<div id="selection">
<img src="img/coverimage.png" alt="title image" style="max-width: 50%; max-height: 50%;">
[[Onward | Start.]]
<font style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 1px;">[[credits]]</font>
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(set: $apple to (datamap: "name", "apple", "description", "The apple is large and bright, looking very delicious.", "pickupText", "You take the apple and slip it into your satchel.", "isCarried", false))
(set: $books to (datamap: "name", "books", "description", "All sorts of texts, but nothing particularly interesting.", "pickupText", "You find all sorts of texts on every subject imaginable, but nothing particularly interesting.", "isCarried", false))
(set: $cauldron to (datamap: "name", "cauldron", "description", "Full of water, but totally pointless.", "pickupText", "The cauldron is full of water, nothing more. It's totally pointless.", "isCarried", false))
(set: $mirror to (datamap: "name", "mirror", "description", "It's large and oval, framed in brass. You see just yourself.", "pickupText", "It's large and oval, framed in brass. You see just yourself.", "isCarried", false))
(set: $selectedItem to "")<div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
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<p>The woods are dark as a crow's eye, the night thick with ribbons of magic swaying in the shade of the trees. It glows green as a witch's aura. //Could it be bottled?// you wonder because you know in these woods, it might be possible.
Nausea clenches your throat. The ride on the wagon is rough and unsteady, its tired wheels kicking up clouds of dust and dirt. The road hasn't seen many travelers these last few years.
"Ho, ease up," the driver calls to the pair of oxen, clicking his tongue.
Finally, the wagon comes to a halt.
"Still awake back there?" the driver asks over his shoulder, a raspy chuckle deep in his throat. He knows it would've been impossible to sleep during a ride this bumpy. Not that he was good company anyway. The hunchback man was content to smoke his pipe and play a game of I Spy by himself the entire time. Beside him, his tabby cat sits perched like a gargoyle.
"This is the place," the driver says. You thank him and hop off. He tugs the reins, getting the oxen moving again. "Tread softly."
Before you know it, you're alone.
<div id="selection">
[[Nowhere to go but deeper into the woods.|into woods]]
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<p>You don't know how far the wizard's cabin is. Still, your gut urges you to continue. After all, he might select //you// as his first apprentice.
The wizard is a peculiar man. Not much of a wizard, really, with his tattered clothes and cane. He doesn't even have a beard. But you sense the magic in your village, catch glimpses of it everywhere you go. Yes, his magic is ripe in these lands.
<div id="selection">
[[His trial is simple.|trial]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>Finally, through the trees, you spot a structure. You pick up the pace, pushing the dense foliage out of your way, and find yourself at the cabin. It's hardly imposing, just a simple log home with two windows and a door better fit for a gnome.
<img src="img/doorknob.png" alt="doorknob" style="max-width: 40%; max-height: 40%; padding:20px;" align="right"> In the depths of these woods steeped in magic, at a cabin with windows peering into an unnerving gloom, you think twice about your decision to come all this way.
But the wagon driver with his tired oxen and faithful cat won't return until dawn. You have little choice. You won't survive the night out in the cold and the woods are stalked by sharp-toothed threats.
//Here goes.//
You try the doorknob. It's locked.
"Seriously?" you ask yourself, annoyed. //Why would he lock the door?// After all, he invited you on this very night.
You try the door again, then peek in through one of the arched windows.
"Wizard, I've come," you call. There's no response. Aggravation builds like a boiling kettle.
<div id="selection">
[[Bluffing, you start to leave. | Go back]]
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<p>And yet, you know that he's already calling your bluff.
"Damn it," you mumble to yourself. Back at the door again, you pound on it this time. "Wizard! It's freezing out here!" You wait for him to appear, but he doesn't.
"Gah! Very well! I'll take my chances in the woods!" Maybe by some miracle, you can make it back to the road.
You walk for a long while, stopping only for a moment to add oil to keep your torch burning. But by the time your tantrum has passed and you've finally cooled off, you realize you're no longer on the path.
In fact, //you're lost.//
<div id="selection">
[[You look around for the path.|Look]]
[["Hello? Wizard?" you call.|Call]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>Nothing looks familiar. It's impossible to tell where you even started. Without much choice, you continue to wander. In minutes, you're convinced that now, you are //extremely// lost.
