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Pathfinding: An Adult Choose Your Own Adventure

Twenty-Eighth Entry

By Gideon Kalve Jarvis

Vote Tallies

A - 7

B - 0

C - 1

D - 0

E - 14

Additional Votes:

* Skaeth is up to something - 3 * Spark, Dinah, and the Steampunk Trio - 9

* Marlene performs some "heated" diplomacy - 9

* Kaia's submission (may include Zane and Phan and Marlene) - 7 * Shara and Padmini learning flesh magic and non-lethal skills (sex quite likely) - 5

* Preparing the troops for battle, and training - 4

* Training Crystal (making her more combat ready) - 5

* The kids are all right: see how our recent children are doing - 5

* Kyte's submission - 13

* Investigate that weird crystal orb Ryg found on Praxis' body - 3

* Campfire tale for Urta and/or Urtan - 2

* Rufus/Urtan scene, where they finally go at it - 6

* Appearance of Jonna the she-minotaur - 6

Vote Options in Progress:

* Wisselfleur and Imogen seduced by Rufus (Adel included) - 10

Pathfinding Twenty-Eighth Entry

Rufus lifted his nose, taking in the scent of cooking. Human always smelled like pig when it was roasting, but the smell wasn't that strong, at least not yet. It was more the scent of singing flesh and stray hair, with the faintest undercurrent of a bacon-y smell underneath, something a human likely wouldn't have even noticed, not without a wolfen's finer sense of smell.

"Get the others," the grey-furred male growled softly to Padmini. "We're gonna attack, see if we can't save someone from ending up dinner."

The elephant girl nodded and immediately hustled into the trees. Rufus spared a moment to admire the grey-skinned girl's shapely rump, before glancing over at Urtan, who had been looking at the same thing. He reached over and lightly punched his beta on the shoulder with a friendly grin.

"We'll tap her tail later," he promised, making Urtan nod in response. "Right now, business."

"Boys," muttered Rael under her breath, before crouching low and following close on the tails of her father and his beta (and incidentally doing her very best not to admire both males' butts as she did so).

Of course, Rufus didn't see Cassidy. Knowing the bunny, that was a good sign. What he did see, though, was worrying. A large cookfire filled the clearing, which had obviously been forcibly enlarged by its present occupants. After all the noise they'd have to have made in the process, there was pretty much no chance the barbarians serving Belthin couldn't know the giants were there. Just as well, really: it meant the armies of the sorceress weren't likely to come running just because there was some noise over where the giants were. That, though, was the only piece of good news in what had all the makings of a deadly fiasco.

The beings lounging around the clearing weren't the sort of giant that Rufus had ever wanted to meet. Actually, he hadn't really been sure if they even existed until just now. They were craggy-featured creatures, more the stuff of the mountains than the stuff of flesh like himself and his companions. Elemental beings, primal, formed from the very bones of the earth itself. Mountain giants. There were four of the hulking, roughly humanoid figures, but those four alone took up all the space they'd cleared, and Rufus could now see that, considering their size, more than three times the height of a full-grown human man, the quartet's rampant damage to the area had simply been the equivalent of smoothing down a patch of rough earth to make a better sleeping area for a more ordinarily-sized creature, casual and without significant thought or malice. As much the stuff of the earth and rock as they were, even though they wore no clothing, the mountain giants' sexes were impossible to tell, and Rufus didn't really feel like getting close enough to check. Of course, for his plans, getting close was something he'd probably end up doing anyway, sooner or later.

Hanging from the sturdy limb of a nearby tree was a giant's bag. These were where giants kept the whole of their possessions, and there were three others like it ringing the clearing. The one closest to Rufus, however, jerked and squirmed, the outlines of helpless creatures inside visible through the rough leather, their soft, fearful, tearful voices just audible. Meals for later, obviously. One of the other sacks made similar movements, though the sounds that came from it were obviously from animals. Speaking of meals, one of the giants was hunched over, half-turned away from Rufus so the hidden wolfen couldn't quite see everything, but could see just enough to know that the giant was tying a struggling captive to a long pole, tying knots with the course rope that was more like twine to the hulking creature. Rufus heard the sounds of girlish grunting, and as the giant turned, reaching for another captive who was leaning against the tree behind the giant, the wolfen was able to see both of the intended dinners.

