Choose Your Own Adventure: Motamo Docks

[Unlike a Role-Play, this is to be a story that I write in segments, each chunk of story ending with several choices to vote on. After a certain amount of time passes, I will count up the votes and get to writing the next chunk. If you don't like the choices I present, you are free to suggest an additional choice for people to vote on, but if you do this, make sure nobody has suggested a similar option already (On another site, we had 3 'D' choices put up at one point because people weren't checking others' posts.). This story has the nice benefit of being something that is all ours, as I'm not personally going to post this to DeviantArt or somewhere similar.

Also, when you make your choice, make sure it is very visible (preferably in bold) in your post]

Assume the main character is a relatively average human who has some knowledge of Felarya, but was originally only passing through.

---

"Brace for impact."
This was not how the trip was supposed to go. A brief ride on the Felarya Express, from Ur-Sagol to Negav, and you would be at your destination. And you were damn close, too. The city was in sight when... something ripped the airship's armor like it was paper, and you can vaguely remember falling an impressive distance before things went black.

Now, your lungs are heavy, filled with...
You hack and sputter to get the water out of your respiratory system as your hands find rocky sand to cling to so you can get your face above the surface.

"Aww... you're alive. That's too bad."

You look to find the source of the strange comment, eyes settling on a woman wearing a sarong and a hand-tied top of the same blue material. Woman might not be the best word though. Oh, she might be called attractive if viewed from the waist up, her neck-length dirty blond hair framing a round face with a small, cute nose and deep, brown eyes, but where her legs should be, there is instead a long, snake-like tail. That makes her a... Lamia? No, Naga is what they're called here. Actually, the scales are a rather pleasant alternating yellow and black, and they clash nicely with her fairly tanned skin, though you can't make out exactly where the two halves connect on account of her clothes.
You stand up in the flowing water (a river, then?) and walk up onto dry land, keeping a respectful distance from the Naga while still being close enough to talk comfortably, because you do need information at the moment. There's a collection of buildings up off the shore close by, though you could also just ask the... girl for whatever you need.

---

A. Keep walking up to the village, You don't want to talk to anyone who seems disappointed you're still alive.
B. "Where am I? Who are you?"
C. Remain silent, let her talk.

[The reason I'm not using a poll is because I don't want to keep editing it with every additional choice that comes up.]

I choose A, no need to get yourself killed right off the bat.

Wow, only one vote in all this time? Oh well, best to get things underway so people actually want to join in.
'A' wins the day.

---

Keeping an eye on the Naga woman, you continue up the stony beach into the village proper (you can hear her sighing dejectedly behind you). It should come as no great surprise that a village which is seemingly alright with a predatory Naga being so close wouldn't be made up of only humans, but the variety of creatures walking about is still sufficient to tear a quick gasp from your lungs. Humans, humans with the features of cats (Nekos, right?), more Nagas, some half-spider half-human individuals, and many other less-represented species go about their day, chatting it up with one another as if nothing unusual is going on at all. There's even a massively long centipede-like creature with the upper body of a human arcing his body above buildings as he 'walks', forming tall, moving arches to bypass actually taking the street.

It seems unlikely that this place is some sort of exclusive club, so hopefully your presence won't attract a lot of attention. The centipede-man disappears into a building marked 'The Drunken Chilotaur' which sounds... colorful... at the very least, but there are also other places to ask around for information. Two that immediately catch your attention are a stall run by a Neko male and human female, selling what appears to be fresh-caught fish (though it's hard to tell if they're actually fresh: some of the 'fish' look positively bizarre), and a two-story building called 'The Weary Wanderer'. On top of that, there are of course the folks just walking around.

---

A. Investigate The Drunken Chilotaur.
B. Talk to the pair at the fish stall.
C. Ask around at The Weary Wanderer.
D. Find a human to talk to.
E. Find a half-spider to talk to.
F. Find a Naga to talk to.
G. Find a Neko to talk to.
H. This is too many choices, just talk to a random person and hope for the best.

Dont feel to bad about the lack of posts. The story discussion is desperately underpopulated even compared to the rest of the forum. If the updates aren't far apart it will very quicly gain momentum though I'm sure.

That said my vote is with C.

option A sounds like a pub, the pub is always the first building I like to look for when I arrive at a new place in an RPG.

I vote option A!

I dunno. I might end up being a tiebreaker here, so I go with....G. Be a little open-minded, and maybe try to get that xenophobia out of your system. ^.^

In the interest of moving things forward faster, I'm going to just cut out pieces of paper, mark them 'A' 'C' and 'G' and jumble them about in a bag before pulling one (making chits, never thought I'd have to do that).

---

It's almost a cliche, going to a tavern to find information, but the idea must've come from somewhere, right? You continue to wring out your clothes as you walk up to the Drunken Chilotaur, a rather sizable building, built out of rough-cut stone and mortar with wide double doors open for anyone to come on in, which you do.

As bars go, this is a bit more in the vein of what one sees in fantastical works than reality: people are laughing and drinking, there's a band of tiny humanoids up on a small stage playing their hearts out, and there's even a busty barmaid serving drinks, although she's of the same centipede-like species as the man you saw earlier, the way she holds mugs, passing empties back to the bar with the legs on her left side while transferring fresh pints forward with her right set, is rather impressive, possibly. You don't know if it really is.

