You are standing by a tree
There are 3 paths.
One appears to go to a jungle,
one appears to go to a cave,
one appears to go to a beach,
you could try and climb the tree,
there is a nearby shop you could go in,
or you could do something else.
So what's its going to be?
Written by catprog on 01 April 2003
You sit under the tree
You sit under the tree.
Suddenly...
Written by catprog on 21 May 2003
A Blue Light
A blue light blocks everything else.
Written by catprog on 21 May 2003
Gods
The light dissipates to reveal three strange beings.
One is a woman whose lower half becomes tentacles that seem to be made of twisted gold. She’s holding a candlestick in one hand. "I am Ellebelle," she says. "The goddess of goldsmiths."
The second is a man with fiery red skin and dragons horns. In both hands, he holds a flickering flame. "I am Ulanma," he says. "The god of fire."
The third is a woman whose lower half is obscured by a spinner of sandy wind. In her right hand, she holds a wind-chime. "I am Masjinne," she says. "The goddess of wind."
"We have come before you to offer our patronage," says Ellebelle.
"And we come with gifts," says Ulanma.
"But," says Masjinne, "you may only choose one of us as your patron."
Ellebelle holds out her candlestick. "If you choose me, then your hands will be forever skilled in the art of crafting metal. Using your hands, you will craft art that will adorn the homes and bodies of royalty."
Ulanma holds out the flame. "If you choose me, then you will never need fear fire ever again. It will come to you as a servant to a master, and give you the power to conquer armies."
Masjinne holds out the wind-chime. "If you choose me, then the wind will forever be at your back. It will carve a path for you, and clear your way of all obstacles."
All three say "Choose."
You reach out your hand, and take hold of the . . . .
Written by Ophelianime on 29 November 2014
Interrupted
As you reach for your choice their is a cacophony of noise. Hooves pounding, wings flapping.
When the noise stops their are many animal headed people standing behind the original three.
"Their as rules" the tigress headed goddess says to the original three " we have just as much right to offer patronage"
Meanwhile the male tiger turns towards you "While we cannot offer as grand a reward as the main three we can offer the support of all the animals under our domains."
He points to the tigress "My wife and I are in charge of all the felines in the world."
He smiles "And unlike the main three, you may pick two of us instead of just one. You may even pick the husband and wife of the same domain."
Written by catprog on 29 November 2014
CHOOSE THE VULPINE GODDESS
You reach toward the Vulpine Goddess before you. As your fingertips touch hers the world begins to spin. You feel as though you are falling, and your vision fails in a terrifying moment of intense vertigo.
When your sight returns you find yourself stood in a wooded area. The smell of wild flowers carries on the wind, and birds call in the topmost branches of old, wild trees. You realise your senses are sharper; you see more, hear more, smell more than you ever could before.
AS you rise from the ground, you look down at yourself and see the transformation the Vixen's magic has worked. Your body is now covered in soft, white fur. Your clothes are gone, and it is obvious your new form is female. As you adjust to the change, you become aware of the nine long, broad tails you now possess.
Fear takes hold of you. This new form, and this unfamiliar place create feelings of intense anxiety. Yet for now, it seems you are safe from any immediate danger, and you have time to regain your compose and adjust to your new form.
In time, you begin to feel the grow used to your newly enhanced senses. Your nose flares at the smell of animals upwind of you; the subtle, earthy scents of burrowing creatures, and the sharper, stronger musk of carnivorous creatures. You know instinctively that one of the animals is a young male fox. As you close your eyes, you imagine that you can see the world through his eyes, picking out the small, fuzzy shape of a wild hare the fox has chosen as his prey. You open your eyes again as the wind catches the harsh tang of fresh blood. Was it your imagination, or did you truly just gain the sight of another creature?
For now, this question must go unanswered. Night will fall soon, and you have no desire to be lost in the woods after dark. You spy a path through the undergrowth, little more than a parting in the foliage made by passing deer or other animals, but it is better than nothing. You set off at a brisk pace, and after a few short minutes you smell the hint of smoke nearby. It could mean people. But are they friendly? These strangers could help you, but perhaps it would be best to stay on your own for now.
