[PleaserOfCrowds]

Prompt 2#, with Alice

Alice looked at the two paths that split in front of her. One led into a extremely dark forest where she could feel something watching her even standing there right in the firefly lit area of a very small clearing in a forest with most of the leaves covering the moon, assuming that the right path led deeper into the forest. The left path didn't seem much better, with the path leading straight into a dark cave with deep water as the path just cut off there. The signs weren't helping either, as they didn't point towards the two paths that divided and with only "???" etched on them. A town kalon directed her here, so why was it so ominous? Perhaps she made a wrong turn, so she had to turn back. But no... the kalon clearly drew out the path on her map and she'd followed it the entire time. Looking back, the once firefly lit path behind her was now as pitch dark and filled her with a sense of dread.

When she turned back to look at the right path, she nearly stopped when she saw bright yellow eyes staring back and she bolted towards the left path. Getting in a abandoned boat and rowing away into the darkness of the cave quickly. Using the lantern she had to see into the darkness she only saw more darkness and she was unable to see the bottom of the river than ran, the current carrying her deeper into the cave. She had admit that was a rather rash decision. Eventually, she reached the shore where it was lit with glowing blue crystals. She then walked even deeper into the cave, wondering where it went. After all, both paths led to an unmarked area.

When things turned worse, was when she felt something following her. Looking around, she saw that she was not alone; a large, dark serpentine like creature had been following her. She ran, and then tripped over something, which broke her lantern and she was in complete darkness. She didn't know what happened next, nor did she know how the beast was defeated.

The next thing that happened was she saw a gold necklace with a very soft glow in the middle of pitch darkness. The necklace soon suddenly was on her neck, now lighting up the entire area brilliantly. She could now see that there were kalon skeletons, and several bright, blue scaly pieces all over. Hoping they don't mind (the skeletons) as they weren't using them anymore, she took a cloak, the boots and the gloves just in case they were important. Strangely, like the necklace it was on her and Alice was confused. She then decided to go back, but the boat she had before was split in half. She then sighed and entered the water prepared to swim back only to discover that she was on top of the water, basically walking on it. With the necklace lighting the way as she walked over the deep water, she wondered who would leave magical objects out here especially in a dark cave like that one. Oh well, finders' keepers she guessed as she headed back to find different directions, though wondering what was on the right path

(545/150)

[chamomile.]

Yᴏᴜʀ ᴋᴀʟᴏɴ ᴄᴏᴍᴇs ᴛᴏ ᴀ ғᴏʀᴋ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴀᴅ.
❝ The path out of town forks two ways. What sort of places do they seem to lead to?
Which does your hero take, and why?"❞

Please click the image to see the higher quality larger version!

[Grian]

prompt 2
kalons; the whole party. shen, pyper and mason.
Shen continued on his way, after getting ready and packing everything. He adjusted the extra satchel he had to carry his staff, and stared at the map trying to find of where to go, what routes to take and what would take the shortest amount of time. He put down little markers as of where to go and followed along that path, marking down everything as he went. He bumped into someone ultimately loosing his path and of where he was, and sadly of where the fork in the path was. He began to pick up his stuff when his hand brushed anothers, looking up he saw another Kalon or well two other kalons. A woman and her kit. of was he a kit? the boy was so short that he could hardly tell. realizing that he was just blankly staring he immediately apologized. "s-sorry! I was uh b-busy marking things down and trying to find my way I didnt er uh see you" his voice becoming softer. The woman, who had a very cheerful tone and a noticeable southern accent , Began talking. "ah no worries hun! Me and mason here were takin' all of the space on the path just standin' around". Shen nodded unsure of what to say. he remembered that he still had his map and was about to bring it up when mason began talking. "how about you join us. I mean you have a map after all and plus I'm guessing you would be good at healing and far away damage seeing your staff and all of that." Shen went to speak but had no idea of what to say. and so he just nodded his head.
+ 2 team members, a Tank and a Close range fighter.
He stared at the map and Pondered which way to go, unknowingly talking out loud. "The route on the left was significantly longer but looked safer and overall just,,, nice? although it would take so long and there would be a lack of food and water on that route. and the right route was short but,, spooky. the trees completely covered the path and made it dark. although the food and water supply was plentiful. "
he jumped when pyper began to speak. "I think we should go with the right route as I've heardsome nasty things about the left route" shen and mason nodded in agreement.
the right route it was.

