Choose Your Own Adventure

[Lady Ashenwyte]

"Lord Commander!" A man shouts as he runs towards you "The beasts have destroyed the gate, and Lord Commander Armand has fallen defending it! He requested you to succeed him, and now you must act soon!" He kneels, and gives you a sword, red with blood and gore. You look at it with awe, for this is no ordinary blade. This is Slayer, a blade forged with lunar steel and cooled in legend. 

    You glance to your left. Harkon, your loyal second in command, looks at you expectantly, as do a company of men. There is no time to be lost. What do you do?


Note: I ran a CYOA earlier, which I didn't update due to procrastination. It was fairly successful, though, so I've decided to make a new one. Some of the paragraphs will have some fixed options, while some don't.

[Groddil]

Hmm, this'll be good.

I hastily organise a defence force, including archers and pikemen, at the closest choke point to the fallen gate.

[Lady Ashenwyte]

"To the gates! Pikes at the front, and archers behind them! Move quickly!" Your men form up, and start marching towards the gate. The town is in a terrible state. Bodies lay strewn on the ground, both beast and human. It is not long before you see the first of the attackers, creatures that bear the forms of mortal men, but mutated and corrupted.  With their crude iron weapons, they defile the corpses of the dead. Many men in your company turn pale, and one vomits.
                                                                 One of the beasts, a Minotaur, notices your group, and calls out in its unholy language to its companions. They charge forward, smashing into your formation. Several are impaled on the pikes or slain by arrows, but the Minotaur breaks through, seemingly impervious to pain. A number of the other beasts follow the Minotaur into the gap, and begin to wreak havoc. What do you do?

[Hickory]

Regroup nearby forces and have the archers provide cover while the pikemen advance, attempting to punch a hole through the enemy to attack the Minotaur, while the rest of your group attacks the weakened foot soldiers.

[Groddil]

*Cough*

[Lady Ashenwyte]

"Regroup! Regroup!" You shout, the men close enough to hear you form up. "Archers, provide cover for the pikes! Pikemen, form ranks!"  Your orders are relayed, and the men quickly form up and march forward, you at their centre. The ragged groups of the beasts are no match for your formation, and they are turned aside. There is only one real threat remaining, the Minotaur, who charges your pikemen, and tears through your formation. You realise it comes for you, and you draw your sword. There is no time for orders.

What do you do?

[Groddil]

Use my smaller size and agility to outmanoeuvre the Minotaur, ducking in, slashing, then jumping out of its reach.

[Lady Ashenwyte]

       The Minotaur charges straight towards you like a mindless bull, goring and trampling your men. It slashes at you with a massive axe which meant certain death to any hit by it. You duck at the last second, letting the momentum of the beast carry it forward, and you slash at its thigh. It cries out in pain, and you grin as you realise you've cut open an artery. You jump out of its reach, as you hear a faint singing in the air, which comforts and terrifies you at the same time. What do you do?

[1] Try to cripple it by attacking its thigh. This will take longer than Option Two, but it will be safer.

[2] Try to jump on its back and stab it in the head. This will be riskier than Option One, but it will be quicker.

[Delthion]

1. We've already started it anyway.

[Lady Ashenwyte]

Poll added. Remember, your choices will have consequences that will affect the story, especially choices you make this early in the game.

[Lady Ashenwyte]

Some of your men start attacking its other leg with long pikes, distracting it long enough for you to finish the beast. You slash at its wounded leg, the sanctified steel biting deep. It groans with pain and collapses. You pull the blade out of its leg and watch as an archer shoots it in the eye, finishing the beast. The faint singing you heard stops.
           You look around you, counting the number of men you have left. Fifty men. Not good. Your second-in-command walks up to you, carrying a magnificent horn the colour of ebony.
          "Should I blow the Black Horn, Lord Commander? That would alert the beasts to our position, but would boost our morale and would reinforce our numbers with routers and other scattered defenders. We could march on without blowing the horn, which would take any beasts we encounter by surprise. However, there's a good chance that the men at the gates could rout if they fight on without any support."
He looks at you expectantly.

What do you do?

[1] Order him to blow the Black Horn.
[2] Forbid him from blowing the Black Horn.

[Delthion]

1. More men is better than lack of surprise.

[Hickory]

Agreed.

Sound the horn!

[Lady Ashenwyte]

"Blow the Horn, Harkon. Quickly!" Harkon nods and walks to the centre of the street, near the corpse of the Minotaur. As your men stare at him with awe, he lifts the horn to his lips and blows it for the first time in two hundred years.
                           The sound of the Horn is not what you expected it to be, what seems to be the melodious call of nymphs and the loud bellows of aurochs coming together to form a sound unlike any other you have heard, a delicate yet robust intonation that fills you with wonder and hope.
                                 All around you men fall to their knees, praying to whatever deities they worship while those unfortunate Beasts not dead yet scream in pain, their bodies contorting unnaturally.  You see that the plan worked, as tens of men and women run to where you are from all directions. You also see that the horde of beasts is closing in on your group. What do you do?

[1] Order your men to form a wall of spears. This will help you greatly against the beasts, but the retreating warriors won't be able to enter the safety of your formation.
[2] Order your men to remain as they are. This will allow the retreating warriors to join you, but will hinder your defensive capabilities greatly.

[Hickory]

1, better to save what men we have instead of losing them all.