Written by Jasan Quinn on 09 February 2015
Avoid the strangers
For now, it seems your best course is to avoid anyone who might be dangerous. You keep low and use the natural rise and fall of the land to stay hidden from any onlookers as you pass the camping site. Several times the sound of rustling leaves or snapping twigs makes you freeze, eyes wide and ears straining, but there is never any sign of pursuit.
After a few minutes the trees thin out into a man-made clearing. An old house sits in the centre, surrounded by outbuildings in various states of disrepair. An outdated car sits in a roofless garage, overgrown with weeds and so heavily rusted its original colour is impossible to guess. A child's swing frame stands nearby; the swing is long gone. Yet despite the dilapidation there are clear signs of life here. The path to the porch is well worn, freshly cut fire wood is stacked next to a sharp hatchet, and a poorly tuned radio plays from inside the house.
The sun is too low to give you any option but to risk the house. You use the garage to cover your approach, and carefully sneak toward the back door. You find it unlocked, and as you push it open the hinges howl in protest. No-one comes. Inside, the house is furnished with old, worn, but clean furniture. Balding leather armchairs sit facing an unlit fireplace, and through an open door you see a double bed with a man's clothes lying on the ruffled sheets. You rush over and claim the clothes to regain some modesty. The old jeans are worn white at the knees, and your new tails require you to rip open the back of them, but there are shirts that fit you quite well and your new feet fit comfortably into the heavy brown boots under the bed.
As the last rays of the sun fade away and the deep, smothering darkness of night falls upon the house, you peer from the windows and wonder if the owner plans to return. Normally, in a night like this you would struggle to see more than a few paces from the porch, but your Kitsune form grants you sight far beyond that of a human. The trees are visible as grey shapes, their details hazy and unclear. Nothing moves between their trunks.
Satisfied you are safe, however temporarily, you search the rest of the house. The kitchen is stocked with tins and jars of preserved food, and the table holds a bowl of fruit that cannot have been put out more than two or three days ago. You help yourself to an apple as the sight of food makes your stomach growl. After preparing and eating a proper meal, all the while keeping your ears open for the sound of footsteps outside, or the creek of a door hinge, you consider where you are going to sleep tonight. Being caught asleep in a stranger's house, especially in this new form may cause problems, and so you decide to wait. As the clocks strike ten, you decide the owner is not likely to return until tomorrow. If you wake early, you should be able to slip out without them ever finding you. Retiring to the bedroom, you find and set a wind up alarm clock, and are fast asleep the moment your head touches the pillow.
Written by Jasan Quinn on 10 February 2015
The Next Morning
You are woken from a deep, dreamless sleep by the smell of a full English breakfast. The sound of sizzling bacon joins the smell of toast and fried mushrooms to steal away your senses, and for a moment the lure of food wipes away any thought of who was cooking. By the time this revelation comes to you, the question is answered by a figure at the door. He is a humanoid fox, with orange-brown fur on his back and dirty white on his chest and stomach. He wares nothing save for a baggy pair of blue boxer shorts and a pair of old socks. "Good morning, my lady," he said, as though finding you in his bed was nothing out of the ordinary. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."
You scramble out of bed, still dressed in the stolen clothes from the night before, and run out of the bedroom to see the fox stood in the kitchen. A second fox, female and slightly shorter but with brighter fur than the male, was sat in a leather chair reading a newspaper. When she sees you, she quickly puts the paper down and rises to her feet. "My lady," she said with a slight bow.
"Why are you calling me that?" you ask her.
She looks at the male fox. Nothing is said, but you feel the uncertainty between them. "Eat first," the male says at last. "We have a lot to explain, and a full stomach will help."
The food does help. While you wolf down your breakfast, the two foxes try their best to explain who they are and what happened to you.
"We serve the Goddess whose hand you touched, who transformed you," the male tells you as you eat.
"And who is she?" you ask.
"We do not say her name, out of respect. We do not need to; she is Our Goddess. She made us. We have been waiting for you for some time. She told us a Kitsune would come to us soon. Through dreams; we do not speak to her directly. Only a Kitsune may do that."
"Okay, I'm a Kitsune," you reply. "Why did she make me a woman?"
"All Kitsune are female," the female fox replied, "because you have been remade in her image. You are... divine. Partly divine. We were told to seek you out after your ascension and help you learn your new form, and your new powers."