"Son?"

Oh crap, someone's been trying to talk to you. As it would happen, it's the bartender himself, yet another of the centipede types.

"Oh. Sorry, what was that?" Hey, it's a new experience. It's the best you can come up with just being broken out of your reverie.

"I was saying, it looks like you took a dip in the river, son." Towel in hand, he's probably none too happy about you dripping in that one particular spot. Without a word, you accept the proffered cloth, trying to get yourself a bit more dry while he continues talking.

"You were staring at my daughter pretty intently. You never seen a Chilotaur before, or are you just ogling my kid?" He sounds more jokingly sarcastic than actually offended, his antennae pointing directly at you in mock accusation. Very fantasy barkeep.

"Well, I'm not exactly a native to Felarya. I was just passing through on the Felarya Express when... something took us down. So no, I've never seen a Chilotaur before."

The man's eyes briefly go wide, then narrow in interest, "You were on that airship? Half the town saw it go down day before last."

That long ago? And you've been out all this time? A growl issues from your belly, accompanied by an intense painful emptiness, pretty much confirming this.

"I'm guessing you don't have any money then? Ah well, doesn't matter. Pull up a seat and I'll have Amy get you something to eat and drink." He points you towards an open table near a large fireplace.

---

A. Silently sit at the table and listen to the conversations around you.
B. "I can't accept your generosity without working it off."
C. "Any news about what happened to the ship?"
D. "Sorry, I have more important things to do right now, but thanks for the offer."

The way this is going, Path A seems like it would keep most in line with my personality thus far.

I say A too, always good to get as much information as possbile when you start out.

You pull up a seat, and Amy quickly sets you up with a pint of ale, which you accept partly because you're rather dehydrated and partly because you're more focused on the conversations unfolding around you, though you do manage a polite 'thank you'. She flashes a smile before heading off to another table, her long body seemingly tethered behind the bar so she can continue sending mugs back..
You sip as you try to listen and HOLY SHIT that stuff is strong! You momentarily suspect you were accidentally given a pint of whiskey somehow, but almost everyone else is sipping the same dark amber draught.

Resolving to take more measured sips, you try to focus on a random table where a man, a woman, and a female Neko are idly chatting. You can't catch everything the man, who is currently speaking, says, but get some of the meaning.
"...airship down...looked pretty bad...Harpies going...survivors?" So, apparently people are still talking about that. Doesn't sound too good. You count yourself lucky you wound up safe, but the slightest twinge of survivors' guilt is there in the pit of your stomach... ugh, if what you know of Felarya is true, a lot of those folks probably met their fates in someone's belly.

The Neko woman cut's the man off, wanting to change the subject, most likely.
"They keep bringing...from the Mines...like a new vein...thinking of going myself." Odd, she doesn't seem the type to go digging in the rock for... whatever she mentioned, but you guess people live their lives a bit differently here.

Before you can turn your attention anywhere else, Amy returns with what appears to be a rather large hamburger, except that meat obviously isn't beef and it's covered in a questionable blue paste. Thankfully Amy stays around long enough to see you appraising the meal, and chirps, "Duiker Burger with Starkala sauce. It's really good, trust me~♥"
It does smell good, but that sauce... well, beggars can't be choosers...
You take a bite, and are surprised to find it is quite delicious, though hunger might be improving the flavor somewhat. Amy gives an approving grin as you dig in, heading off once more.

You lose yourself in that burger, so when you finally stop to breathe, you find that who else but the Naga from before is now sitting next to you.
"Look... uhh... I'm sorry about... y'know, insinuating I might eat your corpse back there. It's just, if you had died, it would've been a shame to let you go to waste, y'know?"
In the back of your mind you understand what she's saying, but it's still a really weird thing to tell someone. She idly takes one of your chips and drags it through a bit of that Starkala sauce before popping it into her mouth, seemingly not realizing she just took food from a man who had been starving, for a good ten seconds, at which point her eyes go wide and she blushes crimson.
"Oh, crap! I'm sorry about that too!" She pushes the plate more towards you and shakes her head as if trying to forget what she did.

---

A. "You should probably just go."
B. "It's alright. No harm done. What's your name, anyway?"
C. "Hey, do you know anything about the Felarya Express airship that went down a few days back?" All these answers will include some forgiveness unless you specifically don't want to forgive the Naga
D. "Does this town have a lot of miners in it?"
E. "Is there work available anywhere nearby?"
F. "Do you know of any way I could get back to my world?"

For lack of a 'laugh at how strange this girl is' option, I pick option C.

Nyaha wrote:

For lack of a 'laugh at how strange this girl is' option, I pick option C.

I said at the start of this that you are allowed to add your own options to vote on, and if others like what you do, they may vote for your proposition.

Oh, I missed that part! Well, I think maybe my idea probably isn't that great anyway, and might seem out of character at this point anyway, so I'm not changing my answer. ^^;

I pick option B, a little friendliness wouldn't hurt.

Option E for me, gotta think long term y'know?

Option B for me.

I too say option B