That is...until you step on something.
<div id="selection">
[["Hey, watch it!" a voice shouts. | Pinecone]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>A violent flutter of wings cracks through the silent night. You flinch, bracing for an attack, but nothing happens. After a few seconds, you're just thankful you're still alive.
There's no response from the wizard. Just the silence of a graveyard. Fear tickles your spine.
"Gods," you say.
<div id="selection">
[[You keep walking.|Look]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<center><img src="img/pinecone.png" alt="pinecone" style="max-width: 80%; max-height: 80%;"></center>
<p>You jump back and stare down at your feet. //What the...// you think to yourself. //It's a little man.// So very little, actually, wearing a tiny suit with a top hat adorned by birdseeds. The little man rolls the pinecone you crushed out of the way. He cocks an eyebrow at you, clearly miffed.
"Do you know how to get out of these woods?" you ask him.
The man huffs, plants his fists on his hips, and says, "It's too dark to find your way out of here now. Say, are you participating in the wizard's trial?"
<div id="selection">
[[You nod.|you nod]]
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<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
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<p>The key is bulky and rusted in spots, shaped sort of like a dragonfly.
<div id="selection">
[[Done|you nod]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<img src="img/sparrowkey.png" alt="title image" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;" align="right" padding="20px;"><p>"Why, sure!" the little man says, grinning now and tipping his hat. "Wait just a minute. I got something that'll help."
He scuttles off into the undergrowth. You wait, unsettled about being all alone again. You wonder if this was a ruse and the little man went off to fetch a much //larger// man who might eat you and leave your bones to rot in the woods.
Just as your imagination begins to fear for the worst, he finally, he returns.
And with him, he's brought a [[key]].
"This just kind of turned up. Might find it useful," he says. The little man raises it to you.
<div id="selection">
[[Take the key.|between]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
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<p>(print: $selectedItem's pickupText)
<div id="selection">
[[Done|you nod]]
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<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
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<center><img src="img/goldenapple.png" alt="golden apple" style="max-width: 80%; max-height: 80%;"></center>
<p>You pass beyond the trees when something cool and smooth bumps your hald. You pause when you spot it.
A [[golden apple]] bright and glittering, hanging there from one of the branches.
//Odd,// you think, because you've never seen a golden apple before. Perhaps it belongs to the wizard?
<div id="selection">
(if: $apple's isCarried is false) [(link: "Take the apple.")[(set:$selectedItem to $apple)(set: $apple's isCarried to true)(goto:"Apple Acquired")]]
(if: $apple's isCarried is false)[<center>[[Pass it up. Might be poisonous.|cabin again]]</center>]
(if: $apple's isCarried is true)[<center>[[Head on to the cabin.|cabin again]]</center>]
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audio.src=
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</script><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>You step around the tree and stride up to the cabin door just as your torchlight dies.
//What perfect timing.//
With your <b>key</b> in hand, you unlock the door.
You enter the cabin. It's dimly lit and you can't see much. You fumble around for some candles and find one on a nearby table. There are matches conveniently left there neatly piled in an old cigar tin.
<div id="selection">
[[Light a candle.|light candle]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>"Am I gonna be sitting here all night, wizard?" you ask aloud.
Your belly rumbles like the wagon's wheel. You rub it in circles, staring at your empty stomach like it might tell you of its distress.
<div id="selection">
(if: $apple's isCarried is false)[You wish you had picked that golden apple.<br /><br /><center>[[You'll never find it in this darkness.|snoop]]</center>]
(if: $apple's isCarried is true)[The golden apple should hold you over.<br /><br /><center>[[You eat it.|snoop]]</center>]
</div>
<script>
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</script><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>(print: $selectedItem's pickupText)
<div id="selection">
[[Done|back to cabin]]
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audio.src=
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</script>bgMusic: audio/bgtrack.mp3<div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>It's as big as a grapefruit with skin gleaming gold. Almost too pretty to eat.
<div id="selection">
[[Done|back to cabin]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>Light warms the cozy room. There is a tidy bed in the corner made with a ruby-red quilt that looks oh so soft and inviting. You wish the bed were yours to rest in. Along one wall is a handmade bookcase stocked with books and potion bottles. A magic altar touches from floor to ceiling, strange magical paraphernalia deliberately placed on it.
But you are in fact alone here. Now you must wait for the judges, who should arrive... soon?
<div id="selection">
[[The hours drag on...|hours]]
</div>
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<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>Tired of waiting so long, you decide to take a look around. To hell with manners. You're bored.
<div id="selection">
(if: $books's isCarried is false) [(link: "Check out the wizard's books.")[(set:$selectedItem to $books)(set: $books's isCarried to true)(goto:"books")]]
(if: $cauldron's isCarried is false) [(link: "Check out the wizard's cauldron.")[(set:$selectedItem to $cauldron)(set: $cauldron's isCarried to true)(goto:"cauldron")]]
(if: $mirror's isCarried is false) [(link: "Check out the wizard's mirror.")[(set:$selectedItem to $mirror)(set: $mirror's isCarried to true)(goto:"mirror")]]
(if: ($books's isCarried is true) && ($cauldron's isCarried is true) && ($mirror's isCarried is true))[<center>[[There's nothing of interest here.|doubt]]</center>]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<center><img src="img/books.png" alt="books" style="max-width: 80%; max-height: 80%;"></center>
<p>(print: $selectedItem's pickupText)
<div id="selection">
[[Done.|snoop]]
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<p>(print: $selectedItem's pickupText)
<div id="selection">
[[Done.|snoop]]
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<script>
var audio= document.createElement('audio');
audio.src=
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audio.play();
</script><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div><img src="img/mirror.png" alt="mirror" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;" align="right" padding="20px;">
<p>(print: $selectedItem's pickupText)
<div id="selection">
[[Done.|snoop]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>You pace in the cramped quarters, grumbling to yourself.
<div style="text-align:right;"><h2>//What if this wizard is a fraud?//</h2></div>
This could all be a waste of time. Your hopes of training to become a fabulous mage clearly won't happen tonight.
You're about to leave when one of the tomes on a shelf falls to the floor with a thud.
<div id="selection">
[[You go to inspect it.|inspect]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>"Ah, thank you," the book says once you pick it up. You're so startled, you nearly drop it again.
"So, //you// are the judge," you said.
"Am I?" the book asks.
You blink. "Aren't you?"
Silence from the book.
"Tell me, is the wizard a fraud?" you ask.
The book snorts. "Hell if I know. I never see him perform any magic. Read and read and reread the same old books, that's what he does. Not me, though. He seems bored of my tales."
You try to compose yourself, frustration building once again.
You replace the book on the shelf when...
<div id="selection">
[[Something appears out of thin air...|chameleon]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>It's a chameleon. The lizard is no bigger than an athame and the color of fresh limes. It stands up on its hind legs and leans casually against the books.
"Have you been there this entire time?" you ask.
"I was just milling about," she says.
"Well, when do we get this started? Where is the damn wizard? I'm tired of screwing around," you say sounding harsher than you meant to. After all, it's just a poor, little chameleon.
She shrugs, those creepy, pin-prick black eyes rolling around like marbles. "Hmm." A tiny laugh escapes her. "You both aren't much different."
"How so?"
"He's always in a sour mood, too." She wanders off down the shelf until she's completely disappeared again.
<div id="selection">
[[You begin to wonder...|wonder]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>Evidence is pointing to the wizard being a fraud. But then how would you explain the talking book and disappearing chameleon?
As you're ruminating on this, a woman in a painting on the wall waves you over. Her face is shrouded by a gray hood, and she stands in a burlap dress holding a basket of bread.
<div id="selection">
[[You wander towards her.|painting]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>"Ah, so //you're// the one hoping to become the apprentice," she says.
"Yes. Yes, I am," you say passionately.
The woman in the painting sets down her basket of pumpernickel loaves and shakes her head with a chuckle. "That old man is //constantly// hunting for one. He's extremely picky and has had at least a hundred others endure this painstaking... if not mildly infurating, trial."
<div id="selection">
[[You feel like this probably won't work out.|waste of time]]
</div>
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<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>A hundred others? That were just like you? And if they weren't picked, you're probably not much more likely to be selected either.