Your fork stops part way to your mouth. "I have powers?"
"Yes," the male replies. "You can see, smell and hear far more than a Human. More even than us, in fact. You can also attune yourself to nature. We cannot teach you how to do this directly; we can only help you find your own way. Your link to vulpine creatures will make bonding to them easier, so we should begin there."
When you finish your meal, the female suggests you change into fresh clothes. They are made for a female, and specially tailored for a person with a tail and anthropomorphic feet. The clothes you borrowed are taken and put on by the male. "Let's go outside," he says.
Written by Jasan Quinn on 11 February 2015
Go out into the forest
You are taken far from the house, to a tiny little clearing formed by the fall of a vast, ancient tree. The anthro-foxes sit on the rotting log and invite you to do the same. They tell you to try and relax, to clear your mind of all thoughts, questions and concerns. It is a long and difficult process, but as the day draws on you feel something change within you. For a brief moment you imagine that you are looking through the eyes of a fox, stalking birds through the bushes nearby. There is a lurch of movement; your fingers tingle at the touch of ghostly leaves and dirt; your mouth is filled with a fleeting texture of feathers, and the sharp tang of blood.
A late lunch gives you some time to relax and get to know your hosts. They call themselves John and Jane, but there is a stiff and unfamiliar tone to how they use the names. According to Jane they have lived in the forest for years, living off the land when they can and trading with Humans when they cannot. They insist on being vague as to what they trade.
"Humans don't see us for what we really are," John informs you. "It is a gift from the Goddess. Only our own kind, or other people touched by the Gods can see our true forms. You have the same gift; Humans will see a Human woman, but will not recall any specifics about you afterwards. This glamour will help keep you safe from harm."
"We did not always live here alone," Jane adds, but refuses to expand upon her statement. John scowls at her silently for some time before declaring it is time to move on.
As you walk through the forest you feel living creatures around you. Their lives flash across your mind, appearing as little sparks of energy that fades whenever you try to catch them. Sometimes you manage to catch one and experience the joy of a bird flying, or the sensation of burrowing into the dirt. Your journey's into the minds of other animals causes you to trip and stumble, shattering the link you've made. Your companions find your clumsiness amusing, but try their best not to show it.
The path leads up into the hills, and the higher you climb the fewer animals you sense. Before long you are utterly alone. Your paths leads you up to a cave. There are signs of life here; paw prints, hoof prints and shoe marks in the mud suggest that people and animals, some of them likely anthropomorphic animals, have entered this cave recently. None of the tracks come out again. The silence is overwhelming here, and even the wind seems afraid to blow around this cave.
"What is this place?" you ask your guides.
They shift uncomfortably, giving each other nervous glances before the female answers, "The Goddess came to us in our dreams. She told us to bring you here."
Written by Jasan Quinn on 12 February 2015
Enter the Cave
Slowly, you walk forward toward the cave entrance. The air inside the cave is cold and dry; the mud gives way to rough stone and all signs of other life quickly dries up. Darkness envelops you after a few metres, forcing you to keep to the walls to feel your way forward. Every sudden dip in the ground causes a heart-stopping lurch and a desperate attempt to regain your footing, for you are not willing to risk discovering how far down the drops go.
As you proceed the walls and floor take a more uniform nature. Natural rock becomes worked stone, worked stone becomes masonry, and soon you see the faint glow of distant light. Small torches burning in specially cut alcoves provide you with weak, but welcomed vision once more. The path ahead is old; the air is stale and the smell of mould assaults your nose. As you draw closer you see a door of age-blackened wood and green, corroded bronze. The stones below are heavily scratched, showing years of use. The hinges shine where frequent use has scraped the corrosion away. It does not move easily, but with several good pushes you find yourself in a vast, dark room.
In the dim light of mysteriously burning torches, four statues, each at least eighty feet tall stand with arms raised, supporting the roof. One is a female kitsune with nine tails fanned out behind her. One is a female bird, perhaps a crow or raven, whose tail has broken off and smashed to the ground in three pieces. The impact shattered the flagstones. The remaining two are male; a proud cat and a scowling wolf. The statues appear to be carved of red sandstone, quarried from parts unknown.