[lonk]

prompt 2 | 391 words | roster post | palmer, venita, & rudy

"if i'm reading this map correctly, the right path should go further into the woods, and the right one should lead to the ocean," rudy said, almost puzzled. the three kalons huddled around the map. they all agreed that they wanted to check out the shore. palmer told the other two about how beautiful the coasts were, and collectively, going there would be a good experience, as there might be things lurking in the woods for the trio to fight.
fight?, the other two asked. palmer sighed. looks like he forgot to explain why he came back to kalokairi. "the shadows in the sky aren't natural for this place. the mist around the castle, the monster plague... this place has gone through some stuff. so there's going to be monsters and stuff, you get the idea. we'll have to fight, eventually."
rudy didn't like the idea of physical fighting. he fiddled with his lute while marigold, a small gremlin he had befriended, chewed on the end of a chain. "uh, palmer... i don't think i'd be the right guy to do that."
"relax, kid. don't you have that little thing with you?" palmer gestured towards marigold, busy teething away. rudy nodded. if worst came to worst, he'd let his tiny friend go to town on whatever was causing trouble.
venita shook her head. "i have it taken care of." she grinned, putting her hands on her hips. it came as a shock when the two boys realized that she knew how to do wonders with a sword. they didn't know how she knew how to use one effectively, but they didn't ask. "but back to the map."
"i clearly remember going left. you two have no idea what you're doing, so just let me lead the way." palmer huffed, tapping his foot impatiently. "let's just go."
"but the map says it's right! plus, this area all looks the same. let's just follow the map, and if we're not there before sunset, we'll head back." rudy folded the map up, placing it into the same bag where marigold rested. "i know you know a lot, but let's try to not get into any trouble for now, alright?"
palmer couldn't resist. "fine. but don't say i didn't tell you so." and with a bit of hesitation, the group headed down the right path.

[jianwai]

Prompt 2
( 480 words ) ; Hyacinthus, Yunzhongzi, Araxie

There it is. Something dreaded, something feared. Never a thing new to come across, physical or metaphysical, forks in the road prompt discussion. To be stuck in the middle is like an infectious curse, a diseases whose cure is as simple as words, but what does one do when words are like wind and are not so easily caught?

it is a battle of wills as it is logic. Three minds should seem to be greater than one, but end up more a nuisance than anything-- together they are a delay for a quest, fighting on what must be done and where they must go. They are each clashing forces, pulling which way and that, and any that can break the tie stays silent within his own thoughts-- to Hyacinthus the situation is comical. Each moment spent with Yunzhongzi and Araxie is one where he witnesses the embodiment of a rift between the old and the young, between logic and emotion.

Araxie is all logic and science, ironic with the very nature of his existence-- equipped with an umbrella, what wizard bases science where there is magic to be found? One can argue magic is science, certainly, but Hyacinthus still finds it humorous, blue eyes flicker from the fork in the road. Right, left, in truth Hyacinthus wishes to go where there is water, but for now he settles on the ground and polishes his hammer -- cleaned now of goo and gunk -- as the two others argue.

Left and Right are spat at each other. Such simple directions become toxic when slapped off the tongue, with them hours of venom and aggravation; they are tired from their travel, exhausted, ready to pitch down tents or even turn back and abandon the very concept of adventuring for good. It is almost sad to see the defeat in Yunzhongzi's eyes, hidden behind a fury when it came to arguing with Araxie. Hyacinthus thinks it would not be long before they fight beyond words and sharp glares, and he does not think he will be ready -- or even want to stop such a moment.

They needed a good fight, beyond yelling left or right at one another.

It is Hyacinthus in the end, as it often is when it comes to the end of heated debates, who makes the decision on which fork in the road they will take together. He does this by silently repacking, tossing polishing rag into his bag, hammer slung over his back once more and in silence he rises and begins to walk. It is Araxie that notices Hyacinthus walking right, and his hackles raise in annoyance now that the decision has been made and it is not his that was taken. Yunzhongzi seemed pleased, happily trotting after Hyacinthus, tail whipping wildly in happiness.

Hyacinthus does not care for either reaction, steadily making his way down the road.

[Kiesen]

Prompt Two

[581 words; featuring Geotimal, Pyre, and Tsuji]

The heavily-beaten path continued lopsidedly, twisting, turning through the eerie woodlands. The construction seemed to be built in a rush, for whatever reason, then left unrefined for years on end with the kingdom of Kalokairi reaching it's prime, and becoming rather seclusive despite its developing status. Tourism would be the least of their concerns for the moment, and the poorly kept path would just be another quirk of the task at hand.

After the unreal mishaps that had transpired before reaching the path, it was seen as solace for the three kals currently passing through it. Their interactions remained with a tinge of stiffness, due to their unfamiliarity with each other, only a few more days out in the harsh land would solidify their bond completely. Nonetheless, they kept up an on-tempo stride, recalling the heroic and embarrassing tales from the previous hours and days, giving a laugh at their shared misfortune, or focusing on teasing one of the three.

The seem to be "leader" of the group, not quite fitting the image with his smaller stature and puffed out chest fur partially tamed by chain mail making him look less scrawny than he was, seemed to be getting the most slack. They trusted him enough to lead the way, but that wasn't enough to escape from berating him for his more comical moments.

