Alright y’all so this ended up being a way bigger project than I expected (especially cause I had almost finished it two days ago and then the app crashed and I lost all of it, hence this taking so long sorry). So… I have to yank half of it out because it’s just gonna be too unmanageable. SORRY!!!! So I’m sorry, if you were on Path 4-6, I have to jump you over to Path 1-3 and this story. Two different stories was way too crazy. So, I hope I can make this not be confusing, but if you were on Path 4-6, I’ll link the previous posts if you want to refresh or read the current story.

Previous Post

So you’re also now on Path 1-3. I’ll try and correct any prompts also so you don’t get screwed over. Sorry again! It just was a little too ambitious.

EDIT!!! For those I made switch paths:

I’m so sorry, I had somehow missed the bit I had originally put in here on what you had to do after switching paths to make the following less confusing and I’m so sorry about that. You’ll need to reroll one section of your current stats: Erase the number next to Roll A and do this instead:

• Roll a d6. If your initial Finesse is higher, add it to the result and mark it next to Roll A with Fi indicated before the number (so like Fi# as in Fi11 or Fi6). If your initial Force was higher use that instead and do the same thing indicated next to Roll A only using Fo instead of Fi (like Fo# as in Fo7).

So for example:

You roll your d6 and get a 4.

You look to your Finesse which is 16 and Force which is a 9 (both numbers are just examples, your numbers will be different).

Since your Finesse of 16 is higher, you use that number and add it do your d6 result of 4, which will give you a 20.

Now use that number next to your Roll A instead of what you had previously with the star also indicated, so you would have Fi 20.

So now in your stats you should have:

• Roll A: Fi or Fo # (# being the added total of your stat plus your d6 roll.)

Also, you can change Branch C to Branch A and Branch D to Branch B if you want, but I indicated where this switch happens in the story so you should still be fine either way.

END EDIT

I don’t know that I’d do it this way again (if the mods even let me attempt this again) but I have some ideas to make it more fluid and streamlined. Anyway, that’s enough intro, let’s get to the goods.

So first things first:

Here’s the link to previous part of the contest

Do yourself a favor, find your comment from the previous part and copy/paste or have it available somewhere to have handy, you’ll want to have it to reference for this part. (You’ll also need to copy/paste parts of it in to your final comment for this week anyway so it’ll just help to have it available to look at.)

So you were falling through air:

PATH 1-3 CONTINUED

As your heart races, you know you only have mere moments before the ocean rushes up to meet you. You decide the locked leg and hope for the best approach is foolhardy and try to think. You know this impact could be disastrous, but luckily being the daredevil you are, this isn’t your first brush with a free fall. So you decide that despite the intention of whoever’s done this to you, you’ve much too much living left to do to welcome a permanent nap at the bottom of the ocean. You…

Alright, here’s where things start to split up a bunch so I need you all to hopefully follow me as best you can. Refer to your Roll A from last week and proceed to the appropriate section:

• If your Roll A used Finesse (Fi) proceed to Track 1.
• If your Roll A used Force (Fo) proceed to Track 2.

TRACK 1 (Fi)

…you’re too clever to be killed by a fall. Time slows as a memory rushes back to you. It’s from your childhood. You remember as a boy, your father taking you fishing and pointing out the Razorfen birds and their way of fishing. They waited til the fish jumped out of the water and just as they landed back in, the bird dove in past them. You asked why the bird didn’t just pluck the fish out of the air but even as you finished your question your father pointed to the bird re-emerging from the water with several fish speared on the razor sharp horns jutting from it head. Your father explained that the birds let the fish break the water so they could dive down at incredible speeds without fear of being hurt, because once the surface was broken just a little, it went from a concrete wall to an open door. You thank the gods old and new for these little bits of knowledge your father bestowed upon you, as you eye the group of Razorfens just below you, circling and diving. Seeing them, you wonder if this means you’re somewhere near your home continent, but that’s a thread you can tug on later, for now, you’ve got to stay focused and not let yourself be distracted, something your father was always warning you of. You know you were going to have to make this timing count if you ever hope to see the old man again and tell him this story with gratitude. Your gaze jumps from bird to bird searching for your target. You lock on to one of the birds circling, seeing it halt its wings for a moment, suspending in the air, an indication it was preparing to dive. This is it you think and almost by perfect design, you catch up to the bird just as it begins to rocket down toward the sea. It’s when you see below the fish that’s emerged from the depths in its arcing jump from the water, that you utter a small prayer of thanks. As you, the bird, and the oblivious fish all align in your brief descent, you can’t help but laugh at the absurdity. That you may have your life saved by this fish. It’s just then, you make one last second decision…

• If previously your Roll A Finesse (Fi) result was greater than 14, proceed to Track 1A
• If previously your Roll A Finesse (Fi) result was less than 14, proceed to Track 1B

(If you were on Paths 4-6 this is one of the parts I had you reroll, this is the Finesse portion of that applies. If you were Force, you’ll see below.)

