//Initializing...
[[Begin|1]]//The first thing that Willow did after waking up was reach for the dagger strapped to her waist. Even though she knew she was safe here, she couldn’t help but release a breath of relief that she had been holding through the long, dark night.
Then her hand snaked outward and touched the familiar form of her bow, leaning against the wall next to the common pallet in the inn. The Kingsguard had been kind enough to allow her to accompany them and pay for her room, but they hadn’t bothered to shell out for amenities.
Which didn’t matter. Willow honestly would have been rather uncomfortable with scented sheets and soft beds anyway. She grew up sleeping on straw, and the comfort of the familiar was one of the few succors that she had left.
[[When the bandits had attacked her village, they hadn’t left anything worth treasuring. Just embers and soot.|ep1p3]]
‘Everything burned except this bow,’ Willow thought, somewhat bitterly. She reached out and touched the familiar yew, drawing her fingers across the smooth surface.
Even at sixteen, Willow had been the best hunter in the village. It was a small village, sure, but Willow was proud of the title she had earned. She had worked tirelessly with the bow and knife for years to reach this modest pinnacle.
[[And yet now, it all seemed so…|ep1p4]]
Willow shook her head, not letting her thoughts continue down that dive into darkness. She had begged her way into being allowed to be a part of this bandit subjugation mission, as the one individual who could identify the two men who had led the attack on her village.
She would have her revenge, no matter what it took.
[[But for now, she needed to get up.|ep1p5]]She was awake; no getting around it now. With a sigh, she lightly slipped out of the sprawl of blankets and eased herself to her feet. No use laying here and wasting the day. She might as well prepare for what lay ahead.
If the reports were right, they would encounter the bandits today. It was just a matter of what she did until then.
[[Care for her bow.|ep1p6b1]]
[[Prepare herbs.|ep1p6b2]]
[[Get something to eat.|ep1p6b3]]
After sneaking through the still dozing common room of the inn, Willow went outside and found herself a nice stump on which to work. There, she carefully unwound her string and strung her bow, delighting in the perfect tension in the string. (set: $archer to 1)
Willow was an **Archer**, after all. It was in that she found comfort. It was due to that strength that she had the confidence to face down the monsters that had murdered all of her family and friends three months ago.
Once the bow was strung, she took aim at a tree forty meters away and imagined the sneering face of the bandit that had killed her father while she listened within the floor boarded. Her breath hitched, but she still pulled back and [[released.|ep1p1a1]]With great care, Willow took out the ornate box that was the only thing of value that she owned other than her bow. In it were all the herbs and mixtures that she had been able to save from Minerva’s shack. (set: $shaman to 1)
Because aside from being the greatest hunter in the village, Willow was also the Apprentice **Shaman**. There was great pride in that, but it had never mattered as much to Willow as her ability to [[hunt.|ep1p1b1]]
Fueling the body was the most important thing right now. Something told Willow that today would be a long day. (set: $sneak to 1)
Quiet as a ghost, Willow flowed down the staircase and then through the common room into the kitchen. As she shimmied through the crack, the old woman working in front of the oven didn’t even look up.
[[Willow smirked.|ep1p1c1]]He had possessed a scar like a fat rat with a long tail curling across his face. The arrow flew true, striking the tree with a satisfying thunk. It felt good, but not good enough.
Willow drew three more arrows and shot them all, clustering them in a coin sized spot on that same tree. Right in the heart of the imagined [[bandit.|ep1p1a2]]For good measure, she then shot one that would pierce through the fat head of the rat. It quivered in the tree trunk, shattering the illusion. But Willow still smiled.
She had unstrung her bow and was cleaning and checking the arrowheads when she heard Royce’s voice calling for her.
[[“Willow!”|ep1p7]]
“Willow,” Royce, captain of this Tenth Division of the Kingsguard, said as she arrived in front of him. “Today’s the day. Are you-”
[[“I’m up for it.” Willow said fiercely.|ep1p8]]
[[“Why do you keep asking this?”|ep1p8]]
[[Willow stayed silent, just looking at the man.|ep1p8]]
But as Minerva always assured her, someday she would be glad to learn these small tricks.
With a sad smile, Willow removed several herbs from their containers and began to grind them up. The mortar and pestle made quick work of the herbs, reducing them to a green paste.
