Looking down into the ravine you have a sudden stab of fear and nausea that presses you back against the cliff wall. You feel like you can't breathe at the thought of descending the switchbacks, you silently point to the narrow ledge at your feet, though not very wide, it seems like a more plausible path for your escape.
"Not that way," you whisper to Creason. He is standing next to you staring down at the trees below. He doesn't move for a moment and you think that perhaps he hasn't heard you until he suddenly moves and starts off at a quick pace along the wall.
"Perhaps you are right, bearer. The forest is quite dense, and it will take us too long to find the Captain going that way. The river it is."
Letting out a partial sigh of relief, you cling to the cliff wall as much as possible as the two of you work your way around the curve of the rock. The moon crosses the sky above you as you walk marking the time as it slides towards the horizon. As the sun begins to rise, the path descends gently eventually flattening into a grassland studded with trees that looked as though they were refusing to grow, stunted and twisted into tangled knots of themselves, but there is no sign of a river that the path was named for.
Creason has been silent for the climb, and you realize that he probably isn't much of a talker, or maybe he doesn't like you, and you suddenly start to mistrust your companion.
"Is this the right direction?" You ask, feeling nervous in the silence. "Shouldn't there be a river here? You said this was the river trail."
The river is long dead." Creason answers you, not stopping or slowing his pace. "This used to be the river bed," pointing to the ground beneath your feet.
Looking down you notice that the stones of this path are smooth and the path is at the bottom of a shallow dip in the land.
"What happened to it?"
"He did." Creason replies, as though you know who he is talking about.
"Oh…" you pause for a moment, you want to ask, but you're afraid of sounding naïve, but the curiosity gets the better of you. "Who is 'HE'?"
Creason stumbles a step. "You don't know?"
You shake your head. "This has all happened rather suddenly, I'm not sure I'm even awake."
"You are awake my friend. Wide awake." Spreading his arms out wide he tipped his head to the sky as if trying to catch the sky.
"Then why doesn't anything make sense here."
"It will. It will. Soon enough."
Letting out a sigh you trudge on towards the distant tree line. It seems that Creason has forgotten your first question so you venture to pose it again. "So tell me, who is this... HE, that I have to fight? Why is it so important that I win?"
"You speak of Deathbringer. This man… This thing, is ruler of all the world, although not the rightful one. He is an evil older than time itself. He has spent millennia killing the people of this world and sucking their souls to gain power. He has obtained the power to control, time and space, though not to a large extent yet. Mostly he can move himself about through not only this world, but others as well. Eventually, with more souls, and the live force of the land itself he will be able to manipulate the entire universe. A century ago Deathbringer used his power to capture Argharna Rendall and locked him away from us. Without Argharna Rendall we are without protection. However, before he was sealed away he used his will to create this," He stops short and points to the medallion resting on your chest. "The Ring of Thanaur. Some say it contains the soul of Argharna Rendall. Other's say the bearer is the reincarnation of Argharna Rendall."
"What do you think?" You ask, this is more information than Citrine provided before sending you here.
"Me, well, I thought it was a little of both. But now, after meeting you, I have yet to reform my opinion. I can't see one like you destroying such evil. You seem like such a weak thing. With no training, I doubt you'll survive. But you are the chosen that is why now is the time that you must destroy him for good."
Your feet suddenly feel very heavy and you don't want to continue. You put a hand to your head feeling very overwhelmed.
"Come now, Bearer, you can't quit now. Not to sound like I am preaching dooms-day, but the only way out of this now is death." He starts walking again leaving you where you stand. "Captain Faelphrestad has a camp just beyond these woods."
You know he's right, but in the pit of your stomach the fear is gnawing at you and the dagger on your hip seems like a good way out. Pulling the dagger from it's holster you hold it in your hands before you.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
Kill yourself
Continue on the path
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