The one presently tied to the pole, which was obviously intended for toasting over the fire, was a lithesome, nubile human lass with curly, copper-colored hair. Her skin, tanned from long hours spent out-of-doors, was perfectly smooth, save for a lightly-trimmed bush between her legs, while the muscle beneath was toned and strong, making it clear that this girl was not just some simple farmgirl, if her strangely otherworldly beauty wasn't a tipoff in itself. The victim with her back to the tree, looking up fearfully at the giant now reaching toward her, wasn't human at all. Actually, she was a black-and-white birdgirl, probably a magpie or some variety of jay or something similar, wearing a nun's habit, the coloration of the clothing meshing quite well with the colors of her feathers and long, black beak. Rufus could just barely hear the girl sobbing out fearful prayers to whatever god she worshiped as the shadow of the giant's hand covered her, her tear-filled eyes gazing upwards in anticipated horror.

It was at this point that things started to go wrong. Rufus was just starting to look around, mostly using his peripheral vision so that he could keep his main focus on the four enemies in front of him, when he heard a high-pitched ululating cry from the woods. It was the gnolls! For all their similarities, a pack of wolves and a pack of hyenas were not the same sort of creature at all. One major difference, unfortunately in this case, being that hyenas - and gnolls by extrapolation - were more a collection of individuals who happened to work together, while wolves - and, again by extrapolation, wolfen - sought to function as a single entity under the command of their alpha. The chaotic savagery of a gnoll attack could be truly devastating when unleashed on unsuspecting foes. Unfortunately, even while unsuspecting, mountain giants were quite a different matter than most other foes.

Javelins hurling overhead, Rufus watched as the beginnings of the plans he'd been laying evaporated in an instant, the gnolls rushing forward in a shaggy, spotty mass to plow into the closest giant, who had been lying almost full on the ground, its head resting against a tumbled tree. The massive brute gave an angry bellow as one lucky javelin found its eye, perhaps one of the only truly vulnerable spots on its rocky body, before it hurled one arm up and over its face, and swept about itself with the other in a blind fury. With any other creature of more common proportions, such blind flailing would have simply allowed the gnolls time to dart around the attack and go for the kill. With a mountain giant...Rufus couldn't hold back a wince as Rish, the more dominant of the twins, took a rib-shattering shot right to the center of his body, sending him flying under his trajectory was abruptly stopped by a tree. On the backswing, the giant snatched up Greymuzzle, who yelped and struggled ineffectually as he was hoisted up, then cried out in pain as the giant's hand started to squeeze.

An instant later, Adel was there, giving Rufus a helpless look as she came to his side, her sword out as she gave hasty, desperate orders to those who remained. Imogen, of course, hung back, as did Ryg and Shara, keeping to the rear as magic support. With a short barked order, Rufus got Rael to join Lysha as ranged weapon support, and would have had them both join Cassidy to ensure concentrated fire, but, of course, the rabbit wasn't anywhere to be seen, the only indication of his presence the swift twang of a well-waxed bowstring from somewhere in the devastated woods.

"Strategy's gone to the Abyss here," Rufus yelled at Adel before whipping out both blades, axe and sword. "Attack! Take them down one at a time, then move to the next one!"

Greymuzzle dropped to the ground with a whimper as Rack, going into a blood fury at the injury to his brother, leapt onto the giant, clambering up the massive beast before sinking his teeth into the monster's neck. This had much the same effect as a mouse's bite would have had, painful and a little bloody, but not terribly lethal, and would likely have resulted in Rack's immediate demise if Rufus and Urtan hadn't rushed forward then, Adel at their heels, blades flashing as they slashed at the feet and ankles of the giant. Bellowing in pain, the hulking brute hesitated for a long, fatal moment, unsure which of its attackers it should strike down first, its primordial mind not really suited for swift thinking. This was all the time Rack needed to jerk out his bone shortswords and plunge them into the giant's jugular with all his frenzied might. It was only because of Rack's rush of adrenaline and fury at the possible death of his brother that he had enough strength in his arms to penetrate the giant's rocky skin, and that only barely. Fortunately, a light nick was all that was needed, as a fountain of gore suddenly erupted from the giant's neck, making it gurgle in astonishment, just before Adel's longsword, wielded two-handed with all her might, hacked through the brute's Achilles tendon, sending it tumbling to the ground with a thunderous crash.