You don't know a lick of magic and hardly want a teacher who leaves you alone in his cabin with nothing to do but talk to animals and objects all night long. If the wizard has the final say, and he's not even here, then what good is all this?
<h2><center>//That's the last straw.//</center></h2>
You've nearly had it.
<div id="selection">
[[You decide to leave.|leave]]
[[You push through the frustration.|stay]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>As a potted plant whistles to snag your attention, you storm out of the cabin. To your good fortune, the moon is no longer veiled by thick clouds, and the light helps guide you through the woods.
After some hiking, you expect to find yourself looped around back at the cabin.
<div id="selection">
[[But in fact, you find the road.|almost home]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div><img src="img/plant.png" alt="plant" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;" align="left" padding="20px">
<p>You almost miss the soft whistle from a small, potted plant, a rare breed you can't quite place. She is pink and lovely, her petals unfurling as she speaks.
"Don't give up!" she says. "Maybe you can help this poor, crazy wizard."
You scoff. "Crazy? I hope you're kidding."
The plant points one of her jagged leaves to the mirror on the table. She says, "He'll stare into that thing for long hours without saying a word. And he's usually smiling when he does it. Curious, no?"
<div id="selection">
[[Then the potted plant jerks her chin towards a cauldron.|look at cauldron]]
</div>
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<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<img src="img/lamp.png" alt="lamp" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 20%;" align="right" padding="20px;"><p>It's long and winding with nothing but silver moonlight to guide you. Relieved, you let out a big sigh and begin the long and exhausting hike back to your village.
<div style="text-align:right;"><h2>//What will I tell my family?//</h2></div>
They were expecting great things.
And the closer to home you get...
<div id="selection">
[[The more you feel like maybe you've made a mistake.|mistake]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>It's this nagging feeling that beckons you back into the woods, to the cabin once again.
Perhaps you acted too hastily. If you would've shifted your perspective, you might've seen things differently instead of letting your anger rule you.
<div id="selection">
[[So you turn back.|turn back]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>The full moon has moved steadily across the sky. Dawn will arrive in a short while. <b>You're running out of time.</b>
And as you venture into the woods, convinced you're completely lost, you miraculously find yourself at the cabin door.
<div id="selection">
[[You rush inside.|stay]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>"Look in there to see his dreams," she suggests. "I don't know what to make of them."
You stride over to the cauldron nestled in a comfortable fireplace. You peek inside. What was once merely an ordinary cauldron filled with water is now thick with a black slime. In it, you see magic in a rainbow vortex, enshrouded in a ring of murky darkness.
Such a destructive force it is, locked there in his cauldron.
<div id="selection">
[[What secrets is this wizard hiding?|dark wizard]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>For the first time, you consider another possibility. That he may be...
<h2><center>//a dark wizard.//</center></h2>
A chilling thought, really. Maybe this was indeed a mistake. Well, it's not too late to leave. Whatever darkness is churning in the wizard's dreams, you want no part of it.
<div id="selection">
[[Sunlight glides in through the cabin windows.|dawn]]
</div>
<script>
var audio= document.createElement('audio');
audio.src=
'audio/eerie.wav';
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audio.play();
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<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<center><img src="img/dawn.png" alt="dawn" style="max-width: 90%; max-height: 90%;"></center>
<p>Dawn is here. The trial... Is it over? As you wonder if you have time still to get away, the door swings open.
You spin around and, at long last, you come face-to-face with the wizard. Gods, he's old, at least a hundred. And his drooping eyes and haggard face screams that he hasn't had a good night's sleep in ages. He enters his cabin, a wooden cane tapping the floor to maintain his balance. He shuts the door behind him. The bolt clicks in place.
The wizard glances around briefly, pausing to regard the painting on the wall and the potted plant. Then he smiles to himself.
<div id="selection">
[[“You’ve passed,” the wizard says.|passed]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>“As it turns out, I don’t think I’m the right person to be your apprentice,” you say, edging around the cabin towards the door.
“Ah, and to that, I would agree," says the wizard. "//I//, in fact, wish to be //your// apprentice.” The old man bows.
“I don’t understand,” you say, brow knitted in confusion.