In the shadows you make out a roughly carved table. It stand on uneven legs and has been wedged stable with random chunks of slate. Pieces of paper lie on the tabletop, yellowed with age and so badly damaged by mould that they are unreadable. A candle was burned down to a stump beside an ancient clay pot of ink that has dried up. On the very edge of the table there is a small wooden box, banded with black iron. The lid is open, and inside there is a large red gem that seems to shine with inner light. It is vaguely circular, about the size of a human eye. As you approach the table you are left with the strange feeling that you are being watched, yet as far as you can tell there is no-one else in the chamber. By the time you reach the table, the torches seem to burn less brightly, and despite your warm clothes a shiver runs down your spine. Yet there is some significance to this gemstone; for reasons you cannot articulate, you are compelled to take it with you.
Written by Jasan Quinn on 13 February 2015
Take the Gem
You pocket the gem and look for a way forward. At the north end of the chamber, beyond the statues there lies a door, knocked off its hinges by some tremendous impact. The chamber beyond is lit by more of the eternally burning torches. The darkness seems to move as though alive, and the light is cast toward you in strange, irregular patterns. The sound of water dismisses any supernatural cause; closer inspection reveals that icy water is pouring in via cracks at the top of the east wall. In places, the corridor is flooded to a depth of three inches. It appears to be seeping out of cracks in the floor. The water offers a welcome chance to quench your thirst, and from the larger cracks sharp, cold air blows in over the water.
Beyond the corridor lies a solid door leading to a small room decorated with an old wooden bed, a water-ruined mattress and a full-length mirror covered in grime. The air is tainted by hints of blood and rotten meat, old smells that survive only because of the stagnant nature of the air. To your right is another door much like the one you entered by. The far wall is in a state of disrepair, its plaster peeling off to reveal pock-marked stone beneath.
You sense life for the first time; dozens of small minds flooded with abject terror. They are closing fast, and reveal themselves to be rats fleeing from some unknown evil. You stand still and watch them pour out of cracks and holes in the far wall, swarming over one another as they race for the door you entered by. When they are gone, something else comes in their wake. You do not hear any footsteps, but you have the memory of footsteps, a recollection of the sound of claws scraping stone. You can smell the plaster that has broken free of the wall, broken off too high for any rat to have disturbed.
A flicker of movement in the mirror catches your eye. You turn toward it and feel a sharp stab of primal fear pierce your heart. For a single instant, shorter than the blink of an eye you see someone behind you. A wolf, his ash grey fur streaked with filth and gore. His muzzle , split into a fierce snarl, his single yellow eye locked on you in a gaze of unrelenting hatred. His right eye a bloody hole, a wound that refuses to heal and bleeds freely.
You do not wait to make sense of what you saw. Terror and instinct combine to drive you forward toward the door. It is not locked, but it resists as if held shut by strong hands. Shoulder down, adrenalin burning through your veins, you overcome the unseen hands and smash the door against the walls of the corridor beyond. The floor is broken and there are no lights here, but the darkness is welcoming compared to the ghosts of the bedroom. Running, tripping, scrabbling on all fours, you flee until your senses assure you nothing has followed, and you lie in the dark until the unnatural horror drains enough that you can make sense of your new surroundings.
Written by Jasan Quinn on 14 February 2015
Confront the Goddess
The darkness is not empty. You turn your head slowly, aware of a shape moving in the blackness. You cannot see her, but you can feel her. You sense the shape close by, a female kitsune, stood close by watching you. You feel her gaze upon you, anxious, and somewhat sad.
"I am sorry," she says as you climb to your feet.
Light bleeds back into the room. It was never truly dark here, the light simply never reached you. How or why this could happen is a thought that must wait, for the Goddess demands your attention.
"The creature that pursues you is a monster of my own making. I tried to help him, but in so doing I only made things worse. In his fury, he cursed me, cursed himself, and now he exists as a wraith. This is the task that is given to all the chosen; find a way to free his soul and let him know rest at last."
"How?" You ask.
"He must be made whole. Find his eye, so he can see what he has become. Find his heart, so he can feel again. Find his body, and mend the wounds the curse has made upon it. Do this, and do it swiftly. We long for this curse to end."
A chilling thought creeps into your mind. "How many were there before me?"
The Goddess smiles a pained smile, blinks back tears, and fades away into nothing.
