Tet is brave enough (roll of 3) and follows
Frederick 8 back to the storeroom. It is a small room, cluttered with casks, crates, and sacks of various foodstuffs. There is a sleeping loft above it all, suggestion that Fredrick lives here, too. Notably, there is no trace of
Dougal, nor any sign of a struggle. Tet supposes that Dougal could have left through the back door, or gone out a window.
Blindfolded Frederick intones:
"Here are the Rules of Adventure Club:"
- 1st Rule: You do not talk about ADVENTURE CLUB.
- 2nd Rule: You DO NOT talk about ADVENTURE CLUB!!
- 3rd Rule: ESPECIALLY not to the HUMANS!!!
- 4th Rule: NO SPOILERS for new members of the Club.
- 5th Rule: No snooping around town or causing trouble with the humans.
- 6th Rule: Do not give in to Chaos!
- 7th Rule: If this is your first time at ADVENTURE CLUB, you MUST enter the dungeon!
@waysoftheearth please sit tight while the others catch up...
Willie, Chegs, and Potty hear the same as before: Frederick and Tet talk for a couple of minutes, then the chopping sounds. Tet gives a loud grunt of surprise and pain, followed by a heavy thump.
A minute later, Frederick opens the door. Before he can speak,
Chegs (whose bravery was never in question) volunteers:
"My turn!"
Frederick reads the Rules and asks
Chegs to repeat them back.
"Do you solemnly swear to uphold the Rules of Adventure Club? Good. Put your hand on the table, palm side down, and spread your fingers."
@Ebon Hearted Soul please be patient...
Willie is next. He passes his bravery test (with a roll of 3) and joins Frederick in the store room. Where did Dougal, Tet, and Chegs go? he wonders. He listens to Frederick read the Rules, recites them back, and puts his hand on the table as instructed. The wooden butcher block surface is pitted and scarred, but Willie is somewhat encouraged by the lack of blood stains. Blindfolded Frederick feels around until he locates Willie's hand, then he positions the axe blade between Willie's first and second finger.
"O Great Chopper, weapon of my ancestors, judge this Hero! If he is worthy then may your vorpal blade spare his fingers!" He lifts the axe and lets the blade fall between Willie's 2nd and 3rd fingers. Chop! Then between his 3rd and 4th fingers. Chop! It's a variation on the "knife game"...
Acodispo we'll get back to you soon...
Potty is sitting all alone in the pancake parlour, listening with growing concern to the strange noises from the back room. The ritual call and response, the chopping sounds, the yelps of pain, and then the mysterious silence.
Finally it is his turn.
"Are you coming, funny mushroom man?" says Frederick.
Potty's courage falters. (He needed to roll 1 but just missed with a roll of 2.) But then he has a moment of epiphany:
He is an Adventurer! A wanna-be Hero! He has free will! He is not a spore that floats whichever way the wind blows, but rather a mighty mycelium drilling down into the mysteries of the earth! His fate will not be decided by random chance, but by his own decisions and their consequences! Join his friends, or turn back... it is his choice, and his alone.
What would Potty do?