The speed of reduction was due to a difference in quality. The mortar was made with the bone of the village spirit, a water dragon. Willow still didn’t know whether this was actually made with the bone of the dragon, but it felt impossibly heavy in her hands now.
Before Minerva died… Willow had never been allowed to use this. And [[now…|ep1p1b2]]Whether or not it was dragon bone, it was left untouched by fire. So Willow used it now, finding peace in the quiet labor while the sun slowly rose.
Two mixtures were made that would aid in the healing of wounds. Those were rather easy.
Her second experiment took much [[longer.|ep1p1b3]]She created a reddish-purple paste that would ensure that a man’s lips would blacken and his heart would stop within a day of ingestion or introduction into the bloodstream. During the process of mixing those herbs, Willow didn’t even dare breathe heavily.
Then, just as carefully, she selected a special arrow with red fletching and speared her mixture across the tip.
Her hands were trembling until she had stored the remnants in a black bag and cinched the opening tight.
Almost immediately afterward, she heard Royce call her name, which made her jump and almost drop the [[arrow.|ep1p7]]She was born a **Sneak**, which meant that even if other people wanted to notice her, it very rarely happened without her consent. It was for that reason that Willow was able to escape her Village, even as all the others were killed.
But that thought brought back the screams.
Suppressing the sudden tight panic that seized her chest, Willow snuck to the counter and [[stole two cooling meatpies.|ep1p1c2]]Just as quickly as she entered, Willow slipped out of the kitchen and back into the common room. Noticing the dead fire, she fetched over some of the firewood stacked against the wall and brought out her own flint and tinder.
[[Hopefully no one would blame her for warming the place up a bit.|ep1p1c3]]She was waiting in the common room, enjoying the fire and declining the old woman’s offer of a free meatpie, when Royce walked down the stairs. When he saw her, he beckoned her over to sit [[next to him.|ep1p7]]Shaking his head helplessly, Royce waved her away. “Alright, I get it. Just be ready to leave in an hour. You’ve been helpful in the tracking, but we will take it from here. You know better than anyone… these men are killers. Let us handle what we do best.”
[[Willow nodded, even though she knew that she wouldn’t listen.|ep1p9]]
Perhaps Royce knew it too, because he sighed again and then went to greet one of his men who had just walked down the stairs.
[[Slowly, the inn was waking up.|ep1p10]]The Tenth Division of the Kingsguard was the group the Monarchy had seen fit to assign to this mission. It was composed of ten guards and Royce, their Captain. Of the ten guards, only two were women.
Both of these women had made private overtures to her and offered her some sugar-laced advice, likely at the request of the soft-hearted Royce. But Willow had stoically rebuffed both attempts.
[[She wasn’t with them to get fucking healed. She was here to get revenge.|ep1p11]]
They left five minutes earlier than Royce had promised her; that was just how efficient the man was. There was a game trail they followed, riding horses lent to them by the nearby Earl who placed the request for subjugation. Apparently, the Earl had put up enough money that even the Royals had noticed and dispatched a Division to clean it up and collect the check.
[[Maybe someday, Willow would get the chance to thank this Earl.|ep1p12]]
Very quickly, Willow could spot the telltale signs of a trail. Yet she remained quiet as the group ran roughshod over the tracks. It was almost an hour later, as the sun neared its zenith above, that it seemed the guards around her finally spotted it too.
“Halt!” Royce cried. When the group slowed, he dismounted and examined the obvious markings, as though puzzled by them.
[[Willow watched passively.|ep1p13]]
(if: $sneak is 1)[“I could scout ahead, if you want,” Willow offered, trying her best to sound casual. [[“I’m familar with the forest.”|ep1p13c]]]
They are close,” Royce said as he tied his horse to a nearby tree. “Dismount and prepare to move forward on foot. From the tracks… there should be a little less than twenty. We are going to need to thin out their ranks a bit before engaging or else catch them unawares. Monica?”
“Yes?” The woman with the fiery orange hair answered with a serious expression.
“You take lead with your bow.” Royce said shortly. “If you see a shot… [[take it."|ep1p14]]“Do you really think I don’t know what you want to do?” Royce asked tiredly. Some of the other guards shifted awkwardly. Then he shook his head.
[[Willow shrugged and said nothing.|ep1p13]]
(if: $archer is 1)[Willow strung her own bow and looked at her quiver. Thirteen arrows. More than enough for the grim business that she had in mind.]