Perhaps things might have gone differently at that moment, if only the party could have kept up their momentum. But this proved impossible, for now the giants were in motion, the three immense creatures of an earlier, more primitive time lumbering forward, one of them swinging a tree trunk like it was a club in vast sweeps across the clearing. Rufus nearly took the second of these swings right in the chest, for though the giant was slow, the tree-club it carried filled too much space to really be avoided. His vision filling with mossy wood, Rufus grit his teeth, expecting death. At the last moment, however, an armorclad black-and-white figure stepped forward, grunting deeply as the trunk slammed into the outstretched hands of the broad-bodied figure, coming to a momentary. It was Goro! That, however, was all that the powerful pandaman had time to do, along with a brief grin at Rufus, before the giant hoisted the tree trunk into the air, and then brought it down right on top of the armored warrior, crushing him beneath its bulk, hammering his body firmly into the dirt.

"Fall back!" Rufus called out, waiting until Adel and Urtan started to pull back themselves before he grabbed Goro by one arm, and jerked the limp pandaman from out of the hole into which he'd been squashed. "Archers, give us some cover!"

"They aren't responding to my illusions!" Shara cried out in panic, her face showing her shock as the foxtaur seemed on the verge of running away in blind panic. "They don't even care!"

"My spells aren't affecting them either," said Ryg, frowning deeply, her brow creased with concentration. "They're so strong, so hard to touch with the powers of the earth..."

In that moment of weakness, as the party's charging formation started to collapse, the giants swept forward in a combined mass. Horse gave a startled yelp as a pair of massive hands clapped together, the thunderous sound of that clap matched only by the snapping of his bones, while another giant charged the position of Lysha and Rael, both girls screaming in terror at the sight of a living mountain racing towards them, before they were snatched up together in a single mighty mitt. Hanaro raced to their aid, the samurai girl seemingly without fear as she hacked her sword into one of the giant's fingers, hacking it right off, before the massive beast snatched her up with his other hand, losing two more fingers and a thumb in the process before finally getting a firm grip on the lacquer-armored warrior.

The rushing onslaught might have ended in total annihilation for the party then, as all strategy failed before the rush of three unstoppable forces. At that moment, however, Wisselfleur rushed forward on wings as swift as lightning, jabbing about the face of the lead giant with a javelin she'd scooped up from the ground. The giant grunted and swatted at the flitting winged thing before him, as troubling as a sparrow defending her nest, but the hippogriff girl was far too fast and agile for the lumbering brute. It wasn't enough to cause any real damage, sadly, but it was more than enough to distract it, and his two comrades as well, who focused on the grey-and-white speckled little annoyance, starting to come to a slow halt. They didn't stop quite fast enough, however, for Crystal saw her opportunity, and stepped forward with typical fearlessness and cool logic. Just as the lead giant's foot came up for it to take another small step, Crystal thrust her arm upward, fingers held tightly together, turning her transparent limb into a sharp spike. A spike on which the giant stepped, crying out in bellowing agony as it stumbled back, Crystal's arm snapping off just past the wrist as it remained where it had been placed. With the same cold, logical fearlessness, Crystal stepped forward once more, her other arm thrusting upward just in time to meet the secondmost giant's lowering foot, and just like that, the charge was broken, just like both of Crystal's arms, letting Wisselfleur dart away into the woods to rejoin the party, while Urta grabbed Horse beneath his shoulders, hauling the limp and apparently lifeless body of her comrade off with her.

Rufus and Adel met now, talking fast, not spending more time than they needed as they drew up the plans for their second attack. They didn't know when the giants would decide to attack, and their group was in a shambles, so there was no time to waste. Crystal had been rendered almost helpless now with the loss of both her arms, while Horse and Goro and Rish lay on the ground, Padmini and Imogen kneeling over them, the unicorn glowing with a pure, silvery light as she let her life energy pass into the bodies of the fallen, one hand on each of Rish and Horse's brows, and her horn resting against Goro's as she knelt forward, eyes closed tightly. It was impossible to tell if it would work, though, for Rufus knew that it took incredible magical might, or outright miracles, to bring the dead back to life; it all depended on a matter of time...

"Now," Rufus said with a soft growl, meeting the eyes of each of the survivors, even Cassidy, who had appeared on the outer circle of the group, "we do this my way."

Urta glanced once at Skaeth, her expression one of hurt and recrimination, not all of it directed at herself, before she turned to Rufus and Adel.

