Starlight

Hexartes

You awake slowly, slowly pulling yourself out of the disorientation that a recent awakening causes. Your haven't even opened your eyes yet. You need to get your bearings.  Start small. What's my name again? you think.

Tre

> Jules. Jules Murphy.

Hexartes

Jules Murphy. You open your eyes. There is no sky above you, just the ceiling of a small cavern. A dying fire crackles beside you. There is a figure to your left, completely covered with a large bedroll. How did I get here? you think. 

-------------

You'd been passing through a small village. Most of it was taken up by a towering cathedral, seemingly too massive and extravagant to fit in such a minuscule settlement. One of them turned to you.

"It's a Ve'riu cathedral. You can tell by the design of the steeple." In hindsight, you have no idea why anyone in your party went in. Out of the way temples tended to have... interesting things to say about your kin. While Ve'riun doctrine didn't technically say anything about goblins, small communities such as this tended to bend their religion to fit their own prejudices. This in mind, you stuck to the back. A group of three priests stood at the back, deeply entrenched in an argument. 

"Is this the best time?" someone in your group of twelve asked. She continued. "I think we should go." Before anyone else could say anything, a priest walked up to the head of your party.

"You're a group of mercenaries, are you not?"

Your leader, a beautiful elf named Mareinia, nodded.

"Good. Last night, a group of thieves broke into the undercroft and stole a particularly important item."

"The item being...?" Mareinia asked.

"The Ruby of Starlight. It is said to protect this town.

"Do you know where the thieves went?" she asked.

"We think they are holed up in the old Makuri fortress to the north of here. Another member of your party piped in.

"And the reward?"

"Surely," said the priest, "you must be curious as to how such a small town could accommodate such a large temple? The Ve'riu coffers are filled to the brim. Your reward will be generous."

Mareinia agreed to find the Ruby.

---

After leaving the temple, you briefly split up to prepare for the trip. A few hours later you met at the local inn.

Tipsel, a gnomish member of your party spoke up. "Why do I have to carry so much? You guys are all bigger than me, but we're all carrying the same amount! I can't handle it!" It is at this point that your memory fails you. What did I do then? you think.

[A. "I'd be fine with carrying some of your load, Tipsel."]

[B. "That does seem unfair. Why don't we all carry a bit more?"]

[C. "Thanks for your contributions, Tipsel. I'll pay for your meal."]

Tre

> Option A.

Hexartes

"Thanks man. I owe you one." Tipsel had said. It was at that moment when you realized that you forgot to pack. Well, not so much forgot. Just that you doubted that any vendor during the daytime would be willing to deal goods to a goblin.

You had went outside, not terrified, but cautious. You stuck to the middle of the street, making slight head movements every few seconds to make sure that no one was trailing you to, as they say, "teach that goblin fratchk a lesson." Your suspcions were confirmed a few minutes later. A thug pulled you into an alleyway and drew a knife, at which point three or four others, his lackeys, stepped out as well. Now what?

[A. Go after the leader. It'll make the others lose morale.]

[B. Attack all of them.]

[C. Focus on avoiding all their attacks and just win by attrition.]

Tre

> C.

Hexartes

You and the thugs go at it for about fifteen minutes before you see a figure, silhouetted by the light of the streetlamps, at the head of the alley.

"Back off." Mareinia says. The leader nodded at one of his lackeys, who walked, brandishing a dagger, over to Mareinia.

"Oh, you're threatening me. How cute." She clutched his throat with one hand and his wrist with the other, and sent him cascading to the ground. She made short work of the others.

"You okay, Jules?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Barely a scratch on me." She smiled at you. She'd always had a very reassuring smile.

"Good to hear. Come on, I'll walk with you."

As you were walking, a man approached you. 

"Hello good sir, would you like a map?" He produced two maps from his pocket; one was intricately detailed, the other bare. 

"Do we really need a map?" you had whispered to Mareinia.

"Tipsen is a pretty good navigator, but a map wouldn't hurt. It's up to you." What did I do then, you ask yourself.

[A. Buy the expensive map.]

[B. Buy the cheap map.]

[C. Don't buy anything.]

Tre

> B.

Hexartes

You settled with the cheap map. Tipsen was a good navigator, certainly, but it's good to have something to fall back on.

-------

Three days later. You're out in the wilderness, setting up camp. You'd just finished helping your party set up tents.

[A. Get a fire going. There's no time to waste.]

[B. You're tired. Rest in your tent for a while.]

[C. You're hungry. Eat a bit of your rationed food.]

Tre

> A.

Hexartes

You get a fire going. The rest of your team huddled around it, and spent the next few hours sharing stories about previous adventures. You'd only recently joined together, but you quickly became inseparable. You remember how happy you felt that night.

------

The next day. Mareinia had called a meeting.

"All right boys, it's time to get going. It's going to be a long trip, so only pack the necessities."

Being a goblin, what constitutes "necessity" for you is very little, so you quickly realized that you had plenty of extra room in your pack for extra supplies. What did I do then?

[A. Bring extra food.]

[B. Bring extra herbs.]

[C. You might find something interesting. Leave some empty space in your pack.]

Tre

> C.

Hexartes

You didn't pack anything extra. The trip went surprisingly well; buying the map proved an excellent choice. It even showed a way to the fortress the ruby thief was holed up in; as it turned out, there was a cave nearby that led directly into the fortress's barracks. It took only until noon to reach the cave. Mareinia had stood at the mouth of the cave when you got there.

"We ready?" she'd said, excitedly.

Tipsel, to everyone's surprise, had said no.

"What if it's dangerous? I mean, it's entirely possible the thieves took this route." he'd said. This made your party uneasy. Now what?

[A. "I'll quick run in and check it out. Follow my lead."]

[B. "Tipsel, you're a scout. Why don't you take the lead?"]

[C. "Well, everyone keep an eye out."]

Tre

> A.