(if: $shaman is 1)[Willow carefully strung her own bow and absently fingered the arrow with red fletching. Hopefully, she would only need to fire a single arrow today.]
With Monica at the lead, the entire group fell into a silent procession through the woods. Despite the fact that these guards most likely operated in the city, they moved with remarkable stealth along the wooded path. It seemed this wasn’t their first adventure in the forest.
The actual spotting of the bandit base was surprisingly uncomplicated. As the path sloped upward, they eventually saw a large bonfire roaring up to almost two meters tall.
Around the bonfire about seven men were talking and roaring with laughter. [[Behind the bonfire was a cave.|ep1p15]]
“Do you see the leader?” Royce asked Willow in a low voice. She shook her head.
[[Ahead of them, Monica took careful aim with her bow while the other guards crept slowly closer.|ep1p16]]
(if: $archer is 1)[Willow moved quickly forward to stand next to Monica. The two women exchanged a glance, then nodded in unison. Both raised their bows at the men standing around the fire.]
“In the name of the Monarch, go,” Royce said shortly. [[And then the attack began.|ep1p17]]Monica’s first arrow took a man in the back, piercing through to stick out of his chest. After staggering forward a few steps, he fell into the fire.
(if: $archer is 1)[Willow fired three arrows before Monica could reach for her second, taking one mad in the head, one in the side, and the final arrow ripping out a man’s throat as he spun around, realizing that someone was attacking the camp.
Willow smirked; that last one was on purpose.]
“We are under attack!” A bandit bellowed, only to be eternally silenced by Monica’s second arrow.
[[With a roar, the rest of the guards surged up the slope to attack the stunned bandits.|ep1p18]]
With the element of surprise and support from archers, the guards quickly surrounded and began to wound the bandits that remained outside the cave. Royce, in typical impressive fashion, bisected a man in half with a single swing of his broadsword.
But because of the shout, more and more bandits poured out of the cave. Almost a dozen, all armed to the teeth.
And Willow’s ears twitched as she heard yells from across the ridge to the East, the distinctive noise of a group of people charging through the underbrush without a care for stealth.
[[They likely heard the shouts and started rushing over.|ep1p19]]
“More coming through the woods!” Willow yelled, even as she shifted and took aim with her bow in the direction from which the noise was coming.
“Fuck! I thought you said twenty!” One of the guards roared as one of the bandits that came pouring out of the cave landed a scratch on his arm. “If there is this many-”
“We are the arm of the Monarch’s justice. HOLD.” Royce bellowed. Two bandits hurried over to deal with him after he had slain their companion, but Royce punched the first with a gauntleted fist and then twisted his broadsword around with impossible speed to sever the other bandit’s leg at the knee. “They are just bandits!”
(if: $archer is 1)[As the bandits emerged from the woods, Willow sneered. She checked her quiver. [[Plenty of arrows.|ep1p19a]]]
(else:)[Despite of the long hours of imagining this very confrontation, Willow found herself trembling. For now, she just needed to slow the guards coming across the ridge. [[Her gaze turned in that direction.|ep1p20]]]One arrow.
Two arrow.
Three arrow,
Four.
Five arrow,
Six arrow,
[[Seven arrow-|ep1p19a2]]When Willows arrow took the first dashing bandit in the throat, the man next to him yelped and ducked behind a tree. The rest of the surviving group scattered, too intimidated to approach haphazardly. She shot off two more arrows, but only hit one man in the arm.
Still, it was enough to slow them down.
[[With that, she turned back to the cave.|ep1p21]]
Willow lowered her bow, almost sad. There would be no ‘more’. All the bandits approaching from the side were dead. Gurgling in pain, the final bandit collapsed. She turned back to the bonfire and [[the bandits emerging from the cave.|ep1p21]]When Willow turned, Royce roared and clashed against a tall bandit with a battle axe. And when she saw that bandit’s face, she froze.
She knew this bandit. It was the man with a scar across his face in the shape of a rat with a long tail.
This was the man she had come to kill.
(if: $shaman is 1)[Willows fingers slipped into her quiver and removed the arrow with the [[red fletching|ep1p22b]] as she crept between the tall trees.]
(elseif: $sneak is 1)[With a vicious sort of fury seizing her body, Willow erased her presence and became a part of the treeline.
