Great Haven - Be Honest

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Although I try to keep things lighthearted, this adventure does deal with drugs, alcohol, and the occasional graphic depiction.









So, you're not feeling too sure of yourself any more. You thought you'd at least be able to reach the capital before you ran out of food, but you're not even confident that you were going the right way to begin with. You could say that you're lost.

All you have with you is your side-pouch, and it's much too small to really hold anything substantial. You exhausted the last of your food probably a day or two ago, and have been trying to live off of what the forest would provide, though you don't have much experience with the wilds. The one thing you found was a patch of half-frozen mushrooms. You weren't sure if they were poisonous or not. You didn't risk it. There isn't really much to eat out here in this weather. Thank god you have a fur coat; others might not be so lucky out here. It only really started getting to you a few hours ago, when you decided to stop here and rest, though "decided" is probably a more hopeful word. At least now the snow has stopped. You're not sure you have the energy to stand.

Form an ice-cocoon; at winter's end ye shall emerge as a flying rat.

well fortunately for you, honey, the area you have wandered into has nutrient-filled snow.

when you reach the finally reach the city and tell the strangers about starving in forest, and then they go "you mean the forest to the north with all the snow" and then you'll say, "i think? which way is north" and you'll point towards where you entered the city and then they'll laugh and point at you and call you names

that snow haircut is simply not up to code! make that snow-mop a snow updo young... man? rat? critter???

curl up and die, i guess? what's our options here, for real

>Make a fire! YOU MUST NOT SUCCUMB TO HYPOTHERMIA.

>Make a fire! YOU MUST NOT SUCCUMB TO HYPOTHERMIA.

The most you can do from here is throw sparks from your paws. The area around you is much too cold and wet and covered with snow, so nothing really catches. If you had the energy, you would gather more flammable materials, but as it stands you have nothing for it.

well fortunately for you, honey, the area you have wandered into has nutrient-filled snow.

You thought it would be enough. On your way here, you willfully ate mouthfuls of the stuff; it was at least keeping your fluids up. Maybe by some stretch of chance it would also keep you fed enough, but it's now evident that it did not. It's terrible, useless stuff, chilling you from the inside now as well as out. It reminds you of yourself in that way, dealing nothing but detriment and slowing the world down.

> Somebody has to come, maybe try to cry for help? :(

At least one group has already walked past. You thought they either ignored you or muttered something about a "rat getting what it deserves." Maybe you do deserve it; its an awful, thieving existence. Not even your own clan wanted you, refusing you a place to sleep after that one food run went wrong. Was it even your fault? According to them, it was, with that alleged curse breathing down your neck. You don't even know how you got such a thing. Judging by your luck so far, they probably wouldn't be too far off. Your last hope would be to find the rumored safe place for those of your kind, aptly named the Great Haven of Hiiri, where all hiirikind are welcome and the food is self-sustainable. What a dream to be! It is nothing but fantastical nonsense to you now.

curl up and die

You suppose that would be it, then; you're not exactly left any other choice. You're not sure what will be the end of you first; its either your starving gut, or the bone-chilling cold. Having dealt with them before, you've grown resistant to their effects, the latter even being quite nice at times. It helps you forget, take your mind off of... the rest of your life as a whole, really. It's probably the one pleasure you have left for yourself. You can feel your senses dropping away now. First, your sense of smell, and your hearing second. You don't even bother opening your eyes any more, so you may as well count that one out as well. All you are left with is the numbingly warm blanket of snow around you.



It makes you think of your younger days, when you curled up in front of the fire with your siblings, listening to the stories from your elders about the outside world, of greater cities, of pirates and sea monsters, and of Great Haven. It may as well stay as that, a story. At least you can rest from that now.



Maybe Great Haven is some sort of cruel joke on the afterlife. "Go out and seek, and you will find it!" If that were the case, then it has definitely found you. You would be glad for it. It saves you the trouble of searching any longer than you would have to. It's a trap made to pull out and kill a foolish hiir, like yourself.



So maybe you were successful after all.

GREAT HAVEN.....

G R EA T H A VEN
G R A T H EA VEN
G-RAT HEAVEN

GOD RAT HEAVEN!!!!!

G-rated Heaven, let's keep it clean guys

You've never seen fruit of such color.

how do you feel though?