"I will do whatever you tell me to do," said the she-yena, lowering her ears in complete submission.

The three remaining giants, being more forces of destructive nature than intelligent beings, had stopped their pursuit the moment their interest had been distracted by the pain of Crystal's arms thrust into their feet. Composed of more simple matter than was normally encountered by mortals, their fallen comrade was already turning into simple earth, becoming hardly more than a large hillock in the forest, where grass and trees would soon grow at vastly accelerated speeds, thanks to the magical makeup of the mountain giant's body. One of the three giants decided to use the one that had fallen as a seat, and while the other two plucked the shards from their feet, this hulking brute reached down for the pole to which it had tied the copper-haired girl. Now there was a great deal more for them to eat, and that was of far more pressing importance.

Lysha struggled as she was dropped to the ground, before the giant grabbed at her clothes, peeling them off with ease, ignoring her cries and pleas as it easily bound her hand and foot right below the copper-haired girl, then pushed the dark-skinned girl's face firmly into the feet of the girl at the top of the pole. Hanaro and then Rael soon joined Lysha, with the avian nun the last in line on the kabob, all five of the girls struggling with all their might against the stout giant's twine holding them fast. As a final touch, the giant then slowly squeezed the girls closer together, making the unknown girl at the top gasp in shock at Lysha's face was pressed firmly into her intimate regions, before Hanaro's face was squeezed against Lysha's bald cunny, and perky little Rael's ears lowered, her expression the most adorable "poor me" looks of despair as her muzzle was squeezed between Hanaro's legs. Poor little Rael could only manage a soft whimper as the birdgirl nun, her large white-feathered nipples with their plump black nipples dangling on either side of the pole to which she was bound, had her beak thrust between Rael's legs, penetrating the wolfgirl's cunny slightly. It was terribly obvious from the birdgirl's expression that this bothered her far more than it bothered Rael, for her habit had marked her as a member of another good-aligned celibate order, likely one of the more peaceful ones in these parts to try and convert the savages.

The girls on the stick now securely fastened together, to ensure they'd cook as a single unit, the giant lowered them slowly toward the fire, holding one end of the stick as though roasting sizzling sausages. Though muffled, the cries of each girl as her body started to heat up painfully was clearly audible throughout the clearing, with the cries of the girl on top the loudest of all as her dark nipples were licked by the flames, her back arching as she did her best to keep her hair out of the fire as she was the one held closest to its hottest part. In mere minutes, each human girl's skin started to turn red as they began to cook, while Rael and the birdy nun could smell their fur and feathers starting to singe. Not far off, Greymuzzle was only just starting to come around, when one of the giants picked him up by his legs, and lifted him high into the air, opening its mouth as the older gnoll dangled head downward, obviously intending to make a quick snack of the spotty male.

Suddenly, the giant holding the end of the kabob gave a short grunt of surprise as the long kabob jerked in its hand. The one about to eat Greymuzzle paused at this short exclamation, its mouth closing as it watched its comrade suddenly start to struggle with the long wooden pole as though trying to armwrestle it. How very strange...and stranger still, as the pole suddenly thrust with mighty force backward, one end plowing straight into the giant's chest!

Roaring with fury, the giant near the fire yanked the pole out of its chest and dropped it to the ground next to the fire, before rising to its feet in a rage, flailing around in mindless anger. One of its comrades took a sock to the eye, making it rise up as well, and soon the two of them were pounding on each other with full elemental fury. For other creatures, this level of assault would have likely ended with some serious injuries on both sides. For the mountain giants, though, this was quite normal, and the one holding Greymuzzle just leaned back, dropping the still-dazed and badly-injured gnoll to the ground to better watch the fight without distractions.

The giant on the ground died in that instant, never knowing what had hit him. Padmini, breathing hard, clenched her fists around the spear in her hands, the spear Urtan had given her, before she'd been gripped by the wind spirits of Ryg and Shara's telekinetic magic and her own flesh magic enhancing the power of her legs. The magic spear tip, backed by the elephant girl's considerable strength and mass, had punched cleanly all the way through the giant's neck in that single, sudden strike, killing it instantly after Cassidy had taken the time to aim Padmini's flight with perfect precision. Immediately she rose from the still hillock that the giant had almost instantly become, focusing all her concentration on the two giants before her, feeling her efforts joined by those of Ryg and Shara, making the bones of the giants elongate and sharpen, turning their hands into claws of raw earth, which soon began to tear great gobs of earthy flesh from each others' bodies. The pain only made the giants all the more maddened as they laid into each other with ever-increasing fury, paying absolutely no attention at all as Rufus led the charge, Adel, Urtan, Urta, One-Eye, Kyte, and Skaeth all together as they raced at the legs of the giants, weapons out and ready for use. One giant bellowed loudly as the combined efforts of the party's melee fighters tore into its heels and ankles, before an especially mighty swing of Skaeth's double-bladed axe cleaved through its hamstring. As it fell, the other giant, still in a mindless rage, plunged its clawed hand into the other giant's head, tearing it open like an overripe melon, spraying crumbling rock and earth everywhere as the dying giant reverted to its native elements.