In her right hand she gripped the dagger her father left her like it was her [[only lifeline remaining.|ep1p22c]]]
(else:)[Willow took a breath. [[Then she moved.|ep1p22]]]
“Fuck… fuck…!” Monica whispered as she fired three more arrows and then drew her sword to join the fight.
There were about thirteen bandits dead and moaning on the ground, but the same number of bandits still remained. With Royce tied up with the bandit leader, the rest of the bandits still had an advantage over the guards in terms of numbers, twelve to ten. And already two guards were wounded and bleeding from the earlier fighting.
[[Willow raised her bow, taking careful aim at the bandit leader’s back. The red feathers seemed to glitter in the sunlight.|ep1p23b]]“Fuck… fuck…!” Monica whispered as she fired three more arrows and then drew her sword to join the fight.
There were about thirteen bandits dead and moaning on the ground, but the same number of bandits still remained. With Royce tied up with the bandit leader, the rest of the bandits still had an advantage over the guards in terms of numbers, twelve to ten. And already two guards were wounded and bleeding from the earlier fighting.
With dispassionate eyes, Willow watched the fighting. She considered drawing her bow, but she much prefered this be done... [[personally.|ep1p23c]]“Fuck… fuck…!” Monica whispered as she fired three more arrows and then drew her sword to join the fight.
There were about thirteen bandits dead and moaning on the ground, but the same number of bandits still remained. With Royce tied up with the bandit leader, the rest of the bandits still had an advantage over the guards in terms of numbers, twelve to ten. And already two guards were wounded and bleeding from the earlier fighting.
Willow checked her quiver. Three arrows left. Well, two. [[Because one arrow was spoken for.|ep1p23a]]
Those two spare arrows severed the lives of two bandits near the wounded guards and brought the numbers close to even. But it also brought the bandit’s attention firmly onto Willow.
“YOU!” The bandit leader roared, his eyes widening in fury as he spotted her. “And I worried I would need to hunt you down-”
“Don’t you dare underestimate me,” Royce growled. He kicked at the bandit leader’s knee and made him stumble. A bandit hurried to his leader’s aid, but Royce drew a dagger as fast as lighting and threw it into the man’s chest.
But it did give the bandit leader time to straighten-
[[So he was standing at just the right height to catch Willow’s arrow with his throat.|ep1p24]]
She had gotten the feathers from a hurt cardinal, Willow remembered. The bird’s poor wing was broken and she had tried to nurse it back to health.
For weeks, she brought it warm milk and seeds.
Yet when spring came, it had died without ever being able to fly again.
‘Fly now for me, friend,’ Willow wished. [[She released the arrow.|ep1p23b2]]The bandit leader battered Royce to the ground. Monica yelped as a sword cut into her back as she attempted to save a fellow guard. All across the skirmish, the guards were losing ground and gaining wounds.
More specter than young woman, Willow glided into the battlefield without a sound. Two guards were laughing with each other while taking a few seconds to grab a breather as the other bandits surrounded the Tenth Division of the Kingsguard.
[[Willow gifted them both with a second smile that flowed like a waterfall.|ep1p23c2]]
“I-!” The bandit leader gasped.
“Never again,” Willow hissed as her mark gasped and gagged. [[Blood soaked his front, staining his tunic.|ep1p25]]Even after the leader died, the battle dragged on for about thirty seconds. Then the remaining bandits broke and ran.
(if: $archer is 1)[Without any more arrows, Willow could only stare after them, [[frustrated and oddly nauseated|ep1p26]]]
(if: $shaman is 1)[Immediately after they broke, Willow went to the most dangerously wounded guards and began to apply her healing salve to them. With this, they would hopefully pull through [[without any casualties.|ep1p26]]]
(if: $sneak is 1)[Like the ghost of vengeance she was, Willow melted into the trees. [[Tonight, no one would get away.|ep1p26]]]“Haha!” The bandit leader scored a cut across Royce’s cheek and roared with glee. “Did you think you could just-”
[[The arrow pierced through his heart.||ep1p23b3]]
At first he just staggered. Then he grimaced and straightened.
“I… I won’t…” But as he attempted to talk, words no longer came out. Only bloody froth, as the poison did its vicious work on him.
Very soon his eyes rolled up into his head and his form crumbled to the ground.
