|
|
You enter into an empty, peaceful room with a cosy ambiance on account of the amber-coloured light that comes from you-can't-tell-where. A low, round dais graces the centre of the room but appears to have no true function. More importantly, three exits beckon you. Each has a symbol above it.
"The Place of Choice," Sir Escart says with a warmth that suggests he likes this place. "It seems the dungeon doesn't like the Cup today, since you can't choose it. I wonder why?"
You ponder this for a moment, then step forward. As soon as you have both feet on the dais you hear the sound of whoops, cheers, and the occasional grunt echoing from somewhere behind you. It's coming towards you quite fast. You turn just in time to see a jester cartwheel into your presence.
He skids to a stop and you take a moment to look at him. His outfit is purple-themed with orange accents and short skirts that are still swishing from his arrival, and his hair is styled into a pair of horns; in this medieval place you can't even imagine what he's used for gel. He is small and slight in stature with narrow shoulders and dainty hands and feet. He wears a white mask but you believe his ethnicity to be middle-Eastern. His voice is a light tenor and he's brimming with enthusiasm and joy.
"I can seeeee yooouuuu!" he sing-songs, making circles around his eyes with his fingers and balancing on one leg. You think this is disappointingly puerile for a professional jester until he deliberately overbalances and performs an exquisitely executed backwards roll that ends with him standing, poised and elegant. The man's certainly quite the gymnast.
"I can see you too," you quip, and fall silent so he can say whatever he came here to say. You wonder what his name is but suspect he won't be backward in coming forward with it himself.
"Oh come now Merry," Sir Escart admonishes, his voice booming not directly into your ear, but into the room itself. Merry cowers, albeit with theatrical effect, as if God himself has spoken. "We have a quest to begin! We have no time for japes."
"No japes, Dungeon Master," Merry quavers, and then begins to recover, "only help." He straightens up and faces you, and you can see he's all confidence now. "So dungeoneer, which way will you choose?" He turns to each of the doorways with a distinct flourish. "Will you choose the Sword?" He mimes being in a swordfight, being stuck by his enemy's sword, and collapses to the dais (doubtless amid copious quantities of imaginary blood). Then he gets up. "The Crown?" he asks, rolling the r, his voice grandiose as he mimes slowly putting on a crown before folding his arms and looking regally at you. "Or the Shield?" He mimes brandishing a glorious imagined shield, surely emblazoned with a suitably fabulous coat-of-arms. "They're all equally difficult, except for the Crown, which is no easier than the rest."
You take a moment to consider Merry's words. As you do, he raises his leg up to his ear and performs a sideways-split, pulling his shin up to his ear in what looks like an effortless stretch. Indeed, his smile doesn't even falter as he does it.
"So all of them are equally difficult," you answer flatly. This jester has told you precisely nothing, and risks wasting your Life Force if you continue trying to make sense of his ramblings.
Merry lets his leg drop and performs a cartwheel, laughing as he does. "Oh good, very good! You'll do well here! And with that said, you should start your travels!" He leans in to whisper conspirationally in your ear, "don't pick the hardest!" before somersaulting off back the way he came.
"It seems you have a choice to make," Sir Escart says, his voice coming to you through your helmet this time and drawing your attention back to those three symbols. "Which will you choose?"
"I'm not sure," you admit, wondering whether there was some meaning to Merry's words that you missed. "Do you have any clues for me? Are any of these ways deadly?"
Sir Escart clucks in amusement. "All are potentially deadly. And clues, I have none to give. The choice, dungeoneer, is truly yours and yours alone to make."
You thought as much. Taking a deep breath to ready yourself, you look at the three options ahead of you. Over the left doorway is a sword. A crown graces the keystone of the center door. The right door is decorated with a shield. Which one will you take: