Choose Your Own Mystery Castle Adventure
Can anybody escape the mysterious Castle Ghoulhaven alive!? Life or Death is only a multiple choice question away!
Finally you arrive. The dense, black forest seemed never-ending but your expedition was well researched. Five years of studying Supernatural History at De Montford University has taught you well, and now it is time to claim Duke Ghoulhaven's priceless lost treasure from the ruined castle that looms before you.
You swallow hard, and look around your crew of mercenaries, each one hand-picked by you for their unique skillset. You have been through a lot together, and they trust you with their life, but yesterday something came to light. One of them is a spy for your arch rival, Professor Edmund Dogpoultry, and has been leaving clues for him to follow. The spy will need to watched closely. But who can it be?
The sight of the castle fills you with dread. Legend has it that all who gaze upon the ghost of the Duke turn to dust. But with Professor Dogpoultry on your heels, time is of the essence. Lightning flashes across the sky! A storm approaches. Wrapping your cloak around you against the rain, you walk across the rotten drawbridge that takes you to the castle doors.
The large studded oak doors are rusted shut but a bell pull hangs from the Castle Wall... What now?
Eventually you gain access to the castle, and find yourself in a dark corridor with three doors all crudely marked with a strange word. Urko, your local guide scratches his head. He too is unfamiliar with the language. Which door will you take?
The door leads to steps winding downwards into the darkness. Lighting a torch you begin to work your way downwards...
..and downward, further and further into the never-ending gloom...
And down some more...
Until...
Until the stairs open out into a small vaulted chamber, dimly illuminated by the flickering glow of your burning torch. A stone casket lies in the middle of the room, a coat-of-arms engraved upon its lid. Could this be the final resting place of Duke Ghoulhaven? You look around for Urko, maybe he will recognise the crest! There's just one problem...Urko has vanished!
There is the distant sound of screaming. You shake your head sadly and decide...
With Urko gone you decide to investigate the stone casket. What might it contain within?
You, Lady Millicent, and the Colonel, grip the stone lid and heave. At first it seems stuck fast, but then, with a horrible scraping noise that echoes around the castle it begins to move. Bracing yourself you peer inside and see...
The colonel reaches for the torch, but there is a gust of cold air and the torch is extinguished! In the pitch black you fumble for your matches before lighting a nearby candle. Lady Millicent stands before you, her eyes opened wide with dread. "The Colonel..." She utters, her voice dripping with cold fear... "Behind you!"
You slowly turn, bracing yourself for whatever horror lies behind you. A hole has opened in the floor. Some kind of trapdoor must've swung open directly beneath the Colonel's feet. Cautiously you peek down into the bottomless hole. You shake your head, and utter some words in remembrance:
As you gaze down into the pit, you feel a shove in your back. Losing your balance you tumble into the hole. Luckily, your underpants catch on a nail and you hang, suspended. You look up from your dangerous predicament. Above you, is the laughing face of Lady Millicent. "As if we would let you take Duke Grimhands treasure!" She cackles. A figure appears beside her. It is your arch rival Professor Edmund Dogpoultry. It's time for a pithy comeback.
Professor Dogpoultry chuckles and reaches into the casket and pulls something out in a cloud of dust. "At last it's mine. The golden hand of Duke Ghoulhaven!" The flickering torchlight catches an ancient prosthetic hand, cast in solid gold. Dogpoultry smiles. "It's priceless obviously, and it's believed to give it's owner supernatural powers, but of course I don't believe in any of that nonsense..." You blink. Behind him and Lady Millicent, a misty form is forming from the cloud of dust. Of course, you realise it's...
You climb from the pit. The Duke has gone. Who knows what happened to evil professor Dogpoultry and the treacherous Lady Millicent. Only their shoes remain. You brush yourself down and look at the golden hand. Should you take it? Who knows.. As you're pondering, the excitement catches up with you and you collapse to the floor...
Someone is shaking you awake. Your head hurts and you open your eyes just a crack. You are in the forest. Urko the local guide stands before you. It turn's out he'd gone back to pick up his pet sock that he'd dropped at the top of the stairs. After your head clears you begin to make your way back towards civilisation, clutching your backpack close, terrified to know what it contains...
You escape Castle Ghoulhaven with your life but nothing else.
What is gold when you have your health. Consider yourself lucky to still be alive.
Fame and fortune beckons. You travel the world exhibiting the Dukes Golden Hand but...
...the cold, dead fingers of the Dukes ghost reach a long way and your greed will cost you dearly. It is a year later that you notice leathery webbing growing beneath your arms and strange batlike fur growing in patches around your body. Doctors know no cure for such a curse and soon your transformation into bat is complete. Sorry about that!
You never escape the forest.
The terrifying experience of all your bad decisions haunt you, and you decide to spend the rest of your life living as a hermit in a forest cave.
Perfect leadership!
You have escaped Castle Ghoul Haven without the cursed golden hand but with your pride intact and new knowledge to share with your colleagues in the Supernatural History department of Du Montford University.