Swaying now, the last giant blinked at the fall of its comrade, coming back to itself with the same gradual nature of the land after an earthquake. What had happened? It had hit its friend plenty of times, and harder than that, and it had never died before. The giant's expression was one of total incomprehension as it stared at the three hillocks that had once been its friends and battle companions. Then Urtan's spear, tossed to him by Padmini, plunged into the final giant's belly, spilling out a roiling mass of dark earth, before it stumbled forward, crumbling into mere earth.

Rufus took quick stock of the group as he hastily slit the ropes holding his daughter and her friends to the long pole. He did not immediately cut the nun or the copper-haired girl free, though, instead looking around the clearing thoughtfully. Skaeth was already heading toward one of the large sacks, tugging down the one that wriggled the most. Immediately two white-fleeced, black-faced figures tumbled out - ovida, or sheep people, and young ones at that, into puberty and little else - and lay gasping for breath on the ground, their wrists and ankles still bound, keeping them from doing much else.

"He's alive!" came the cry, then, as Rufus turned back to where Rack was running from the edge of the clearing, his face covered with an expression of ultimate joy. "Rish is still alive! Oh, and the others too."

Despite everything, Rufus couldn't help but smirk. Kid had his priorities, after all. Now it was time for Rufus to decide on his own priorities, for there were wounded to tend and prisoners to deal with. Saving the world was so much more complicated than in the stories of the bards.

Author Notes

In the interest of pushing the story forward, I actually rolled twice here. The first time, I rolled a natural 100 - a critical failure. The second time, I rolled a 43, which was a bare success. What happened above is how that translated into story action.

After the critical failure, each character then had a 50% chance of being safe (1-50), a 25% chance of being captured (51-75), and a 25% chance of being badly injured (76-100). Those who were injured then had a 50% chance of being alive but unable to continue, and a 50% chance of dying. Having healers in our party is why there was a chance to avoid death at all.

Captured: Rael (52), Hanaro (53), Lysha (72), Greymuzzle (61)

Critically Injured: Goro (83 then 13), Horse (76 then 21), Crystal (76 then 36), Rish (98 then 49)

Killed: None (this time)

Path Choices

Unless otherwise noted, it is assumed that the party presses forward to Belthin's tower.

A) Phew, this is more dangerous than we thought. Let's turn back and instead try to get in touch with the valkyries instead, making sure to get our injured on their way first.

B) Send someone back with the injured. This won't require a roll, as everyone will make it back safely to the Blue Feather, but will require at least two of our healthy party members to be sent. Available party members who fill the requirements for the job are: Adel, Urtan, Urta, Cassidy, Rack, Greymuzzle, One-Eye, Lysha, Padmini.

C) Send the injured back by themselves, or with a single healthy guide (use the possibilities in option B). If sent alone, each injured party member has a 65% chance of making it due to worsening injuries or hazards on the road. If sent with a single party member, this chance improves to 80% instead.

D) Bring the injured with us. This will slow us down and cause penalties on future checks, but will not require a check right now.

Also, what about the folks we just saved?

1) Meh, let 'em go. Since they'll be heading in a direction quite different from that of the barbarians, and they intend to stay off the track of the giants now that they know where that is, they won't even need protecting - they can find their own way in relative safety.

2) Hmm, tie 'em up. The clearing the giants made isn't likely to have any visitors in the time it takes us to get to Belthin and back. Then we can have our reward waiting for us when we get back.

3) Talk 'em into rewarding us now (70%). Include what we should do if the check fails.

4) Bring 'em with us. This will lead to penalties on future rolls, since most of the ones we saved are noncombatants, but it will keep them relatively out of harm's way.