Checkers’s Quest

As quietly as possible, she rose from the bed and found her clothes carelessly discarded on a chair. Checkers pulled on her favorite plaid skirt, followed by her blue jerkin that was carefully cut with holes for her neck, her arms, and her huge black wings. Checkers attempted to sneak for the door, but her attempt was thwarted by a dirty mead glass on the floor, which tipped over with a loud clang as her foot hit it.

The ogre stood up straight in bed, awoke by the noise. He looked around the room in confusion until his eyes focused on the Checkers. “Where you going?” he asked. But before Checkers could respond a sound like thunder clapping filled the room and a whirling cloud of color appeared all around her. She tried to hold her breath, but managed to inhale anyway…the vapor around her was tasteless and without odor. But was it harmless?

As the cloud dissipated, Checkers immediately noticed that her surroundings had changed considerably. Instead of the ogre’s messy apartment, she now found her self in a dark, dank cave. Scrolls, tomes, beakers and tubes were everywhere. In front of her were two men. The first was an old man wearing a black robe that instantly identified him as a Necromancer, the most foul of all the spellcasting sects. The other man was dressed in armor, and appeared to be a knight. It was an odd pairing to be sure, even stranger than her hooking up with the ogre last night.

The magician said something unintelligible to the knight, who nodded. Suddenly, a large angry roar echoed through the cave. What evil was this? Checkers had to act in self defense. She drew the dagger from her weapons belt and stabbed the Necromancer in the forehead. To her surprise, a bright yellow beam of light shot out of the wound, and he crumpled into dust. How odd!

Now Checkers had to turn her attention to the other man, who was advancing on her with his sword. Surely he was as evil as the Necromancer… there is nothing as tragic as a fallen knight! Checkers rolled across the floor and grabbed her dagger. She flew up into the air, nimbly dodging a thrust from the knight’s sword. She spun around and sliced at his armpit… one of the few weaknesses in a knight’s armor…and deftly sliced an artery. The knight hit the floor twitching, and Checkers watched quietly as he slowly bled to death.

The heat of the battle over, Checkers calmed herself down and surveyed her surroundings for any clue as to why she was summoned here. The scrolls and books were written in an ancient language completely unfamiliar to her, and were of no use. She found a map on the body of the knight, which showed the location of a cave (presumably the very same cave she found herself in), but no map of the passages within. She would have to wing it, so to speak, hangover and all. Her goal was simple: to escape the caves and somehow find her way home.

Checkers began walking in the direction away from the roar she heard earlier…that didn’t sound good. Before long, she found a fork in the passageway. To the left, the passage sloped upward towards a distant light. Perhaps this was an exit to the cave? There was a catch, however: a sign in front of the passage bearing a skull and crossbones (the universal human symbol of mortal danger) To the right, the passage curved downwards into darkness. There was no sign in this direction, but there was the sound of merry music coming from within.

1. Checkers takes the left passage, up towards the light.
2. Checkers takes the right passage, down towards the music.

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