at Adel, letting her take the lead. The little chipmunk girl had all the grace and demure nature of a princess born, and Rufus knew he could trust her not to offend anyone, while getting them through to their goal.

"We thank you for your graciousness," said Adel, reading Rufus' body language instantly, playing her role as she stepped to the fore. "And we are very grateful for the honor you show us by letting us enter where few have ever been. Please, take us to your leader; we have much to discuss."

Smirking at Adel, the expression not unkind, for Adel was a cute little thing even when one didn't take her courage and combat prowess into account, the green-haired Valkyrie motioned with her head for the party to follow, then turned and began to walk from the field of battle. Following close by, the party looked to either side as the hills rose up, higher, then higher still, becoming rocky and forbidding. This place was treacherous land, and it would be easy to set up ambushes and defensive fortifications along the high ridges. Suddenly, more suddenly than even Rufus or Skaeth, with their experience in battle, would have expected, the long, low valley turned a bend, and there was the city, its alabaster walls and tall spires shining like a fairy palace.

"It's beautiful," said Rael, awestruck, pressing up close to her father as she stared in wide-eyed wonder.

"Like something out of a fairytale," agreed Imogen, resting a hand on her lupine friend (for she and Wisselfleur had found Rael easy to befriend, and often stayed close together on the party's long marches).

Greenhair didn't say anything, but it was obvious from her expression that she was very proud of her city, and glad that the newcomers appreciated it. Leading them onward, she came to the gates and cried out loudly to the guards on top, and within minutes the party was walking on the broad, paved streets of the hidden city of the Valkyries.

Looking around, Rufus could pick out details that others might have missed in all the glamour of the initial impression the city made. Catching Skaeth's and Adel's eyes, he could tell that they were similarly unfooled. The place was beautiful, there was no mistaking that, and it was surprisingly well-hidden and placed in a highly-defensible location. But it wasn't nearly as big as it had appeared from the outside, and even a cursory glance revealed that there wasn't nearly a large enough population to properly defend such a city from the hordes of barbarians that even then waited almost at the gates, if the force at Belthin's tower was any indication of the resistance they should expect. There was enough for a good-sized army, certainly, and the Valkyries would be welcome allies if they chose to join the much greater army already assembled from the peoples of the Far North. As they were now, though, it was simply a matter of time before the barbarians stumbled across the hidden city in their constant patrols. When that happened, those that didn't escape, fall in battle, or kill themselves would be made slaves of the barbarian hordes.

Something needed to change, and fast.

Reaching the center of the city, the party looked up at a temple complex, which they could quickly tell was also the seat of government as well as religious life. At a motion of Greenhair's hand, Rufus stood still, looking up as a ritual took place above. At the top of the many steps leading to the temple, a young-looking woman with very dark, ruddy skin and hair like flame was just taking a large goblet from Jutta, both Valkyries dressed in translucent, knee-length white robes. Drinking deep from whatever liquid was in the bowl-sized goblet, the woman then lay back upon a broad marble altar, closing her eyes. Several other white-robed priestesses all around began chanting, and as they chanted, a glow began in the woman's belly, clearly visible through the thin robe. Within minutes, the glow faded from sight, and the woman rose to her feet, then turned, kneeling and then prostrating herself before a smooth white marble statue of a beautiful, naked female figure. Words were spoken, the language something Rufus didn't recognize, but the tones suggested thanksgiving and praise. Then the ritual came to an end, almost abruptly, and the many white-robed women separated themselves, returning to life in the city itself.

Seeing that they could ascend the steps now, Rufus led the way, making sure not to get too far ahead of Adel. As he got close to the top, he noticed the redheaded young woman, really hardly more than a girl, that he and the others had saved from the giants, back what seemed almost a lifetime ago now. The teenager was wearing a white skirt and a golden brassier, barely held together by a connecting chain, though she was a bit hard to see, since she held back in the shadows cast by the pillars of the temple. Jutta, for her part, was unashamedly pulling the robe over her head, leaving her naked before Rufus' rather interested eyes, before she began the rather hasty process of donning her extremely abbreviated armor, Once she was dressed in battle garb once again, the tall, golden-haired leader of the Valkyries turned to face the shaggy wolfen.

"It always makes me feel bright to attend to the holy impregnation ceremonies," she said with a smile, before giving Rufus a slight bow. "It's good to see you again, Rufus. I didn't know it until later, but I owe you more than my own life," she glanced toward the freckled, curly-haired redhead in the shadows, who blushed at the look. "I also owe you my daughter's life." She then turned, and heaved a long sigh, folding her arms. "Which is why I am willing to listen to what you have to say at all. Why should my people break their long isolation from the rest of the world? You have my permission to speak."

