Re: Lost in the Jungle
Option A) - In!
----
This is it. The final exit in the final level. And it's right at the back of the throat of some gargantuan hell-dwelling behemoth. Well, there's only one way to get at it.
Eve takes a moment to compose herself, wrinkling her nose at the disgusting, fiery - and faintly fishy - wafts of breath coming from the maw in front of her. Going in there is obviously suicide; just look at the teeth. Yet weirdly, Eve finds herself in a position of not really caring very much - what'll be will be, it seems.
A smile on her lips and joy in her heart, Eve raises her sword and leaps into the mouth, just as it reaches forward to consume her.
Inside. The mouth shuts behind her and everything suddenly gets very dark; the only light comes from the flickering fire further back in the mouth. Eve jumps into action, darting forwards, weaving her way wildly around the needle-like teeth. They start to collide together behind, the jaw collapsing to a point. Eve picks up the pace, having to stoop lower as the mouth contracts. So nearly there...
Arrghh! One fang, black and hard as diamond, pierces her bicep - but with the speed she's carrying, Eve doesn't stop, momentum carrying her forward and letting the tooth draw a thick, deep line all the way down the upper half of her left arm. Black blood wells out, and by christ is it painful. So painful, Eve looses concentration and trips on another tooth, sword flying out of her hand. The teeth descend and Eve knows she's done for -
Until she tumbles through the archway. For just a second she glimpses herself whizzing past the flames, black blood spurting out behind her - and then nothing.
****
When she wakes up, Eve finds herself... somewhere very strange. It puts her in mind of a throne room; there's certainly a huge, high backed chair against the back wall, but it's not what you'd call a
traditional throne room. All four walls are made of some shining, glowing purple crystal, dancing and shimmering prettily. On one wall hangs a somewhat out-of-place map, huge in size... it appears to show all the corners of the world.
The floor is black stone and the ceiling... what looks to be ordinary glass, looking out on a night sky.
A figure rests on the throne. At least seven foot tall, he languishes in it. His entire body is comprised a swirling black material, almost ink-like - but with every shade of black imaginable, ranging from almost-blues to nearly-greys. The person - Eve assumes it is a person - is stick thin, almost skeletal, except the smooth surface of the skin betrays no bone shapes. The only variety in the body lies in the eyes, which glitter coldly deep in their sockets like little purple amethysts, and a plain golden crown, worn at a steep angle on his head.
"
Welcome, traveler." The figure seems to notice Eve for the first time, and stands up. Its face is blank and swirling constantly, just like the rest of his body, but Eve gets the impression it's smiling.
"
You have done well to reach my home. Put your journey behind you, and be healed." The voice is masculine, so Eve continues to assume the figure is male, although there's no other way to tell. He waves a hand regally, and Eve feels her body flush with energy - her magic is fully restored, as is her health. The wound on her upper arm heals in an instant.
From nowhere, a table pops into existence in the middle of room; simple, wooden, square. On it also materialize four identical wine glasses, arranged symmetrically, as though on the points of a compass.
"
Your final task, Eve, is thus; you must choose a glass, and drink from it. One liquid will grant upon you complete and total knowledge, of all this world and the many worlds beyond.
One drink will destroy you, painfully and utterly.
One cup's contents will transport you back onto the Plain of Bones, safe and sound... although feeling somewhat cheated after coming all this way, I imagine.
The final drink... will bring about the end of the world." The figures waves his other hand; the purple walls shimmer, just for a second, and Eve glimpses shadows boiling behind them, raging furiously, smashing themselves against the crystal. She blinks, and suddenly they've gone. The purple walls sparkle innocently.
"
Yes, one of these will release those vile shades, and they will fall upon your entire world, dooming it utterly. Not that such an event would bother me, of course." For just a second Eve imagines she sees a grin on the empty, blank face.
He gestures to the table where the four wine glasses sit. "
Do you like riddles, Eve?" the figure asks. "
This one should help you choose."
The figure points at the wine glass closest to him, furthest away from Eve. The wine within is white.
"
When I was young, this world with empty, without form. When I am old, it will be long gone, its history and stories and knowledge lost to the universe. A bitter, disappointing thought, but not one that ruins me."
The hand moves onwards, to point at the wineglass on Eve's right (the man's left). The liquid inside is golden, like the sun.
"
Never loose hope, Eve. Even in our darkest hours, trapped in chains of ignorance, something may come to light. A sun rising in the dawn sky, illuminating the ground before it - just as we can be illuminated with understanding. But be wary of such things, for - as they say - knowledge is power."
He points to the third cup, the one closest to Eve. The liquid inside is a very faint pink.
"
Everyone and everything must come to dust, Eve. Everything has its time, and everything ends. Be sure to remember that."
The hand gestures towards the fourth and final cup, the one on Eve's left. The liquid inside is blood-red.
"
Sadness is not an emotion I feel very often, I confess. I care nothing for this world, and the red wine in this cup is bitter, angry - and strong. I dread to think..."
----
Pick a glass to drink from.
Status:
My advice is to think about it. I made quite sure to leave a few hints in the text/speech about what drink you should choose (assuming you're going for the 'obtain all knowledge' ending) but it's not obvious, and there may or may not be red herrings. Be VERY careful about quick decisions, and bandwagoning - the person before you may have got it totally wrong.
And if you pick the wrong one, yes, you
will get the rubbish 'transported down to the Plain of Bones with no way back' ending.
At least the 'horrible painful death' glass is more interesting.