You are left in what may have once been a shrine, but it has been desecrated by unknown hands. Intricate mosaics once decorated the walls, but now their tiles lie scattered in the dust. A wooden altar, broken in two, dominates the central space. There is light coming down from the ceiling, tinted green, but there is no way to reach the opening nor tell where it leads to.
Near the altar is an old book, all but fallen to pieces. The cover breaks off as you try to pick it up, but on the first page someone has hastily scrawled a message over the original text.
We all walk the same path.
Mia found the heart. She said it was in a box like in the entrance. We should have opened it. Now we can't go back. Ranna tried. The wolf killed her.
When Mia died, the heart was missing. Maybe it went back to where she found it? But I don't know how she reached the chest! She was blessed by the kitsune. Ranna was blessed by the Raven. I was blessed by the cat. The other two had a purpose. I don't know what mine is. I can't go back now, so I have to try...
The message is hardly encouraging. You put the book down and turn toward the far end of the room. There is a tiny opening, like a dungeon's window with the bars removed. By crouching low, you can squeeze through. Inside is a long, narrow corridor, which leads to what looks like a tomb. You manage to drop down into the chamber and reach the tomb, only to find there are four other paths radiating out. Each one has a statue in front of the door; a kitsune, a bird, a cat and a wolf. Peering down the passages, it looks like you've stumbled upon a maze.
Written by Jasan Quinn on 14 May 2015
Follow the Raven Path
You choose the path marked by the bird statue. At the first junction you pause, unsure where to go, until you spot a carving in the wall that might, if looked at from the right angle, be a crow's foot. You follow it, only to find another. Then another. Sometimes you find other marks, but you only choose paths marked with a crow foot.
You become aware of the sound of footsteps behind you, and a low, feral growl of a hungry wolf. You dare not stop to find out whether it is the ghost you saw earlier, and you flee deeper into the maze. Twice you take the wrong turn and have to double back, and with each mistake the sounds draw nearer. The second time you see, out of the corner of your eye, a spectral figure stepping straight through the wall.
You dare not look back again after that. You run with your hands on the walls, feeling for the carvings. After what seems like hours, the maze ends, and the sound of pursuit falls away as you sprint through an archway and into a circular room much like the one you entered the maze by. You recall the words of the book; the raven had a purpose. That was what the author meant. That gives you some hope that you can determine how to solve whatever challenges lie ahead.
Beyond the labyrinth is a great cave, its high ceiling lost in the darkness. It seems impossible that such a place could exist, for you do not recall travelling far enough below the surface to allow for such a vast space, yet here it is. To your right is a white marble palace emerging from the rock. A road runs from its pristine steps, forming a T-junction between the temple, the labyrinth and the anchoring posts of a great stone bridge. The bridge is gone, long since collapsed into the depths of a ravine. The word "Stygian" might just apply. You hear water flowing far below, unseen in the eerie light of long neglected, yet eternally burning braziers.
Four statues are embedded either side of the ravine, each reaching for their equivalent on the other side. They are the familiar four deities; kitsune, raven, cat and wolf. Each have their arms raised, as if supporting the great stones of the now collapsed bridge. Beyond, lit by ethereal green light, is an ancient chest of bronze and black wood. It sits atop a marble plinth, and seems to squirm in the torch light. You assure yourself it is simply an optical illusion.
In the darkness of the cave, you imagine you hear the sound of footsteps from the temple. Short, irregular sounds, like the staggering of a drunk, or the shambling gait of a walking corpse. Whatever their source, it is clear that you are not alone in this place, and that lingering too long may prove unwise.
Written by Jasan Quinn on 15 May 2015
Cross via the kitsune path
Moving toward the ravine, you approach the kitsune statue and reach for the empty air above its hands. You feel resistance, as though there were something solid, yet invisible supported above the statue. Carefully, you climb up onto the invisible bridge and slowly crawl across, never daring to trust standing upright. But despite your fears, the bridge holds.
Once safely down on the far side, you find yourself confronting the chest. The air around it is filled with a strange green smoke that moves in odd patterns, causing you to half glimpse things in the swirls and eddies; places, words or sometimes faces. The sightings are always fleeting, and only from the corner of the eye. The air is thick with a coppery tang, a mix of burnt wire and blood.
