03 | what will you do?

[elevelvetor]

good morning, Retrospec.
today, i'm hosting a choose-your-own-adventure... adventure!
if you would like to play, simply read the rest of my post and reply with your action; i shall supplement all details.
if you don't wish to, then simply keep scrolling.
thank you.
now, without further ado...

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Night has fallen on the sleepy seaside town of Willin' Wisp. The full moon casts her ethereal light on the cobblestone pavement and rough, shanty houses of the area you're in. Once famed for being a rich fishing town, Willin' Wisp has largely fallen into disrepair in the last fifteen years. Those that could fix it do not, enjoying their time eating rare, tropical fish imported from the capital of Helena instead. The town is staying afloat, but only just by the skin of its teeth, thanks to its oil business.

You are standing outside of the town's most famous tavern, though "most famous" makes it sound a little more glorious than simply "the only tavern in town." Inside the tavern, people shout and cheer and are generally incredibly loud, contrasting with the dead quiet that litters the streets.

There are exits to the south, east, and west of you. To the south is the tavern. To the east is one half of Mulberry Lane, which leads to the cemetery, the church, and the docks, where the oil businesses run their businesses. To the west is the rest of Mulberry Lane, which leads to the market, an area that is genuinely booming during the day.

What will you do?

Comments

[stopbleeding]

Go to In-N-Out.

[elevelvetor]

To your immense sadness, you recall that Willin' Wisp does not have an In-N-Out. It doesn't even have a McDonald's. The neighboring town of Fleeting Hope, however, does; you traveled through it earlier this morning. You also recall that Fleeting Hope is often called the fast food capital of Helena, the country you're currently in.

If you would like to continue In-N-Out quest, you remember you can leave Willin' Wisp through the north gate, which is opposite of the docks—that is, following the west end of Mulberry Lane would eventually get you to the town's main street, which definitely would have it.

If you'd like to do something else, there are plenty of other options.

What will you do next?

[compendiem]

> Enter tavern

[elevelvetor]

You enter the tavern and find it just as loud as you expected it to be... and not only in volume. The front room is split into two types of decorations: there are yellow and orange leaves hanging to the left, along with bags of turkey feathers and bundles of bright red cranberries. To the right, however, everything is decorated in reds and greens and golds, with shiny tinsel and beautiful stained glass ornaments.

In the center of the room is a large, black line someone has painted in order to mark off equal portions; despite this, there are pieces of the right side stretching over to the left, and vice versa. Many people are arguing over it, as well as the holidays each of them are dressed for... and dressed for them they are. Those on the right are in red and white, and those on the left are in turkey costumes.

Thankfully, there are a couple of people without a talking (or, rather, an arguing) partner: the barkeep at the back, who looks incredibly tired by all of this; a pair of beautiful, fashionable young people of androgynous sex sitting at the bar; and a dog in the northwest corner with a sign hanging around its neck.

What will you do next?

[lecturehall]

How fun~

I go to the west.

[elevelvetor]

You go west. The sounds of the tavern fade as you leave its immediate presence, and the gate of the market comes into view. Before you reach it, however, something crashes loudly in the alley directly to your left. A very human-sounding groan follows it.

Will you investigate, or will you continue on?

[coinflipped]

I suppose this is interesting enough.

Let's head east.

[elevelvetor]

You head east. The church quickly comes into view, in all of its illuminated and metal glory. Often called the ugliest structure in town, the church is a skeleton of wire and lights, yet its architectural importance cannot be overlooked: this is the world's only free-standing church, after all.

That is to say, it floats. Perhaps it's due to the electromagnetic waves given off by its innumerable lights, or perhaps it's due to the Mother's magical influence. No one can decide, and you recall this is a hotly debated topic. The closer you get to the church, the warmer the winter night becomes.

In front of the lighted church is a box with a sign beside it. To the left of the church is the cemetery, and to the right is the gentle slope of a hill. You recall that just past the hill is the docks.

What will you do?

[fiddlestick]

Oh this sounds fun!

> Enter Tavern

[elevelvetor]

You enter the tavern and find it just as loud as you expected it to be... and not only in volume. The front room is split into two types of decorations: there are yellow and orange leaves hanging to the left, along with bags of turkey feathers and bundles of bright red cranberries. To the right, however, everything is decorated in reds and greens and golds, with shiny tinsel and beautiful stained glass ornaments.