TRACK 1A

… it’s at the last second you shoot your hand out and snatch the fish out of the air. The bird, who had been tracking the fish with laser focus, screws it’s head back at you, seeing it’s expected means of entry through that watery door now held in your grip, and you twist your expression in to a mock jest of apology and wonder if recognition hits the bird before the ocean does. A moment later, an abruptly silenced squawk of desperate, high-pitched recognition, gives you your answer and a slight smirk, and then you’re piercing through the ocean surface. The chill of the water is a shock to the senses. But you’re alive at least. You re-emerge from the water and take an invigorating breath of air. As you pick bird bones and guts from your hair and teeth, you notice a feather floating on the surface of the water and snatching it up, you affix the feather to your gear, calling up a promise to the cawing flock of Razorfens circling above. A promise that you will do something great with your life to honor their exploded kin, who unknowingly sacrificed so that you may live. You release the fish still held in your grip and with an additional thanks and wish it luck as you begin to swim toward land. [Proceed to PATH X]

TRACK 1B (Fi<14)

… at the last second, prompted by a hunger pang all things of all times, but you realize you will need to eat so you decide the bird looks fatter and plumper than the fish, plus you’ve always preferred chicken to sea food. Your hand flashes out and you catch the bird by it’s neck as a surprises squawk leaps from its beak. You feign an expression of apology as if the bird can tell what you mean, not that it matters as even if it could register your mocking look, the split second it would’ve had before you broke its neck, what would it have done with that knowledge, thanked you? It’s meat in your belly will be thanks… you hit the water with such force, having been distracted by your moral wrestling with the bird situation. Stupid. You got caught up in your own head and lost focus, just like the old man had warned you about countless times. The smack of the ocean surface, followed by the shock of cold from the water temperature and a shooting pain down your side tells you you probably broke something. A reward for allowing yourself to lose focus. But as you push your head back above water, you remain grateful for the fact you do still draw breath, and that you managed to keep hold of the Razorfen upon impact. You pull the bird above water and your stomach jumps for a second as realization dawns on you how you managed to retain such a firm grip on the bird. If it wasn’t obvious enough, now that the initial shock has warn off and the throbbing pain shoots through your arm, you’re all too aware of the black horn jutting from the top of your hand, pierced clean through from the head of the Razorfen grinned in your fist. You must’ve clenched hard in response to your impact with the water, in doing so driving the birds pointy appendage right through your palm. You steel yourself, grit your teeth, and yank the protrusion free, praying there’s no permanent damage. At least it’s your offhand you think, recognizing small miracles where you can. You tear a piece of cloth from your gear and tie it around your hand, allowing the shooting pain to refocus you on the task at hand. To make to land with your hard won prize of a meal still in tact, you know you need to start swimming with furious disregard, because you may not know the waters you find yourself in, but you know that across the world the deep hides things far hungrier and larger than you. So, wincing in pain with what is most assuredly a broken rib or two to add to the list of things promising to remind you of your careless loss of focus for many nights to come, you point yourself toward shore. You grit yourself teeth and take off swimming like you’re being pursued because for all you know it just may be true, but you’d rather not wait to find out. [Proceed to PATH X]

TRACK 2

… you quickly take inventory of what you have available to you. Your mind jumps to the necklace, but not knowing where it came from, you’ll have to worry about that later. Your hands frantically search your gear, noting not without frustration that your weapons were gone. However, you pray the small dagger you keep concealed in the sole of your boot escaped detection and reaching down to flick the small lever along your boot’s edge, let out an audible thanks to the old gods as you snatch the blade sprung from its hiding place. Dagger in hand you praise the Queen of luck as you spot a large pack of Behemavhales below you. These monstrous beasts, easy to recognize with their four massive arms and bright, translucent wings wrapped around their bodies, are native to the seas of your people. This gives you pause but for a moment as you wonder if this means you’re close to home, but do not let yourself lose focus. Right now what is of concern to you is the mating ritual taking place amongst the herd. Leaping high out of the water to spread their colorful, massive wings to show potential mates their virility and status within the herd, the larger males bellow calls of courtship to their pack. As you begin searching the hovering beasts, the sudden churning of water below you grabs your attention. A massive, hulking male tears through the surface of the water and let’s loose a thundering bellow, spreading the brightest wings you have ever seen. You know from seeing these creatures fight that their hides are thick and can take massive damage without causing the creature to even flinch, having seen one take on a pack of Cutter Sharks and emerge with only a few scars to show for it. So you say a prayer of thanks to the God of Beasts and dagger at the ready, you try to position yourself to come up along the backside of the hulking beast below you…

• If previously your Roll A Force (Fo) result was greater than 14, proceed to Track 2A.
• If previously your Roll A Force (Fo) result was less than 14, proceed to Track 2B.