"Remember when you were convinced that those bird eggs belonged to a fae dragon!?" the pink kal chirped in, giving a slight sneer upon finishing the sentence.

"Oh, oh! Hey, remember when you got the tips of your ears singed off when you found an actual fae dragon and thought it was a bird?" the larger, striped kal added on.

Embarrassed, and humiliated, the kal flattened his ear back, but continued with navigating through the off-beat path. Slowing down as the path came to a surprising split.

The path to the left was even more gnarled than before, heading off into a seemingly endless maze of trees and flora. The darkness emanating from it caused a deep shudder down the threes spines. The striped kal jumped back at the slight crunching sound coming from a place unknown within the darkness. The path on the right, while rather beat up from what seemed to hundreds of footsteps slamming down on the material making it up, it looked far more refined, and could've pointed to some civilization in this dark place.

"Let's go right," the grey kal leading the expedition stated.

"Let's go left," the pink kal nearly jinxing the leader's statement cut off with.

This earned a bitter glare from the grey kal, feeling offended that his intuition would be doubted. The conflict was not easily simmered with the intimidating glare of their leader, instead only devolving to further bickering. Locked in a death battle of interests, the two went at it.

"Let's take the path less traveled!"

"This isn't some poem! It's real life!"

"That's exactly what they want you to think! It's probably a trap!"

"They'd have to be really dedicated to pave the path if they wanted to trap us!"

The larger kal squeaked in a, "Guys-," only to be met with a loud "WHAT?" from the two. Recoiling back, but trying to not take the aggression as a direct attack, he pointed to the sign. Painted in white letters and an arrow going to the right read, "Village" with bright red letters directly underneath pointed to the left reading, "Dark Forest. DO NOT ENTER."

[lucas.]

[ 𝑅𝐻𝐸𝒜 - 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓁𝑒𝓇 ] - [ 𝐿𝐼-𝒲𝐸𝐼 - 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇 ]
[ 264/150 words ]

"There's two ways to go." Rhea said, stating the obvious. It nearly made Li roll his eyes but he wanted to be nice to her, since he'd be stuck with her for a few days. This was something Li did not want to deal with, as in, which way he should go. Left or right? Rhea was confused as well, but decided to randomly make a choice. "It seems less scarier to the left, how about we go this way?"

"It's probably misleading," Li-Wei pointed out, looking over to the right path. "Always go right, am I right? You've never heard of left being a good thing, ever. Righty tighty, lefty loosey. Right is just.. the right way to go."

"You're saying right too much." Rhea sighed, irritated. "Okay, look. Maybe we can both take a peek down both paths. I mean, it won't kill us, right?" She chuckled nervously, looking over at the gray kalon. "Don't answer that." She said quickly after.

"We aren't seperating!" Li growled, clearly annoyed. "Come on," he calmed down a little bit, "let's just go right. I'm telling you, left is never the right way to go. You know in horror movies and stuff? When people go left, it's the wrong way."

"I don't watch horror movies, but I'm thinking your statement is wrong anyway." She looked over at the scary, right path.

"Come on, you can trust me. Just this once?" He smiled at her nervously.

"Fine, fine. Let's go." She agreed and they slowly walked down the right path, both as terrified as they ever have been.

[JminT]

Prompt Two
Pip's better off left.

original photo: x

[Flowerlily]

PROMPT 2
ᴀ ғᴏʀᴋ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴀᴅ
Kalons Involved: Marilee, Eda Cassidy, and Fauna

The three queens had been out for quite some time. Each of them took turns reading the map and guiding the group as to help share the burden. Eventually, they came to a fork in the road.

The three of them looked back and forth from the map and at the road and sighed.

“Well, the map says that a town is to the left! We can get more food and rest in an inn for the night!” Fauna exclaimed, a clear tiredness on her face, “Don’t you miss sleeping in a real bed Marilee?”

“Or we could save our money and continue the more direct way to the right,” replied Eda Cassidy, “We can hunt for our food, and rest in the woods – it’s clearly the better option. Right Marilee?”

The head queen sighed while looking at her lovers, “Both are very good options, but I agree with Fauna that I miss a true bed.”

Eda Cassidy looked grumpily to the side and opened her mouth to speak.

“But!” Marilee said before Eda could start, “Eda is also correct in the regard we should save our funds – we don’t exactly have the royal treasury at our disposal at the moment.”

Fauna began to look down at her paws sadly.

“Oh both of you, don’t look so long faced,” Marilee raised both of their chins so they would look at her, “I suggest that we hunt for a little while here and then we take a small detour and get a small deserved rest in a real bed.”

Fauna and Eda Cassidy nodded.

“Left it is then,” They all agreed.

[rvbytea]

prompt 2
kalons-Eirene and tensi
linked for size
"we have to go into the darker path! The crystals are probably where no one looked!" Eirene said
Tensi groaned, "we are unarmed and this road may lead to a village where we can restock!"