CYOA - Seasons of Sorrow

Man.  I decided to delay the start of the next chapter because there were a few things I wanted to put to a vote before AoD, and wanted to go ahead and do that while I was sure people'd be able to actually vote on them.  There were 5, but I only remember 1 - may as well do that.

As far as skill inheritance goes, how do you want to do it?
(A) CDM picks which skills to pass on
(B) Skills passed randomly
(C) Everyone votes for every parent's passed skill

A

A

Well, looks like I'm doing the skills (honestly, it's probably less work for me than listing them, tallying votes, all that...).

I remembered the rest of the questions, but only 1 needs voting-on.  I'll leave this poll open for a while, but I'll only delay the next chapter for a few hours.  Which perspective should AoD be written in?

(X) Third person (he/she/they)
(Y) Second person (you)
(Z) First person, somehow (I/me)

Polls for the AoD question are still open, by the way.

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Final Chapter: The End of the Season of Sorrow
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The doors resist your efforts, swinging open slowly and stubbornly.  As the doors open enough to squeeze through, you peer inside the shadowy chamber.  A massive onyx dragon's face stares back at you from the far wall, its eyes aflame.  You leap back from the door, reaching for your axe.  The dragon doesn't react.  As your eyes adjust, you realize the dragon head is just a statue, its eyes lit by large torches.

You take a breath to calm down, then shove the doors open wider.  The light streaming through the open doors is too dim to light the room, and you cautiously pass through the portal.  As your eyes adjust to the gloom, you realize the building is a single, massive chamber.  You stand in a wide, open narthex.  Ahead of you, a wide aisle draped with a luxurious red rug separates two seas of benches.  Stained windows set high in the walls do little to light the chamber; what little light there is comes from a few torches lining the walls.  A massive onyx sculpture of a dragon's head juts out of the far wall.

"Grima..." Paen mutters, slipping in behind you.  "This was a church of the Dark Dragon, once," he reminds you.  Doran and Rain take a few hesitant steps forward, and the rest of your party slips in behind them.

Dan and Wendy start to close the doors behind you.  As the light from the outside becomes a thin line, then fades all together, you begin to see more clearly.  As the doors slam shut with an ominous thud, a hiss begins to echo around the room.  It grows in volume until it's all you can hear.  You realize the statue's mouth is agape, protecting a large table.  Standing before the table is a hunched form, glaring at you with glowing red eyes.

It throws its head back in what you expect to be a roar.  Instead, it lets out what can only be a distorted, jeering laugh.  You try to ignore the disturbing sight, instead scanning the room.  The first of the benches is a good thirty feet ahead, and the benches are easily fifty feet wide.  You see a smaller aisle running along either wall beyond the benches.  You sweep your eyes down the main aisle, trying to count all the benches - you estimate 40 rows, maybe a bit less.  In all, about 300 feet between your group and the figure cackling in the sanctuary.

You can just make out the shape of several cloaked figures hunched over across the front bench.  Four more are seated at the table behind the Risen.  None of them seem to be moving.  You scan the benches for signs of an ambush, but they leave huge shadows.  You think you can see movement in a few places, but you really aren't sure it's not just a trick of the flickering torchlight.

The figure finally stops its cackling.  It stands, its arms spread wide, and slowly steps forward.  As it leaves the alcove of the dragon's mouth and steps into the light of its eyes, you can see it more clearly.  From this distance you aren't sure at first, but the massive spear impaled through its torso confirms your suspicions.  This Risen can only be Horatio.

"I thought we were done with this dastard..." Paen growls.

"Welcome...!" Horatio - the thing that was once Horatio - rasps.  "Here for the council meeting, I assume...?  Well, I'm afraid you'll have quite a wait for your turn to speak!"  The figure starts cackling again.

"He can talk?  We've never seen a Risen speaking before..." Saul says, to no one in particular.

"Is that the Dark King Paen I see?  Ha ha...  I've been dying to see you again!"  Horatio grasps the Gae Bolg lodged in his - its? - gut, tugging futilely while laughing derisively.

"He always talked... too much..." Charlotte points out.  "No reason he'd stop, just... because he's dead."

"What's wrong with him?" John asks.

Doran shakes his head.  "Maybe this Bune creature spent a little extra time resurrecting him?"

John takes a step back.  "But why is he acting like that?"

"He was already a bit insane," Wendy suggests.

Someone gently tugs on your shoulder.  Mary whispers into your ear.  "I'm ready to seal the doors.  I'll need a few minutes, but it seems like he's going to run his mouth for a while yet.  Once I'm done, nothing short of a dragon should be able to break in here for a few minutes."