(And here’s the Force part for Paths 4-6 you would’ve rerolled for.)

TRACK 2A (Fo>14)

… you come up right along the backside of the Behemavhale as you plunge your dagger into the beasts hide as hard as you can and are surprised how tough the hide actually is. You manage to get your dagger in up to the hilt and holding on tightly, manage to use the thick hide to slow your descent. You’ve only traveled about halfway down the beasts back when you come to a crawl and finally stop, dangling from the creature’s back like some kind of nuisance fly. You hang there for a moment, catching your breath, and deciding what your next move will be. A moment is all you have though as the decision is quickly made for you though, as you see another gargantuan male come rocketing up out of the water, aiming straight for the one your clinging to. Knowing what comes next and that you need to act now, you plant your feet against the creatures hide and with all the strength you can muster, launch yourself back and away from it, losing your dagger stuck firmly in the hide, just as the other creature collides with it and as you fall the length of five selves toward the water. You hit the cold ocean just as the two massive creatures wrap each other in their arms and, in bellowing unison, they fuse together, their shimmering wings twisting together to form a massive colored cone around their heads, their arms locking them together until they come crashing back to the sea, locked in eternal embrace and now with a radiant, shimmering horn marking them as soul bonded. You only have a moment to appreciate the sight as the waves produced when the newly formed Behemvhalli plunges back in to the sea send you spilling end over end, pushed away from the beasts impact. You manage to right yourself and use the waves to navigate toward shore, ready to feel solid land beneath your feet again. [Proceed to PATH X]

TRACK 2B (Fo<14)

… you aim for the back of the beast and gripping your dagger in both hands, plunge the dagger in to the creatures hide. You’re shocked at how thick the hide actually is and the sudden resistance of the hide jams the dagger full stop in an instant. You had hoped for a gradual slow but the knife stuck fast in to the beast and the jarring stop causes you to slam in to the beast hard and you lose your grip on the blade the impact surely breaking bones and you see blood running down your arm, a gash opened in your hand from the dagger being ripped out of it. You suck in a painful breathe, positive you’ve broken a rib or two, as you begin to panic. Tumbling end over end, you good hand reaching out hoping to grab hold of anything, but you realize your moving to fast and it’s a futile attempt. You resign yourself to your fate, cursing yourself for trying and failing but out of options, you steel yourself and decide to meet the Shadewalker when it collects you for the Shadow Lands with your head held hide. You brace for impact, only moments from the water’s surface and can’t help but close your eyes just before… nothing. You expect the cold embrace of impact and open your eyes expecting the darkness, only to be surrounded by a rainbow of bright, beautiful colors. They shimmer around you and it’s a second before you realize you’ve landed in the creatures wing. Not on it, but in it, and as you slowly spin through the wing, you realize you had always imagined their wings as solid, tough extensions of the beasts hide. But you realize they’re more akin to a viscous liquid, somehow able to hold the creature above the water as it hovers, yet allowing you to slowly pass through it. Your appreciation and the colors clouding your thoughts just as you pass through the threshold of the wing on the other side and snapping you out of your fog, you’re brought sharply back to your senses as you return to a free fall, flipping end over end having passed through the creatures wing. The fall is brief though as you fall the breadth of your own height and plunge in to the water. You resurface to realize you were so preoccupied by this revelation about the creatures anatomy, you didn’t even notice the other hulking male that had leapt up from the ocean to collide with your beast you had been focused on. And as the two males wrapped each other up, their wings twisting together to form the cone shaped horn and their arms locking around each other and fusing to their mates hide, you smile bearing witness to the forming of a Behemvhalli, the massive Leviathan created when the two mates soul bond and shift to the female form of the creatures that will birth the next herd of males. Your appreciation is short lived though as the impact waves of the Behemvhalli hitting the water again grab hold of you and pull you end over end away from the beast. You cry out underwater as the tossing of the waves sends shooting pain to your ribs were you imagine bruises have started to form. As you manage to pull your head above water, you catch sight of the land mass and slowly begin to maneuver your way toward it, using the waves to help push you along as you swim with your one good hand toward shore. [Proceed to PATH X]

PATH X

Your eyes open as you gasp in a breath. You feel solid land beneath you and as you manage to prop yourself up, slowly and not without some discomfort, you take in your surroundings for a moment. You’ve made landfall on a beach shore that stretches on as far as you can see to either side of you. Before you, a jungle and mountainous terrain. You stand up and decide to make your way…

[If you previously had been on TRACK 1, the following applies:

• If you were on track 1A, you survived your ordeal with little trouble. Follow the [Healthy] prompt when the story calls for it.
• If you were on track 1B, your injury causes you some pain. Follow the [Injured] prompt when the story calls for it.

