Want to support CHYOA?
Disable your Ad Blocker! Thanks :)

Chapter 19 by HistoricoPublius HistoricoPublius

How do you proceed?

Move cautiously into the inner chambers.

"Unhand those women, men," you order sternly. There are a few grumbles, but the men comply. You raise your voice to make sure it carries throughout the chamber, to all your men. "We've not yet caught the She-Wolf we're here to find! I see another passageway heading off this one. You two -" you point at two men who were not engaged in the groping - "gather up the slaves and lead them outside. The rest of you, you're with me."

Heading to the back of the chamber, you peer into the narrow passageway you noticed. It's barely wide enough to allow two men to move abreast; no way can all of you fit down there easily. For a moment you toy with the idea of sending a few men in first, but then discard it. After a a few moments, you decide discretion is the better part of valor. "All right men, we're going to go down this passageway in teams of two. Penicillius, Amoxius, you two take point." Two of the biggest and sturdiest landowners you've gathered glance uneasily at each other, but nod and begin to move down the tunnel. You begin to organize the rest of the men into squads of two.

You're among the last to enter the tunnel, but just as you do you hear shouts from up ahead. Stepping quickly, you and your partner make your way through the twisting tunnel and into the cavern at its end. It's a small but wondrous chamber, an underground grotto of sorts. A hole in the rocky ceiling lets in sunlight, and a small, twisted pine tree is growing in the shaft of day. The tree stands on a small, rocky mound surrounded by a pool of clear water. No wonder the bandits have been able to hide out here - they have a source of fresh water within their encampment itself!

At the base of the pine tree crouches a woman: blonde, well-muscled, and clad in armor decorated with wolf's-head motifs. Your heart leaps into your chest as you see that almost half a dozen of the men you brought are sprawled on the ground around her, dead or wounded; one still has an ax buried in his chest. But she's disarmed now, and surrounded by scowling men pointing their spears at her throat.

"The She-Wolf of the Tiber, I presume," you call mockingly. The She-Wolf only spits in reply, but it's confirmation enough. You feel your heart swelling, despite your pain over seeing these men killed. You would have liked to have been here to face her, it's true (or maybe you wouldn't, given ax-boy), but you've done it. You've captured the bandit who was plaguing your land!

You've done it. You won!

Want to support CHYOA?
Disable your Ad Blocker! Thanks :)