< Nuradan CYOA 17 - Waiting for reinforcements in Sund | Nuradan CYOA 19 - TBD >
This is part of a weekly series of choice prompts that all my Patreon supporters get to vote on. See all the poll posts on Patreon here.
The adventure so far: You are River, a Changeling Stray that got lost, beaten, and mugged as you were traveling in the North of Nuradan. You ended up in the outskirts of the remote village of Sund, and are in desperate need for shelter and supplies. You wait for the night and try to steal something, when the same brigands attack the village! You help the townsfolk repel the intruders, and now you might have a moment to rest safely. Although part of a larger regional conflict, you decide it’s time to tackle the brigands problem together with the folks of Sund. Creed, the village’s blacksmith and most experienced warrior, is severely wounded in the preparation efforts, and now the bandits are at the village’s door… you send out Maude, a young warrior, to talk with them in an attempt to stall.
You throw the makeshift white flag to Maude. He picks it up and rises it, and slowly gets up from behind the wooden barricades.
You and a few others also get up to watch the boy walk towards the bandits. You make sure to take note of everyone, including the few that are taking position up in the trees uphill. They don’t seem so many after all, and you hope the delegation from Cendalar can be here within the day. You have a few hours at best.
“So you want to talk now!”, shouts one of the bandits, who you can presume is their leader. He is short but bulky, with an unkempt beard and uneven leather armor, and he is standing in front of two bigger men.
Maude approaches, and you can only hear bits and pieces of the conversation from here. You know they are talking about exchanges and rights of passage. But you grow anxious as you see a few of the bandits circle around Maude, with their leader putting an arm around the boy and putting on the most fake smile you have ever seen.
The smile turns into a grin, and Maude disappears behind a row of bandits with their shields up. It takes only a moment, and you hear yourself shouting together with the other men of the village, concerned. They are taking Maude hostage!
And as soon as you realize what’s happening, you see the men you previously spotted positioning around the village jumping down their trees and running towards the main group of bandits.
“Charreds are coming!”, “Run!”, you hear them shouting. A second later, you see the trees swarm with one, two, three dozens armed men, all coming down at a fast pace.
“Stoooop!”, a tall man screams, from the top of the hillside. The Charred Ones break into formation, their leftmost flank merging with your wooden barricades. Their swords and arrows all pointed towards the bandits that are still struggling to regroup.
You leave your barricade and start running uphill, towards the tall man giving orders. He spots you and nods at you - the messenger must have told him your story - but you don’t have time to approach him.
The bandits have put Maude in front of them, and are pointing knives and arrows at the poor boy. Their leader is shouting: “You follow us, he dies!”.
You can’t do anything but watch as they slowly walk away and retreat into the woods east of Sund.
What will you do?
Attempt a solo chase. The village is safe with the Charred Ones, but Maude is in trouble. The sooner you can rescue him, the better.
Group with the Charred Ones. You’ll decide what to do with the bandits and Maude together. It’s too dangerous to rush things alone.
< Nuradan CYOA 17 - Waiting for reinforcements in Sund | Nuradan CYOA 19 - TBD >