You notice a single person in the distance, walking down the path towards you.
Do you
- Hide behind some bushes?
- Just walk on?
The person comes closer very slowly. It appears to be an old and feeble woman dressed in simple clothes.
You stay in your hiding place.
You come out from behind the bushes.
Slowly, the woman wanders past your hiding place. She’s softly muttering to herself, but you can’t make out what she’s saying.
About a quarter of an hour later, she’s out of sight. You come out from behind the bushes to continue on your way.
Suddenly, the old woman starts to run and is gone, faster than you can react. You come out from behind the bushes and look around, but there’s no sign of the old woman.
Do you
- Go look for her?
- Continue on your way?
You have to look for quite a while, but in the end, you find the old woman crouched down behind a small bush.
“Don’t hurt me!” she whimpers.
“Have mercy on a poor old woman.”
“Now, now, we’re just travelers ourselves!”
She cautiously creeps out from behind the bush and watches you with some suspicion. After staring at you for a while, you are quite astonished when she suddenly starts to cackle with almost insane glee.
“Some courageous adventurers you are — hiding behind the bushes, to give a poor old woman a fright!”
“Forgive us, we didn’t mean to!”
“Well, we thought, uhm…”
“Yeah, yeah, forget it. I could use a drink after that scare.”
She gets an earthen flask from her backpack, takes a long sip and passes it around.
“Well, come on, it’s the best brandy for 100 miles around!” the old woman says when she sees you hesitate. In the end you all drink and as expected, the stuff is horrible.
“To think this would happen to me in my old age!” the old woman is still chuckling to herself. Laughing even harder she seems quite proud as she continues,
“These young strong adventurers being that afraid of me, they hide in the bushes, and them being so many, too! Well, I’ve got to drink to that!”
She gets an earthen flask from her backpack, takes a big gulp and passes it around.
“No offense, but we have to be going.”
“That’s an offer, we can’t refuse!”
“Young folk — always in a hurry! Have a nice journey.”
She gives you an encouraging nod, then turns to go.
“I’m glad! In this area, it’s a rare pleasure meeting anybody.”
You meet an older woman dressed in simple clothes.
“Travia be with you, travelers!” she greets you from a distance.
“Travia be with you, old woman!”
“The same to you!”
“What brings you into this godforsaken land?” the old woman asks. She continues without waiting for your answer.
“Ah, it doesn’t matter anyway. But we really should offer a toast to our mutual travels and may we all experience a successful journey.” She rummages about in her backpack and gets out an earthen flask. After taking a big gulp herself, she passes it around.
“Ha! You look out, I can hear quite well and I’m not hard of understanding, either!”
The old woman raises her fists. Startled, you take a step back. Suddenly, the woman lowers her arms and starts to laugh out loud.
“You are looking at me like I have horns on my head! Come on over, we’ve got to drink to that.”
She sits down and gets an earthen flask from her backpack. After taking a long sip herself, she passes it around.
You drink.
You politely refuse.
“What’s the matter? Come on, that’s the best brandy for 100 miles around!” the old woman says, when she sees you hesitating. In the end, you all take a drink and, as expected, the stuff is horrible!
The stuff is horrible!
“Since I’ve got something to eat as well maybe we can take a rest together.”
When the old woman sees you, she spins around and starts running in the other direction.
You continue on your way without undue haste.
You set out after her.
The woman seems to have vanished in the brush.
Do you
The old woman takes fright and drops to the ground as if hit by lightning. When you approach her, you see her face is white as chalk.
- You hurry over to help her.
- You leave her there and walk on.
After she has a sip of water, the old woman begins to look better, and her face begins changing back to a more normal shade.
“To give me such a fright, unbelievable!”
She sits up and rummages around in her backpack for an earthen flask.
“That calls for a good drink to get my circulation going!” after having quite a bit herself, she passes the flask around.
[NAME] has hardly leaned over the woman, when she grabs [NAME]’s collar and puts something sharp and cold against [NAME]’s neck.
“I’m not gonna sell my life cheaply!” the old woman whispers — by now, her face is suffused with a very lively red.
The old woman looks at you suspiciously, without letting go of [NAME].
“And why where you lying in ambush then?”
“You could have been… well, you never know…”
After a while, the woman lets go of [NAME] and stands up. Her knees are shaking.
“To give me such a fright. Your lucky my hands didn’t shake too badly or it could have been a sorry day for all of us!” she says in a serious tone.
“I’ve got to drink something after that scare!” she takes a deep breath, puts away the knife and starts rummaging in her backpack. After a while, she gets out an earthen flask and takes a big gulp. Slowly, her face relaxes and she passes the flask around.
You want to continue onward, but then your conscience (“Hi, there!”) acts up.
- You’re used to having a bad conscience.
- You help the woman after all.
“Maybe you want to think that over!” you’ll have time enough while you reboot your computer.
The old woman gets out all sorts of food: bread, sausages, cheese, dried berries…
“I’ve just had a rest, actually, but a few more breaks won’t hurt at my age! Just a few miles on, there is a nice place where I usually stay for the night…”
The woman keeps babbling and hardly lets you get a word in edgeways.
“…But half a day up towards Hermit’s Lake, there is another spot where you can rest safely and without being disturbed…”
“…Hmm!” she gets something caught in her throat and starts coughing. “I even saw the unicorn that’s hanging around the lake once — from a distance of course, right majestical it is, that horned horsey!”
For almost one hour, the woman keeps talking. Finally, she gathers the remains of the meal.
“I’ve got to get going now.” you take your leave and continue onward.
The old woman gets out all sorts of food: bread, sausages, cheese, dried berries…
“I’ve just had a rest, actually, but a few more breaks won’t hurt at my age! Just a few miles on, there is a nice place by the herbal meadow…”
The woman keeps babbling and hardly lets you get a word in edgeways.
“…Ere I forget, you’re going to Felsteyn, aren’t you? You watch out there, it can be dangerous with rock-slides and such, you know?!…”
“…Hmm!” she gets something caught in her throat and starts coughing.
“…If you meet Isleif Olgardsson in Felsteyn, give him my best. Just tell him his Janda says hello. I hope, he’ll remember me after all these years…”