Royce gave Willow a long look. [[But then he turned and conintued his grim work with the rest of the bandits.|ep1p25]]To her surprise, the Bandit Leader seemed to sense something was amiss as the two collapsed and spun around. “What? You-”
From the ground, Royce swung his blade in a wide arc, smashing the ankles of two bandits before cutting through toward the bandit leader. Because his subordinates were in the way, the blow was weakened to the point it only knocked him down to one knee.
[[But that was a height that Willow could work with|ep1p23c3]]
“You-” The bandit leader began again, but he blinked in surprise. Willow was gone.
“Me?” Willow stood behind him, dagger raised. “I’m glad you remember me. It makes this all the more satisfying.”
[[With trembling hands, Willow slammed her father’s blade into the back of the head of her father’s killer.|ep1p25]]
Later, as they were recuperating around the fire, Royce gave Willow a long look. “So, are you satisfied?”
Willow considered the question for a long time. Then she shook her head.
“Never. Not as long as the other man I saw that day is still at large.”
“Any sort of description you could give me?” Royce asked for the hundredth time. “Anything definite?”
[[“He looked rich.”|ep1p27]]
[[“His boots were really nice.”|ep1p27]]
[[“You ever wonder if I didn’t just want to keep him for myself?”|ep1p27]]
Royce sighed. It was a familiar expression. They had this conversation many times, in the week they had been traveling together.
Then he changed the subject. “So, what’s next for you? You can’t just live alone in the woods like a hermit.”
Willow smiled. [[“Cant I?”|ep1p28]]That at least earned a snort from Royce. “It’s obviously not that you can’t; you’ve proven yourself twice over as a hunter. It’s just… You’ve got a fire in your eyes. I can see it. I know, because I have it too. The feeling that insists ‘This won’t be all I end up being.’”
Royce raised his hand toward the night sky. It seemed like he peered up through his fingers and convinced himself that he was [[grasping the moon.|ep1p29]]“I can get you a slot at the royal academy.” Royce finally said. “It will take a bit of gold, but… I’ll consider it an investment. You are a bit old, but it shouldn’t be an issue. The Academy takes all comers, as long as they want to learn to fight.”
“I don’t want your pity,” Willow said. Immediately after the words left her mouth, she was surprised how much acid dripped from the statement.
Yet Royce simply grinned. “Maybe… but don’t you want to find your mystery man? The one who was there to destroy your village? Even if nothing else, you can get information in the capital. [[That’s the kind of place it is.”|ep1finale]]When Willow looked upward toward the sky, clouds were rushing up from the horizon.
Before the morning, it would rain.
**Herocore Season One, Episode One, Fin**//Welcome to HeroCore.
As you proceed, you will have the opportunity to plant a seed that can be grown into a towering tree or a delicate flower.
But please note that this is not a choose your own adventure: it is more similar to Pachinko. Balls on pegs in holes. An abstract mathematics that should never be confused with life. This being is not your child.
You are a farmer, not a teacher. The will of your sprout is its own.
There are times that this might anger you. And yet when has life failed to vex you?
A word of warning; some mistakes cannot be fixed.
Do you agree?//
[[Yes]]
[[No|Yes]]//I will say it to you now so you do not wonder: your choice did not matter. Somtimes, that is just the way things are.
Well anyway, I don't need to lecture you about free will, do I? Instead, let us talk about how HeroCore is structured.
As your sprout grows, it will obtain **Pieces**.
Pieces will appear in **bold**. If you wish to dilligently follow the rules of destiny, please carefully mark down the pieces your sprout gathers.
Each episode will remember the pieces you have gained in that episode, but the episodes cannot converse with each other; think of them like independent dreams.
There will be times that you will be asked to confirm your **Pieces**. Other episodes will leave the reporting of gathered pieces up to your discretion.
Don't let me catch you in a [[lie]]////For now, that is all you need to know.
So without further ado... Let's meet your seed.
Her name is **Willow**
Episode One: He had a Scar like a Rat with a Long Tail//
[[It's time to dream|1ep1p1]]Willow woke up to the sound of rain tapping against the roof of the inn. For several seconds, she simply stared at the ceiling. The rain here was gentle but insistent.
It was a much more well mannered rain than what fell over her village.
The shutters of the inn’s windows were swung inward to block light, but Willow could already tell that there was no light to block; it was long before dawn.
[[She hadn’t been sleeping well lately, after all.|ep1p2]]