In the center of the room is a large, black line someone has painted in order to mark off equal portions; despite this, there are pieces of the right side stretching over to the left, and vice versa. Many people are arguing over it, as well as the holidays each of them are dressed for... and dressed for them they are. Those on the right are in red and white, and those on the left are in turkey costumes.

Thankfully, there are a couple of people without a talking (or, rather, an arguing) partner: the barkeep at the back, who looks incredibly tired by all of this; a pair of fashionable young, beardless dwarves sitting at the bar; and a duck in the northwest corner with a sign hanging around its neck.

What will you do next?

[grumpei]

id want to honor my first ever text adventure experience by saying > go to sleep but since that doesnt seem to be an option
> go south

[elevelvetor]

You enter the tavern to the south and find it just as loud as you expected it to be... and not only in volume. The front room is split into two types of decorations: there are yellow and orange leaves hanging to the left, along with bags of turkey feathers and bundles of bright red cranberries. To the right, however, everything is decorated in reds and greens and golds, with shiny tinsel and beautiful stained glass ornaments.

In the center of the room is a large, black line someone has painted in order to mark off equal portions; despite this, there are pieces of the right side stretching over to the left, and vice versa. Many people are arguing over it, as well as the holidays each of them are dressed for... and dressed for them they are. Those on the right are in red and white, and those on the left are in turkey costumes.

Thankfully, there are a couple of people without a talking (or, rather, an arguing) partner: the barkeep at the back, who looks incredibly tired by all of this; a pale young woman with a sword at her side, who's merely watching the everything going on here; and a wicker basket by the bar with a sign on it. Because you mentioned sleep, you also notice there is an upstairs to this tavern, implying there to be rooms to stay the night in.

Which may be for the best, given how drunk many of these people seem to be.

What will you do next?

[storytelleroftime]

>Visit cemetery

[elevelvetor]

To get to the cemetery, you must first be confronted by a garishly lit church. That is, a floating church made of metal, wire, and a lot of lights.

But as the church is not your focus, and not really that interesting anyway, you easily side step it and go to the cemetery to the left of it. The gate to Willin' Wisp Cemetery is wide open, allowing you easy passage -- perhaps it's a happy coincidence, or perhaps it's your species' incredible luck at work.

Or perhaps someone has simply entered before you. Nevertheless, your progress to visit the cemetery remains unimpeded. The road is smoothly paved, in stark contrast to the rest of the town's cobblestone, and the graves are all of a similar make: they stand about waist-height, and would look like ordinary gravestones if not for the stone goat heads attached to each one. You recall that the town of Willin' Wisp worships a goat named Adamandeus, and believe He will lead their souls to a happy afterlife.

What are you going to do now that you're inside the cemetery?

[doublesmall]

alright, sure, why not

>go to the tavern for a drink

[this is super nerdy but listen, he's bored.]

[elevelvetor]

You enter the tavern to the south and find it just as loud as you expected it to be... and not only in volume. The front room is split into two types of decorations: there are yellow and orange leaves hanging to the left, along with bags of turkey feathers and bundles of bright red cranberries. To the right, however, everything is decorated in reds and greens and golds, with shiny tinsel and beautiful stained glass ornaments.

In the center of the room is a large, black line someone has painted in order to mark off equal portions; despite this, there are pieces of the right side stretching over to the left, and vice versa. Many people are arguing over it, as well as the holidays each of them are dressed for... and dressed for them they are. Those on the right are in red and white, and those on the left are in turkey costumes.

Thankfully, the barkeep is not held up by anyone in particular at the moment, and you're able to make your way back to him with ease. He gives you a tired look, then leans back in his chair and waves his hand.

"What'll be, warty?"

[bozhemoi]

Go west to the market.

[elevelvetor]

You go west to the market. It's night, so naturally it's deserted... or is it? There seems to be a young soldier idling about; he has curved horns and darkly-colored hair, marking him as some sort of tiefling. On his person he has a lantern and seems to be looking around, but not towards you -- he's paying more attention to the other side of the market.

Now, to orient yourself...

You stand at the east entrance of the market, with the tiefling soldier about ten feet ahead of you; if you continue straight through, you'll read the west entrance of it. If you take a right, you'll go to the north entrance, which will eventually lead you to the northern gate of Willin' Wisp -- the only way out of town, aside from taking a ship at the docks. Going left will bring you to the south entrance, which follows Main Street to the Mayor's house.