Now refer back to your previous posts comments for the following:

• If in the previous post comment, your Branch A/C roll was 1-3: You were able to keep the fish with you, and arriving on shore, fed yourself to restore some strength. Enough of it was left for you to salvage a small makeshift bone knife out of it. Apply the [Weapon] bonus when the story calls for it.
• If in the previous post comment, your Branch A/C roll was 4-6: The fish was in no shape to be eaten by the time you got back to shore, so you cast it in to the ocean in frustration. Apply the [Unarmed] status when the story calls for it.

If you previously had been on TRACK 2, the following applies:

• If you were on track 2A, you survived your ordeal with little trouble. Follow the [Healthy] prompt when the story calls for it.
• If you were on track 2B, your injury causes you some pain. Follow the [Injured] prompt when the story calls for it.

Now refer back to your previous posts comments for the following:

• If in the previous post comment, your Branch A/C roll was 1-3: You were able to keep the bird with you, and arriving on shore, fed yourself to restore some strength. Enough of it was left for you to salvage a small makeshift bone knife out of it. Apply the [Weapon] bonus when the story calls for it.
• If in the previous post comment, your Branch A/C roll was 4-6: The bird was in no shape to be eaten by the time you got back to shore, so you cast it in to the ocean in frustration. Apply the [Unarmed] status when the story calls for it.

Finally:

• If you are [Injured] proceed to TRACK 3.
• If you are [Healthy] proceed to TRACK 4.]

TRACK 3 ([Injured])

You manage to find a sturdy tree branch and fashion it in to a makeshift splint for your ribs. You take fresh cloth and tear it from your gear, dressing your injured hand. Then you slowly make you way toward the forests edge. As you come closer, it’s then you notice a structure jutting up out of the ground. It appears to be some kind of doorway, a monolith of obsidian stone with a doorway of some kind of twisted metal the color of fire. As you get closer you even feel some warmth coming off the doorway. You decide to investigate, being the curious person you are, and go to pull the door open. It doesn’t budge. You pull again to no avail. It’s then, you notice a strange symbol carved in to the face of the door. You’ve seen this symbol somewhere before… it hits you. You reach up and yank free that necklace you remember, and they symbol matches. You hold the necklace in front of you and feel it actually pull toward the door. You take a step forward and suddenly hear the whirring of gears and what sounds like clunking metal. The door springs open and before you have a second to process a blade comes swinging toward you, narrowly missing your throat. You dodge back as a mechanical thing comes lunging out of the door, all gears and metal and with eyes that glow a fierce blue. The creature seems fixed with a single purpose and as it advances on you, you curse your ribs and hand. It comes at you again with the blade that appears to be affixed to its hand. You again manage to escape being opened up by the monster, but know you can’t keep this up in your state. Panic stricken, your eyes leap around searching for something you can use to defend yourself…

TRACK 4 ([Healthy])

You survey your surroundings and notice ahead in the tree line a strange structure sticking up from the ground. It appears black as night against the blue sky. However, as you approach, it’s then you take sight of the flame colored door sit in the structure facade. You hurry up to the door and pull it open, only to find it doesn’t move. You struggle against the door but to no avail. It’s then you notice the odd symbol set in to the door. Strangely familiar, you feel like you’ve seen it before somewhere… the necklace! You remember the bauble and tug it free from your neck. You realize the symbols match just as you begin to hear the moving parts of gears and clunking of metal. You jump back as the door springs open, there’s a pause as everything seems to slow for an instance, your heart catching in your throat as a man, no not a man, some metal beast, emerges from the darkness behind the door and a large, wicked looking blade springs from its arm. Then it advances and your frantically scan your surroundings for something to use…

[This is where this portion will end for now. Sorry it’s taken a minute but it’s a little more work than j expected that I want to see it through and not cut any corners. I promise to wrap it up in the next part on Sunday at the latest. For the last part, you’ll need two final pieces:

• Choose for Drive: Mercy or Malice
• Roll a d100. Or randomly have a number selected between 1-100.

Here’s a link to a d100 online roller!

And another if that one doesn’t work!

If you could copy that one last time to your comment, we’ll wrap it up and award the prize(s). So you comment should look like:

• Name:
• Class:
• Force:
• Finesse:
• Path:
• Roll A:
• Branch A:
• Branch B:
• Influence:

And adding:

• Drive: Mercy or Malice
• D100:

Thanks for sticking with me kiddos!