Path Choices

We've got our chance at last. What shall we say? What shall we do? Pick any two options below, one to open, and one as a backup (only Rufus gets two hazards):

1) Let Adel do the talking. Try to persuade Jutta with pure diplomacy. (40%)

2) Let Jonna do the talking. They know and respect her as a warrior. (45%)

3) Let Rufus do the talking. He's a male, but has proved himself. (30%/40%)

4) Let Ryg do the talking. She bears the word of the Blue Feather alpha and a call to battle. (35%)

If we fail in our attempts, we will be forced to resort to a trial of strength in combat. We have to make two rolls, with a 30% chance on the first, and a 60% chance on the second, in order to win this trial by combat.

Incidentally, you can vote to bypass all attempts at diplomacy entirely, and just go straight to a challenge for leadership via combat.

Now, to the business of material wealth and its disposition.

Here is the unassigned treasure we've got so far, along with a list of all our present party, and what equipment, mundane and special, that they already have. Make your choices for who gets what.

Unassigned/General Party Loot:

* 3 Crowns of Morpheus

* Intercession of the Sun - A shining scimitar inscribed with holy runes, blessed to be quicksilver fast and to burn with fire.

* Solar Disc - A smooth-polished masterwork metal shield, inlaid with gold.

* Scriptures of Glorious Phoenix - A prayer box with a puzzle lock opening, containing scriptures that allow the user to gain some mastery of fire magic so long as the scriptures are in the user's possession and regularly studied. Useful only to casters.

* Trousers of Toil - Stamped with a hammer and chisel over the back pocket, these sturdy trousers, cinched with a cloth belt, grant the wearer the ability to ignore fatigue almost indefinitely (but not the need for sleep and nourishment). Additionally, they also grant the wearer very basic skill with most simple crafts (animal husbandry, carpentry, cooking, smithing, etcetera).

* Rune of Mad Certainty - A lead seal with a rune on one side. When used on a weapon, not only does it enchant the weapon in question, it grants that weapon incredible accuracy, ignoring a target's agility and armor (but not magical protections) to deal supernaturally precise wounds. Can be used on a mundane weapon or on a weapon that already has an enchantment.

* Trollspike - Used by the big mama troll, a heavy club made from the femur of an unknown creature, with a sharp tooth bound to one end, making a lethal spike. Not magical, but a masterwork item. Requires two hands for a normal-sized person to use.

Present Party Wealth Level: High

Characters and Present Major Equipment:

* Rufus - Blade of severed souls; bearded axe (mundane); glowing summon sphere (has a succubus imp inside it, and commands Lesage's loyalty); Furs of Northern Might (grants medium armor for minimal encumbrance, also inspires courage in followers of the wearer)

* Urtan - Bolliban (magic throwing spear); magic unbreakable wooden shield

* Urta - Gutsplitter (magic strength-enhancing mithral axe)

* One-eye - Well-blooded spear (mundane, wood and flint tip both stained red from fighting)

* Adel - Blunt Blade (magic cold iron longsword); breastplate; shield (both mundane); ancestral longsword (masterwork)

* Cassidy - Magic rope (can hold any weight); Stingbow (magic shortbow); Chameleon mask; Boots of Striding and Springing

* Ryg - Greenwood staff (magic healing staff); Soulstone (can trap a soul of the recently-deceased - useful for resurrection or for stopping otherwise immortal foes)

* Rael - Foe-Ender (magic spear, made for her by Windtooth, enchanted by use of a Blade Brand)

* Hanaro - Scarlet Snow (magic samurai sword)

* Padmini - White jade bracers (magical armor)

* Wisselfleur - Longbow, spear (both mundane)

* Imogen - Staff (mundane)

* Kyte - shortsword (mundane); mostly uses natural weapons

* Shara - Spellstone (enhances magical abilities, allows instant counterspelling)

* Skaeth - Crute (magic two-edged axe); Brawler (magic bashing shield)

* Lesage - Charm of Learning (used, granted potent defensive magic abilities)

* Jonna - Turner (magic round metal shield); Maulgrim (magic berserking mace); poor condition platemail (mundane)

* Wicker - Spear; shortbow

* Maji - None

* Erlend - Spear

* Boskan - Spear; shortbow (both very large - sized for him)

* Vin - Spear; shortbow

* Landis - spear; shortbow

Finally, make suggestions on what sort of magic items or other equipment you'd like our present party to get now that we're at the Valkyrie city. http://wquest.free.fr/rules/rul_109.htmand http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items are linked to give you ideas. All options will be weighed against our present Wealth Level (which is High at present), and will reduce that Wealth Level accordingly until we either finish shopping, or run out of money.