[parodeity]

> go to docks

[elevelvetor]

You turn east and head down one half of Mulberry Lane. You soon come to the floating church, made of light and wire, and its spooky cemetery. The docks are on the other side of the gently sloping hill to the right, however, and you start your ascent. When you reach the top, you take a moment to right yourself and admire the view.

The moon cascades its light across the sea fanned out in front of it. Ships dot the docks, and from here, you can see the light of lamp-posts being lit, one by one. A little late for the lampkeeper to be doing it at this hour, and strange for then to start at the docks rather than take care of the town proper... but perhaps that's something you can ask them if you meet them down there.

Before you reach the docks, however, something catches your eye -- it's a chest, half-hidden in an alley. There's gold chains spilling out of it, glinting in the moonlight.

What will you do now?

[livens]

> enter tavern!!!!!! is there an age limit??

[elevelvetor]

There is not! In fact, as you enter the tavern, you will notice there are actually quite a lot of younger people -- generally the ages between thirteen and eighteen, with adults (or rather, people who seem to be in their twenties or higher) making up a small, yet vocal, group. You will also notice it's just as loud as you expected it to be... and not only in volume. The front room is split into two types of decorations: there are yellow and orange leaves hanging to the left, along with bags of turkey feathers and bundles of bright red cranberries. To the right, however, everything is decorated in reds and greens and golds, with shiny tinsel and beautiful stained glass ornaments.

In the center of the room is a large, black line someone has painted in order to mark off equal portions; despite this, there are pieces of the right side stretching over to the left, and vice versa. Many people are arguing over it, as well as the holidays each of them are dressed for... and dressed for them they are. Those on the right are in red and white, and those on the left are in turkey costumes.

The barkeep seems to be involved in a fight at the moment, so there's no talking to him, unfortunately. There is a young elf lady cooking a duck in a fireplace nearby, however, and a massive man who can't possibly be human given his size glaring at everyone who comes near him... Additionally, there is a cat winding its way around everyone's ankles to trip them.

What will you do?

[admiringly]

oh my gosh elizabeth this looks like amazing fun

>go west

[elevelvetor]

The storyteller thanks you for your compliment but warns you that flattery will not get you better prizes. Nevertheless, you have decided to go west, towards the market. Almost immediately, however, you are accosted by a gang of bandits. They're all carrying daggers and have matching red scarves, and they're dressed rather fashionably for... bandits.

You are surrounded by them, with no hope of escape. One with a large skull-shaped earring steps forwarded and waves his dagger at you. "It's time to give up everything you own, lass! If you cooperate, we might just let you keep something."

What will you do?

[blind_badass]

If you can make your responses as descriptive as possible, that would be appreciated.

>Contemplate why I ended up in this town.

[elevelvetor]

You stop to contemplate why you ended up in this town, a strong breeze bringing a mix of the salty sea and the rancid trash scattered about the darkened alleyways to you.

True, Willin' Wisp is small, and a mere shell of its former glory... But rumors from Fleeting Hope and Godwin's Hallow have led you to believe there are secrets to uncover in this town. Of course, that could always be the Illuminati at work -- they do have a strong presence in those two towns in particular -- however the society has always been open and honest with their motivations and statements.

Hoping to uncover these secrets, you traveled here and have yet to make any progress in three days you have already spent in town. The people here are restless and uneasy, making conversation difficult, and they always seem to have something to argue about. This week has been about holidays. Perhaps next week, it will be about fruit costumes. The trends are hard to follow at best, and completely nonsensical at worst.

[floret]

What's to the north?

[elevelvetor]

To the north of you are a row of shanties. Busted and rusted, these houses have seen better days, though they seem wholly abandoned right now. Two of them have busted windows, while one's door swings back and forth precariously.

[twostringsonebow]

[Ooooh, he likes.]

I'd like to go to church.

[elevelvetor]

[ For what now, Akechi. ]

You make your way east, to Willin' Wisp's most famous (and only) church. Nothing impedes your journey, and soon enough, the church itself comes into view, in all of its illuminated and metal glory. Often called the ugliest structure in town, the church is a skeleton of wire and lights, yet its architectural importance cannot be overlooked: this is the world's only free-standing church, after all.