(A) Let Horatio keep talking while Mary places the seal
(B) Leave the doors unsealed, prepare to fight
(C) Rush Horatio while he's distracted

I'll say A. Stay back for now, and let Mary seal the doors. Although that line about 'only a dragon breaking through' is worrying... Hopefully, said dragon is Drake, and not a Dracozombie.

Also, it's just now starting to dawn on me that SoS is ending... I'm honestly really sad about that. This has been one of the best stories I've read in a long time, and I can honestly say it's better than a lot of professional novels I've read. So thank you, CDM.

I can't wait for your next story. And if you ever decide you want to look into hiring an agent, and really publishing a story, then hit me up. All you have to do is PM me, and I'll put you in contact with a renowned agent who has ties to multiple publishing companies. I mean it.

You give a slight nod, subtle enough that Horatio shouldn't be able to notice.

"Really," Horatio continues, finally done laughing.  "I must thank you all for coming here.  It saves me the trouble of hunting you down.  Then again, I suppose I shouldn't really thank you, since it's your fault for not dying sooner."  Horatio looks at you.  "Lady June, if you hadn't shirked your duty as a knight of Valeria, King Paen wouldn't be here to cause me any trouble.  I gave you the honor and privilege of killing the enemy commander, and you spat in my face."

You feel a bit embarrassed, remembering how... poorly your first meeting with Paen had gone.

Horatio clicks his tongue.  "Tsk, tsk.  And Doran, if you'd only had the decency to rot in that dungeon...  Ah, enough of this.  If you're hoping I'm going to keep running my mouth and spoil the plan, you're severely mistaken.  Suffice to say that you've already lost."

Paen levels Flamberge at Horatio.  "I've no interest in your plan or your massive ego.  You think you've won because you've lured us into this shoddy excuse for a trap?"

"No," Horatio answers plainly, almost uninterested.  "I think I've won because I have the power of a great duke of the underworld at my beck and call."

"You're talking about Bune?"  Saul asks.

Horatio tilts his head.  "Oh, you've done your research.  A bit of a disappointment.  Oh, well."

"Tell me why," you demand.

"Hm?  I beg your pardon?" Horatio responds.

"Tell me why you betrayed your country... Left hundreds, if not thousands of people dead...  So you could serve some-"

"Serve?" Horatio cuts you off.  "I'm afraid you're gravely mistaken, Lady June."  Horatio raises his arms.  "We're the ones who summoned Bune.  We don't serve him.  He serves us."

"What?  But...  Why?  Why would you-"

Horatio raises a hand.  "I told you.  I'm not giving away the grand plan.  Your friend's done placing her ward - beautiful craftsmanship, by the way - so now you're trapped in here.  Enough stalling.  Come and face me."  With that, he pulls a sword from his hip, holding it with a reverse grip.  The four figures seated at the table rise, raising black-bound tomes - they appear to be human.  The figures on the front bench rise, slowly filtering towards the center aisle, standing between you and your target.  Eight heroes and four generals.

"John," Doran mutters.  "It's too dark in here."

"R-right!" John answers.  With that, he opens a light tome.  He quickly mutters a spell, throwing a ball of light into the air.  With the shadows dispelled, you can clearly see the shape of Risen hidden among the benches.

"No point hiding, I suppose.  Everyone, to arms!" Horatio calls.

The Risen hidden among the benches rise.  Berserkers stand at the ends of the aisles every couple of feet, fourteen in total.  Archers are staggered among the centers of the some rows.  Twelve bows are nocked and raised.

"It'll be difficult getting to them," Doran says.  "If we try to move over or along these benches, it will slow us down significantly, plus we'll be at an extreme disadvantage in terms of evasion.  However, they should provide us some defense if we hunker down behind them."
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There are five possible routes.  The left and right aisles against the wall are narrow but unguarded, except for the enemy ranged units.  The center aisle is heavily defended, but has plenty of room for fighting.  Your units can also charge right over the benches on either side.  Divide your units among them.
(June, Rain, Wendy, Dan, John, Mary, Doran, Paen, Claudia, Saul, Charlotte)

Left wall:
Left benches: 
Center aisle: 
Right benches: 
Right aisle: 

Hm.  Well, I'm fine with things slowing down a bit.  It's let me knock out more prep.  Only got 1 more thing I need to get together before it's ready, but it's the part I've been putting off the hardest.  A refined, easy-to-read class/skill list.  Anyone know a program that would let me make some kind of... web-thing, linking little boxes with the class/description/weapons/skills together to show promotion chains?

Hmm... Let's have Wendy, Doran, Dan and Claudia go after the archers then. Dan and Claudia aren't used to fighting on foot, so I don't think they should go after the big guns. Wendy needs a pair up, but we need everyone else for Bune. John is our primary healer, so both him and Mary need to remain with the main group.