Hero’s Tale VYA – Part 14

This week’s entry is a bit shorter. Everyone thought Bardulf was being a bit silly trying to go off on his own, so what happens next? Time to find out. As usual, if you want to catch up with the rest of the series, go click on Vote Your Adventure up top. Voting will be open until Friday, February 1, 2012.

“Bardulf laughed to himself. ”You’re right, Burnum. I have worked alone far too long, and fall into bad habits easily. We have six days until the other warriors arrive. We need to start planning." He looked up and found that Burnum offered a hand to help him up. Bardulf took it.

“Come, friend. We have battle to plan.”

They returned to the cave and found that two of the men were gone. They had gone into the village. Burnum was visibly alarmed, and Bardulf felt his stomach sink. That was the dumbest thing those two could have done.

Bardulf held his frustration, and placed his hand on Burnum’s shoulder. “Don’t worry right now. You all have been gone long. It isn’t surprising a few left. We will talk to the two when they return. Right now, we need to determine how strong the enemy is. How many men are we looking to fight against?”

Burnum thought for a moment. “We have talked of freedom long. Someone in village will have idea of number.”

“Which is exactly where we shouldn’t go,” Bardulf sighed. “Those two fools are already risking a lot,” he mumbled.

As if that thought was a summons, the two missing men ran into the cave. They looked spooked, and both of them glanced at Bardulf before speaking.

Bardulf watched Burnum’s face range from anger to worry as the two spoke. Finally Burnum translated what they said.

“We went to village to see families quickly. We want be back before you. Never made it. Shaman caught us. She yelled for leaving you. She asked us to relay a message to Bardulf. You need to visit her tonight in her hut.”

Bardulf frowned. “Did she say why?”

Burnum relayed the question. The two men shook their heads.

“Should I go, Burnum?”

The man shrugged. “Choice yours. But not wise to anger shaman.”

Inventory: hatchet, flint & steel, traveling cloak, heart necklace, 80 coins in a pouch
Health: broken left arm

Should Bardulf go visit the shaman?:
A) Yes.
B) No.

Hero’s Tale VYA – Part 12 Results

Thanks for the comments. And yes, I forgot to close them on Fri. The week was suddenly over before I knew it. I was hoping to have the next part up on Monday or Tuesday, but I fear I’m running late. Not to mention that even with only two comments, you both gave me some great questions!

Thanks again. All the comments and participation is what makes this so much fun.

Hero’s Tale VYA – Part 12 Reminder

I think I broke all of you readers with my request in Part 12. Either that or you all wanted to wait while I was working on NaNoWriMo. (FYI, it went well. Another victory!)

Sorry to keep all of you waiting, but I’m back and ready to continue the story. I want to see if all of you have some ideas for me first. Are there things you want to know right away? Now that Bardulf is in the right area with people who know something, it’s a great time to ask questions!

Comments will be open until December 7, 2012. Thanks everyone!

Hero’s Tale VYA – Part 12

It’s the eve of NaNoWriMo. What was I thinking? That I couldn’t quite leave the story where it was. As usual, if you want to catch up, go check out the Vote Your Adventure link above. Voting ends at the end of November. I’m doing it a bit different this time. I’ll explain after the story.

The ridges of the mountains were covered in evergreen trees. Snow still blanketed the forest floor, but was beginning to melt. Burnum mentioned that it could be around for another month.

Travel was easy. For the first two days, they traveled as they had for the last few days. On the third day, Burnum asked them to walk in a single line. He lead the way, and Bardulf followed him. “Walk in my footprints,” he said to Bardulf. “We hide how many we are.” It took a little while to learn, but Bardulf got the hang of it. Burnum led them through the trees, staying away from large clearings where possible. Late in the afternoon, they had their first encounter.

Continue reading

Hero’s Tale VYA – Part 10 Results

Thanks for voting everyone! Just a reminder that there will be 2 more entries here in October. November is NaNoWriMo, and I’m going to focus on that. Don’t worry, it’s actually related to what I’m doing here. Although, in a different form. I’m going to post more about that on my writer’s blog soon. But you are all here for the results.

The rapids were a bit rougher than I anticipated. The waterfall was too much, and poor Bardulf now has a broken arm. Is it too much? Some of you have said as much. And the votes reflected this.

A) Help protect the women for a little while and heal a bit – 4 Votes (1 offline)
B) Go to the slaves home right away – 1 Vote

So, we’re going to take it a bit easier next time. Let’s see if we can give the poor Ranger a break. For one week at least.