Seize the moment to strike
From Create Your Own Story
The death of his friend seems to send the second Bandit flying into a rage. He starts to scream wildly as he hurtles forward!
He catches you off-guard. The impact is enough to send you reeling. A flush of shame crosses your face. You are almost finished, and the Poonani Gate is still in view...
You gather your wits and swing with expert precision and all of your strength. Your strike is more than the bandit can take. He falls to the ground, quite dead. The fight is over. You clean your weapon and regain your breath.
You search through the bandits’ pockets but find nothing, not even a single gold piece. You leave their bodies for the beasts to pick clean, and set off again.
About half an hour later you reach the start of the climb into the Hills proper, and continue upwards until you reach a fork in the road.
The road splits around the base of a gigantic tree, but does not rejoin on the other side. The left path winds down into a valley. There is a river there, and the path follows the left bank. It is a safer route, secluded and protected, but the curve of the landscape would mean you were almost backtracking. The right path rises up a slope towards the first thick forest of the Hills. It's hard to see much further, the forest is so sudden and thick. It may be hard going in that direction, but the Hills will involve a lot of climbing eventually and you may get a decent view of the next leg form the top of the ridge.
You are about to make your choice when you hear a faint cry from somewhere close at hand.
Do you:
