The path twists through a thick, old forest of green, moss covered conifers and great boulders, some as large as houses, some covered with plants, and some choked and broken apart by the roots of great, old growth trees. Eventually the path grows steeper and the trees thin and you come out onto a sloping plane of volcanic stone, black and craggy, stretching out towards the top of the mountain. Realizing that this means you are almost finished with the uphill leg of your journey, you quicken your pace. The sun has reached its zenith and now its rays seem to throb against your head, but you manage to make your way to the summit, scrambling up the last precipitous slope on your hands and knees.
This is an old mountain with an ancient character. The once jagged peak has been worn down by a millennium of wind and weather until all that remains is a rounded plateau surrounding a small lake. The water is clear and sky blue, shallow and surrounded by reeds for the first few feet before the bottom drops out and disappears into a volcanic caldera. The volcano is long dead and touching the water reveals it to be ice cold in spite of the heat of the day. You cup your hands and drink. It is pure and clean and refreshes you. You now feel ready to continue on with your hike.
Glancing down the other side of the mountain, you stop for a moment to admire the view. This peak is the lowest of the surrounding chain of mountains which circle the valley below. In the distance you see lofty pinnacles, snow capped and sharp, but your mountain, the small, weathered summit, seems to look upon these more physically impressive spires with disdain. They are too young and have seen too few storms to truly impress him.
The valley floor is carpeted by trees right up to the banks of a great, ovular lake. Even from a distance, you can clearly see the white caps of great waves dancing across its surface and in the middle a rocky island crowned with an impressive castle. This must be the home of the Wizard in question.
The slope on the other side of the mountain is also steep but someone, long ago by the rounding of the rock, has carved steps into the black stone allowing you safe passage. You are approaching the tree line when the steps reach a fork, one branch heading into the trees and the other heading parallel to the woods before disappearing into a dark cavern, the mouth of which is at least the height of three grown men.
Do you stop to investigate this cavern?
or
Do you press on with your quest and return to the cavern when you have finished your errand?
This is an old mountain with an ancient character. The once jagged peak has been worn down by a millennium of wind and weather until all that remains is a rounded plateau surrounding a small lake. The water is clear and sky blue, shallow and surrounded by reeds for the first few feet before the bottom drops out and disappears into a volcanic caldera. The volcano is long dead and touching the water reveals it to be ice cold in spite of the heat of the day. You cup your hands and drink. It is pure and clean and refreshes you. You now feel ready to continue on with your hike.
Glancing down the other side of the mountain, you stop for a moment to admire the view. This peak is the lowest of the surrounding chain of mountains which circle the valley below. In the distance you see lofty pinnacles, snow capped and sharp, but your mountain, the small, weathered summit, seems to look upon these more physically impressive spires with disdain. They are too young and have seen too few storms to truly impress him.
The valley floor is carpeted by trees right up to the banks of a great, ovular lake. Even from a distance, you can clearly see the white caps of great waves dancing across its surface and in the middle a rocky island crowned with an impressive castle. This must be the home of the Wizard in question.
The slope on the other side of the mountain is also steep but someone, long ago by the rounding of the rock, has carved steps into the black stone allowing you safe passage. You are approaching the tree line when the steps reach a fork, one branch heading into the trees and the other heading parallel to the woods before disappearing into a dark cavern, the mouth of which is at least the height of three grown men.
Do you stop to investigate this cavern?
or
Do you press on with your quest and return to the cavern when you have finished your errand?
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