That is to say, it floats. Perhaps it's due to the electromagnetic waves given off by its innumerable lights, or perhaps it's due to the Mother's magical influence. No one can decide, and you recall this is a hotly debated topic. The closer you get to the church, the warmer the winter night becomes.

In front of the lighted church is a box with a sign beside it. To the left of the church is the cemetery, and to the right is the gentle slope of a hill, which leads to the docks.

[robitussin]

let's head towards the cemetery

sounds exciting

[elevelvetor]

You make a beeline east, towards the cemetery. The garishly lit and famously floating church of Willin' Wisp is right beside it, as churches generally are, and the cemetery gate is closed... However, the chains on it are loose, and the lock clangs against it noisily.

A woman in a bright red dress is kneeling by one of the gravestones inside the cemetery, along the side fence. A dark barks somewhere in the distance, then goes quiet. A goat gently bleats.

What will you do now?

[hadeir]

I'll go to the docks.

[elevelvetor]

You turn east and head down one half of Mulberry Lane. You soon come to the floating church, made of light and wire, and its spooky cemetery. The docks are on the other side of the gently sloping hill to the right, however, and you start your ascent. When you reach the top, you take a moment to right yourself and admire the view.

The moon cascades its silvery light across the sea fanned out in front of it. Ships dot the docks, and from here, you can see the light of lamp-posts. How queer, that the ones at the docks would be lit, but none of the ones in town proper would be. Regardless, nothing immediately catches your attention, and you make your way down the hill to the docks.

Moths flutter around the lamps, and the waves calmly shift far beneath you. The silhouettes and shapes of ships of all sizes are now far more imposing than when you were viewing them from the docks; you feel small compared to them, and you also feel as if someone -- or something -- is watching you.

What now?

[lalliho]

is there a reason I'm supposed to be here that I knew before or am I just here

[elevelvetor]

There have been rumors from Fleeting Hope and Godwin's Hallow, two nearby towns, that have led you to believe there are secrets to uncover in Willin' Wisp. Of course, that could always be the Illuminati at work -- they do have a strong presence in those two towns in particular -- however the society has always been open and honest with their motivations and statements.

Hoping to uncover these secrets, you traveled here and have yet to make any progress in three days you have already spent in town. The people here are restless and uneasy, making conversation difficult, and they always seem to have something to argue about. This week has been about holidays. Perhaps next week, it will be about fruit costumes. The trends are hard to follow at best, and completely nonsensical at worst.

Though, there are hundreds of other reasons you could be here, if you'd like to make one up instead. Willin' Wisp is an incredibly strange town, after all.

[imaginex]

I'll go to the east! Towards the cemetery.

[elevelvetor]

[ Hoping for something spooky, Sakura??? ]

Very well. You head east, giving Willin' Wisp's floating, lighted church a glance as you come to stop in front of the otherwise ordinary cemetery beside it. The iron gate is shut and locked, but you hear voices from deeper in -- it would seem someone else has found a way in. The side closest to the church shows no hint of any breaks in its high stone fence, but...

Well, no one says the rest of it is as structurally sound. What will you do?

[longwei2go]

Cool, I'm getting drunk!
Are there any girls there?

[ Yin takes RP very seriously. ]

[elevelvetor]

[ oh my god ]

Single-minded in your quest, you charge through the decorations and arguments currently held in the tavern and take a seat at the bar. You exchange coins for beer and, taking a swig from your mug, finally glance around.

There are a number of young women here, though there is a large amount of younger children as well -- between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, to be precise. Closer to you is a copper-scaled dragonborn you're fairly certain is female, as her horns are quite small and her eye ridges aren't so pronounced. She has a massive lizard sleeping beside her, and every so often she brushes its cheek with her foot.

Do you want to talk to her, or would you like to find someone else?

[truedetective]

This is an interesting idea.
It seems like you've been getting some takers.

[elevelvetor]

thank you, and i have! more than i expected to get, admittedly...
but i feel like today has been a day well-spent writing everyone's adventures and seeing what they'll do next.

[ Sundays are her break days, after all. This has been suuuuch a welcome change from... work. ]

[livingdeadgirl]

> visit cemetery

[wow who could have possibly seen that coming]

[frisyr]

Um go to Mulberry Lane?

[hauhra]

> Swoop into the town majestically on a dragon and burn everything in sight to ash, making sure to grab any loot the town might have to offer along the way





[ I'm sorry ]