Shieldmaiden (CYOA)
“Goodbye everyone!”
I give one final wave to my friends. The companions with whom I’ve travelled for all these years. The Hero gives a cheerful wave back, while the Saint stands beside him wiping tears from her eyes. The Sorceress looks frustrated, like she wants to tell me something, but in the end, she just hides her face behind her hat.
“Don’t forget to visit, Shieldmaiden”
The cry comes from Archer, who has a wide grin on her face, waving furiously at me.
I throw her a final thumbs up, then turn away.
After all this time, the cause for our journey, the thing that gave us common purpose, is gone. The Demon Lord is dead.
A lot has already happened since that day.
Naturally, the demon hoards retreated, and the kingdom has started to enter a new era of peace. Taking full advantage of the festive mood, the Hero and the Saint got married, we’ve continued to travel together since then, but everyone knows it’s only a matter of time till they find a place to settle down. Since we met with the king and were showered in gold and accolades for our triumph, everyone has more than enough money to live comfortably, so there isn’t much reason to keep adventuring.
The Rogue left first, she said she had important business back home. After that, members of our party continued to split off, each called away by their own personal affairs, slowly but surely, the band that had once marched upon the Demon Lords castle, dwindled away. Until finally, it was my turn to leave.
Resisting the urge to look back, I step off the cobbled stone road, onto the narrow dirt track leading into the hills. This is a remote area, so aside from the paved road I’m leaving, there is no sign of civilization around me. Just sparse scrubland and rocky hillsides, and the narrow goat trail I chose to start walking down.
As it should be, I won’t find the answers I seek anywhere civilized. And the further away I am from people right now, the better.
Perhaps it is just an excuse to delay my departure, but I feel a sudden urge to check my personal effects one more time. I give myself a quick pat down, confirming each item I have on my as I do so.
Armor, check.
Sword, check.
The shield that is my namesake, check.
Pouch of food and supplies, check.
Which means, the only thing left is… the thing that forced me to make this choice.
I feel the heat rush to my cheeks as I’m hit with a wave of embarrassment just thinking about it. The thing I carry which I was too ashamed to tell my companions about. I can only hope I can find a solution somewhere outside the borders of the kingdom…
Tentatively, I reach for it, to confirm it’s still there…