As you study the moving smoke you begin to discern a pattern of sorts. There are gaps between the clouds, little windows of opportunity where it might be possible to reach the chest without touching the smoke. You choose your moment and dart in, throwing the chest lid open and peering at the contents. It is a dark chunk of volcanic rock a little larger than a clenched fist. The surface appears cracked and scarred, and in the deeper cracks there is a faint red glow.
You pocket it quickly and dash back out of the smoke. A sharp burning sensation along your tail makes you cry out and stumble, nearly sending yourself flying off the edge and into the abyss. As you pull yourself back upright you examine your injuries. It does not look too serious, but the end of your tail throbs angrily as though dipped in scalding hot water.
Safely out of danger, you examine your prize in more detail. The rock has clearly been carved and its rough shape is similar to that of a heart. The deeper cuts mark the divisions of the chambers, and the longer you stare the more certain you are that the stone is pulsing, ever so faintly, to the rhythm of a slow beating heart.
You think back to the words of the Goddess. Find his eye, so he can see what he has become. Find his heart, so he can feel again. Find his body, and mend the wounds the curse has made upon it. There were others before you, but you have managed what they did not. The eye and heart are yours, and only the body remains. You crawl back along the invisible path supported by the kitsune statue and turn your attention now to the marble palace, and whatever might lie within.
The strange sounds have stopped when you reach it once more, but your thoughts soon return to the wolf spirit. Could it have been him? Can he will himself to any part of this great temple, or is he bound by rules you still have yet to discern? A brief glance back toward the labyrinth offers no answers, and with no sign of immediate peril you rush across to the temple.
Written by Jasan Quinn on 16 May 2015
Enter the temple
The inside of the temple is filled with light. Stained glass windows depicting the four deities cast kaleidoscopic patterns across the birch wood pews and white marble of the interior. The circular chamber is built with a large tree at the centre, laden with four different kids of fruit. A beam of impossibly bright light shines down from the ceiling above the tree, and in the upper branches doves can be seen roosting there.
As you move further into the temple you catch sight of a middle aged feline slouched on one of the pews, face down and mumbling in his sleep. He is dressed in a tattered pair of pants and nothing else. Large, thick-skinned fruit are scattered on the floor around him, spilling out pink juice from rough tears and bites. From the smell they have fermented into crude alcohol.
A few pokes causes the cat to stir, and he rolls over awkwardly to look at you. His eyes open wide, and he rubs them a few times in disbelief.
"You... are you real?" he sits up quickly, almost losing his balance, and laughs when you steady him. "By those bloody Gods you are! I was starting to think I'd be stuck here forever!"
He explains through slightly slurred speech that he has hidden in the temple for a long time. How long he isn't sure, but he survived by drinking water from the fountains near the tree, eating its fruit and hunting the occasional dove. "It all grows back so quickly, you see," he adds as he plucks an apple. "Tomorrow another one will grow in its place!"
You talk with him about all you've seen and heard so far, and the cats joy quickly turns to fear and sorrow. He speaks, reluctantly, of his two friends who perished. "I found the body, you see. It's up ahead, guarded by a terrible room. But we need the eye and the heart and I didn't dare go back for them! That wolf... I don't he can come in here. He's never tried. I've seen him outside once or twice, but he won't set foot on the temple step."
The cat seems reluctant to talk about his adventures any further, and so you press him about the body and the 'terrible room' that guards it. "It shows you temptations," he explains. "At first it was full of wondrous things, spell books and magic staves and rings of power. Now it's full of wine, and food, and women... I don't want to know what happens if I take what it offers. You have to go in there and want the body, and only the body. You have to be strong and not be led astray. What happens if you get to it with the eye and the heart? I don't know. But you could do it now, right?"
You thank the cat and head through the door to the trial. As you walk away he takes your wrist and pleads, "don't go! Please, stay a while. I've been alone for a long, long time, and if you fail I don't know if anyone else will ever come! Please stay, at least until morning?"
It's obvious by the needing tone his interest in you is physical, but his eyes are more lonely than lustful. You can't help but wonder what it must be like to be trapped in this temple, too afraid to leave for fear of a cursed spectre prowling the ruins beyond. Will you accept his request and stay, or soldier on?
Written by Jasan Quinn on 17 May 2015
The end (for now)