Sniff the fruit. Use your rat nose, is it edible? Poisionous? Frozen?

it's probably poisonous!

Where did it come from? Where are you?

Sniff the fruit. Use your rat nose, is it edible? Poisionous? Frozen?

it's probably poisonous!

Something tells you that you shouldn't be too sure of this food. You don't want to take the risk that this thing is just another trap set to kill you. Your nose is a bit stuffed at the moment, so that's not going to help you either. You elect to simply leave it be.

> Look around

Where did it come from? Where are you?

You're not quite sure where you are; you're in a room of sorts, and it seems to be moving underneath you. This whole place is filled with unlabeled boxes, and all sorts of odds and ends. There's two other people here; the one on this side seems to be simply minding her own business...



And the other is staring right back at you.

"It's awake," he says.
The other's voice is much more pleasant than his. "Well, then let them rest. They probably don't appreciate you calling them an 'it,' either."
"What do you expect me to do, then? Do you want me to check between its legs?"
"You could let them speak for themselves."
"It's not even trying to eat. You should have let it just die in the snow. If you nurse it back to health it will repay us all by scampering off into the woods and taking a good chunk of our supplies with it, probably just to die again."

Silence. She gave him a quick glare, but resumed to her knitting. The other's stare is as intense as ever.

how do you feel though?

>Check your body for frostbite.

Your whole body aches, but at least it's warm. You feel no physical injuries. Aside from the throbbing of your skin and the fact that you're starving, you're fine. You're not sure if you should be grateful or not. You can't stay silent forever, either.

Say, "Um... Thank you!!!" and eat the food

Ask the blue one where you are.

Believe the food to be drugged with such overwhelming fervor that the placebo effect alone ensures that you are intoxicated upon consumption.

Num num turtle chum.

Scamper off to the woods and take a good chunk of their supplies with you

Scamper off to the woods and take a good chunk of their supplies with you

Introduce yourself, and make the appropriate pleasantries. Very nearly dying in the wilderness is no excuse for bad manners.

>Take a bite of the fruit, if they wanted you dead they'd left you in the snow.

Well... on one hand, you'll starve to death. On the other...



...It's probably the best thing you've ever tasted. It's dry and crunchy, yet wet enough to bite through and chew easily without leaving behind too much juice on your paws. It's ridiculously sweet... almost like candy. You can't even bring yourself to stop. Before you know it, you've eaten through the whole thing, with hardly a mess.

>Thank the nice turtle lady.

"Uhm... t-thank you!!"
You blurt without thinking. The ruder one across the room just scoffs.

Ask the blue one where you are.

Noticing your confusion, the Torill takes the time to explain exactly where you are.
"You poor dear.. You're on a trade wagon on its way to Arioch. We were taking a break to stretch our legs when I found you out in the cold. Don't you worry, we'll find your parents soon."

It looks like you're making it to the capital after all. You're... not sure why she's referencing your "parents" (you're fully grown), though you're sure you've left them behind for a good reason. Or rather, they left you. You stay silent.

Scamper off to the woods and take a good chunk of their supplies with you

Waitwaitwait, lets think about this.

Wherever these fruit came from, there's almost definitely more of them on here somewhere... and a lot. More importantly, if this is a trading caravan, there would be money. All of which is incredibly useful. You would be at a great advantage if you had those all with you, and you could make the rest of the journey on your own! But since you're heading to the same place, you would have to watch out for them... And before even that, they would probably chase you, and if you were caught, you would most certainly be dead. Even so... you aren't quite recovered yet; something or other must have healed you when they took you aboard, as you aren't really seriously injured from the cold, and it would be best to rest. You would have to wait for the right time, disappear when the others are sleeping...

Your thoughts are interrupted by the Torill speaking again. "...You can call me Maya. What's your name?"



You turn away to think; you're not feeling so well. Can you even trust these people? You're not even sure what was in that fruit they gave you. It tasted well enough, but you're still very off-put by something. Maybe you're just being paranoid... and maybe rightfully so.

Then again, it's not like you have anything to lose.

Answer them: Raoul. Anyone from your old life left you for dead, so it's not like your actual/original name's any real use here.

Your name is also Maya! What a coincidence!
>Instant same-name best friends BFF buddies!!!!