Chapter 4
by Nemo of Utopia
Now comes the tricky part: whom will you marry?
You Have Identified Three Prospects
A: Maurine Chelsea Ingrid Van-Galore: Chelsea, as she prefers to be called, is a young human woman, 18 years old and from a good family, if not landed nobility. She is a stunning beauty with raven black hair and dark green eyes set in a very even face with a slightly upturned nose and pouting pink lips. She smiles easily and laughs softly, but has no interest in magic beyond the almost mundane tricks that can be accomplished with Prestidigitation such as cleaning clothes and flavoring food...
That said she brings other interests to the table, ones which compliment you own. She is an accomplished embroiderer, able to make beautiful patches and samplers with only a few days effort. She has also made herself independently wealthy, being from a family that is not above the rank where 'trade' is frowned on and having earned tidy little fortune by backing caravans and trading fleets. Last, but certainly not least, she is an archer of local renown, having taken gold in the capitol archery competitions twice. once in junior division and once as an adult. Still, is there a compatibility of spirit in two people who's interests are so divergent, or would you serve both yourself and her better by looking elsewhere?
B: Beatrice Beverly Baudrillard: Beatrice is not from a noble family, not even one that is part of high society, but she has a great advantage in your estimation of being still a virgin at the age of 21; being VERY interested in magical theory, just as you are; and being herself magically gifted. Beatrice is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, which by rights should have meant that she was inducted into one of the orders as soon as she was 7 years of age, but fate played a cruel trick on her. When the time came for her testing to see what her talent was she displayed as a necromantess of the black, and was bared from entry into any order by longstanding royal decree. However, talents can change if no training is given and you re-conducted the test, at your own expense. Now her talents read as a strong 'Universal', and you would like to see her study at the Academy of the Open Hand here in the capitol... Her main disadvantage is that she is not that pretty, with a horsey kind of face and mousy brown hair and eyes, but she does have an impressive chest and has saved herself for marriage, so she is not disqualified in your view.
C: Areen Ousseatlithar: Areen is an elven woman who is definitely a member of the nobility, in fact a landed knight in her own right. She also is the daughter of the late Baron Malian Ousseatlithar: 4th Baron Of Kelthwood, and at 159 is young for an elven woman. However you detect a certain disdain for the arcane arts from her, and worry that she might only accept your suit to better her position in life. You also are unsure if she is a virgin...
In appearance however she is the best of the three, flame red hair that falls to the floor, crimson lips, skin like alabaster, and blue-green eyes you could drown in. She also is the most accomplished in artistic endeavors of the three, able to play three instruments fluently and sing like an angel. Still again she is very wealthy, she would bring much to your marriage in terms of money and influence...
Which of the three women will you call on?
D&D Dynastic Delving
Welcome to the world of Eva.
You are an adventurer, with longstanding obligations to the Adventurer's Guild of the Queensland of Lore. You are being asked to enter the Labyrinth of Ambuscade, a deadly dungeon from which few return, but those who do come back rich beyond the dreams of kings. Your family has been given exclusive rights to this treasure trove, but it is perilous beyond reckoning, so exploiting it will be the work of generations. Sire or bear children during the downtime segments between 'adventures' to continue the story when your current character dies and invest the gold and gems you bring back in expanding your family's castle built atop the entrance to the Labyrinth to give those children training which gives them the best chances to succeed where 'you' failed. You start out by picking a character from the top list to begin the game as, each time your character 'dies': or at least doesn't come back for about 20 years, there ARE conditions in the story where the current heir can run into and rescue their distant/not-so-distant ancestor(s): their son or daughter starts a new delve into the Labyrinth of Ambuscade, perhaps ending up dead as well or perhaps at last reaching the fabled Glade of the Gloaming where grows the Tree of Immortality whose magical fruit grants eternal life to those who eat it. Not all characters are created equal, in some respects: Female characters, due to the difficulty and risks of having children in those cases and the shier deadliness of the dungeon, start with three daughters to carry on after them, males by contrast do not start with any heirs, they have to create them the old fashioned way. (Inspired by other stories on this site, the Pathfinder Role Playing Game System and the video-game Rogue Legacy.)
Updated on May 6, 2023
by Nemo of Utopia
Created on Aug 5, 2016
by Nemo of Utopia
With every decision at the end of a chapter your score changes. Here are your current variables.
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