Choice. There is always a choice, even in the face of futility. In places and times, imperceivable past the crossroads of reason and faith, of love and needs, of life and death risks, lie both rewards irresistible and consequences unfathomable. Most cannot perceive even the passages of choice before them...

[ [] PASSAGE ] S [[/COLOR]P [/SIZE] ASSAGE [] [/SIZE] ] [/SIZE][/COLOR]

Stage 1

Rees, too stupid to even wear something decent to shield from Fate's certain judgement, stands in front of a petrified fruit tree, its branches having burrowed deep into the cavern ceiling and its trunk carved long ago with the image of a serpent with a head on each end. One head peers down a corridor on the left side of the trunk with a silver door at the end, and the other head peers down an identical corridor on the right side with a wooden door at the end.

Unable to think beyond the most immediate of problems, it's a miracle Rees kicks anything other than the bucket. Fortunately, Rees knows this much, and knows enough to realize that the only hope for gaining wisdom lies down one of those corridors. Rees also possesses a gift of a certain sense, a sense that others didn't possess, a sense Rees focuses on at this moment...

Choice 1

Choice 2

Rees ignores any of the other choices that may have been present.

(Non-Stage Note: Some guidelines for those who would like to continue!

1) The next person to post should select one of the choices offered by the previous poster to continue forth. The person who posts should add at least a line of their own, and then at least two choices for the next poster to select. Don't be afraid to keep it simple, and don't be afraid to be predictable, as what seems the obvious course of action for you isn't the same for another, and certainly not for Rees!

2) Check the thread right before you submit your post, as someone may have already responded to the same post you are. If more than one person responds to a post, respect the response that came first.

3) If a stage seems to have run its course, feel free to devise a new one, either with the same character or another with a similar extrasensory ability.

Have fun!)

Well, this could be quite a coincidence... for those of you who HAD participated, we could do the following:

Choice 1
Pretend it didn't happen and start fresh.

Choice 2
Recap what happened and pick up where we left off.

Choice 3
???

I'll go ahead with #1 to the best I can, if only because, should interest have dropped off, I'll at least have known there was some interest in this.

Rees takes the left door.
Rees shows the woman a small diamond that is his sole possession.
The woman takes it, and with her magic in the alter, returns with a second, identical diamond. One will open the rear door, one will have grim consequences.
Rees tries to escape the way he came in, but the woman tells him he has no real choice.
Rees ends up taking both and tries using both on the door. In the process, the door and floor aorund it disappear, with Rees on the other side and the woman having fallen.

Rees is now in a circular marble room, with a circular reflective pool. The room has no other visible entrances other than the one he came in. He cannot tell how deep the pool is. He thinks he could make it across the gap to try a set of spiral stairs in the previous room that went down.

Choice 0
Inaction

Choice 1
Attempt the jump across the gap. He can't foresee if he'd make the jump.

Choice 2
Throw the diamonds in the gap. He doesn't hear them hit any sort of bottom.

Choice 3
Throw himself in the gap. Darkness...

Choice 4
Throw the light diamond in the pool. The pool glows white and something smooth rises from the water...

Choice 5
Throw the dark diamond in the pool. The pool grows black and something sharp rises from the water...

Choice 6
Throw both diamonds in the pool. The pool turns grey, and there isn't even so much as a ripple...

Choice 7
Step into the pool. His feet are now wet.