Choice Results are at the bottom. Good luck!

After traveling for many more miles out on the Open Plains without any further interference from the Centaurs, you near the Bordertown of Harthorn. A place where drifters, adventurers, sellswords and warriors alike gather together to tell tales of their adventures and collect news from the outside world. Setup by the Dwarven Lords of the eight Domains as neutral ground, the town is mostly populated by Dwarves that only come out of their homes at night for fear of losing their eyesight. In any case, you find this to be a good place to rest up for the day and recover from your wounds, before continuing on your journey to the Mountain stronghold of Stonefold. As you enter the remarkably shabby town, you see hundreds of warriors from all kinds of races, Orcs, Redlings, Centaurs, Elves, Minotaurs, Trolls, and Werewolves wandering about the cobblestone streets in search of a fight, booze or female company.

Careful to avoid bumping into any of them. You walk along the street and find yourself standing right in front of several food merchants selling their wares. One is selling apple pies, one is selling freshly baked bread and another is selling raw meat. (If you wish to pay for food, it will cost you 1 gold piece each. Each item you pay for will boost your health points by 1. You cannot, however, purchase more than 3 items.)

Rolling your eyes in amusement, you walk away from the stall, and press on towards the center of the town, making sure to avoid all eye contact with many dangerous miscreants that wander the streets looking for trouble. There you find several more signposts, and raise a quizzical eyebrow in surprise. It seems the town offers more than just sanctuary and rest for the restless wanderer. It also offers training to those, who have gold to pay for it. One training on offer is mental resistance, another offers increased aptitude in battle and the last offers endurance training. However, you could just go to the inn to get a good night's sleep instead of spending the day training. Or save your gold by heading out of town a way's to get some sleep by the road. You take a moment to think about what you should do.

Choice 2. Do you visit the Mage’s College(Boost your Magical Resistance)? 20 Gold Pieces

While not a mage yourself, you’ve come to realize that the Mage’s College offered so much more than lessons on magic, which regretfully had remained an untapped desire of yours. For those who went there, you could help improve your ability to resist magic! Which was quite a big deal when almost half the contracts you receive were from people wanting you to hunt down one black-hearted mage or another who’d been dabbling in stuff they shouldn’t be.

As always intrigued by the thought of strengthening that particular skill, you follow the sounds of music and lights that swirl through the morning air, and arrive at the foot of the Mage’s College. An immense tree cradled in the soil surrounded by strands of raw magical energy that appeared to you as balls of light that flew up and around the tree’s thick branches. The humm of music you’d heard from within the marketplace coming from deep inside of it.

Careful not to lose your footing as you take the path dug into the ground, you take the two short steps down, and walk towards the entrance that has been carved into the base of the tree. The doorway cut perfectly into a circle with the symbol of the mages, five fingers carrying each of the five elements on each fingertip.

A little shorter than you were, your forced to duck your head down as you enter the main foyer where you're met by a male elf in flowing sky blue robes that sits cross-legged on a white carpet. The mage’s eyes closed shut as he slowly breathes in and out, before speaking, “I can smell your hunger for power, but I wonder if you are prepared to pay the price for it?”

“I have gold,” you reply.

The mage snorts in amusement. “I do not mean gold, though perhaps that will do for now. Come, sit with me, and I shall help you unshackle your soul.”

Wary at the strange invitation, you close the door behind you and take a seat directly opposite the mage on the rug. The fluffy white fur collected from borels that grow high up in the mountains. The elf holding up a hand as he began to whisper incantations that cause your skin to tingle, and your body to suddenly become unbearably warm, then cold as ice, before fading away to nothing.

“There it is done. Now be gone from here.”

Not really feeling much different, you let out a heavy sigh, wondering if the elf had cheated you, drop a few gold pieces onto the rug behind you and leave.

Battle Results

+ 20 Magical Resistance (Permanent.)

Loot

None