The old man picks up the potted plant. She watches him strangely. He asks you, “Do you think she had any life before you entered this cabin? Or the painting? Or whatever else you saw in here?”
<div id="selection">
[[“What do you imply?” you ask.|true mage]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p><h2><center>//"You are the true wizard."//</center></h2>
You blink at him.
"You need no books or teachings. You are living, breathing magic," he continues.
"I... I don't believe you. This is a trick, " you say.
"It's true," he replies. “I’m sure you’ve witnessed it yourself. The impossible follows you wherever you go.” And you think to the magic in your village. The little man in the pinecones. The golden apple. And of course, all you’ve seen in the cabin.
<div id="selection">
[[“No. It can’t be,” you say.|proof]]
</div><div id="selection">
<img src="img/separator.png" alt="separator" style="max-width: 30%; max-height: 30%;">
</div>
<p>“Let me show you,” the old man says and walks over to his mirror. He picks it up and comes to stand beside you, raising the mirror so you can see your reflection.
“What do you see?” he asks.
“Me,” you say.
“Funny,” he says with a smile, then angles the mirror towards himself. “So did I.”
In shock, you watch your reflection remain cast in the mirror, staring back at the old man. And the harder you look, the more you see your truth in glass.
Smiling...
glowing..
growing t e n d r i l s o f <font style="color:#ffffb3;">m a g i c</font> . . .
<div id="selection"><center><img src="img/tendrils.png" alt="tendrils" style="max-width: 90%; max-height: 90%;"></center>
[[Fin|Home]]
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</div><center><img src="img/nightsky.png" alt="skyline" style="max-width: 100%; max-height: 100%;"></center><p>The air feels like it drips of ice. Of course, you had to make the trip just after a cold rainfall. Your teeth chatter and you instinctively adjust your cloak, draping it over your tense shoulders.
There isn't so much as the croak of a toad, only the sopping sound of your boots on clumps of wet leaves. You don't know exactly //where// you're going, but you know the wizard's cabin is somewhere in these woods. Now, to find it.
You wander on, hoping to stumble upon the mysterious cabin. You can't imagine the night could grow any darker, but a haunting shadow settles settles upon you like it was summoned by the wizard himself. It eats away at your dwindling torch light.
But before you have a chance to start panicking, by some streak of luck, you discover a path. It's narrow and overgrown, but it's most certainly a path and must lead somewhere... right?
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[[Head right on the path.|venture]]
[[Head left on the path.|sign]]
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<p>Merely spend a night in his cabin and be judged by the mysterious inhabitants. Easy as that. And you know you've got what it takes—so long as your <font style="color:#ffcccc;">temper</font> doesn't get in the way.
Besides, you're very optimistic. After spotting the twinkle in the ancient man's eyes upon meeting him that first time, you couldn't help but wonder...
<div style="text-align: right;"><h2>//Could I be the one?//</h2></div>
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[[You continue down the path.]]
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Artwork © Tiffany Terlop.
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<p>The path dead ends at the mouth of a cave large enough to hide a full-grown mountain troll. Echoes stretch from within the void, indecipherable, ominous.
//Gods//, you say to yourself.
There's no way you're going in there. Clearly, you've gone the wrong way. You spin around, anxious to get some distance between you and the cave. Otherwise, whatever moans inside might suck you in.
But wait—what's that you see?
Just as you turn, your eye catches the corner of something partially hidden by the brush. It's framed in copper, glinting against your torchlight. You step forward, pushing the cold, wet berry bush aside. It's a sign. An old, crooked sign that leans backwards like something has slammed against it. Around the base is a ring of mushrooms settled in the moss, freshly grown after the rain.
You read the sign's tall, sprawling letters.
<center><h2>//Wizard this way//</h2></center>
"Ah. I've found it."
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[[You double back.|venture]]
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<p>Key in hand, you follow the little man's directions back to the cabin.
You're not on your way long before you cross into a grove of miniature trees that look quite out of place with their brightly-colored leaves and twisted frame. Beyond the trees, you spot the wizard's cabin.
//These definitely weren't here before,// you think, referring to the grove.
"Magic," you conclude. But what do you know about magic? That's why curiosity and desire dragged you all the way out here in the first place. But then...
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[[What chance do you have of learning true magic?|back to cabin]]
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