 
Mythical Creatures Of The Forest:

An Interactive Adventure Story

By Adam Oakley

Copyright

Text, Image and Cover Copyright © Adam Oakley 2018.

All Rights Reserved.

Published by Oakhouse Publications.

Kindle ISBN: 978-1-912720-41-5

Adam Oakley asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed within it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental and unintended.

The information in this book is provided "as-is". The author and publisher will assume no liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage related directly or indirectly to the information in this book. No warranties or guarantees of any kind, express or implied, are made. The author and publisher will provide no remedy for indirect, consequential, punitive, or incidental damages arising from this book, including such from negligence, strict liability, or breach of warranty or contract, even after notice of the possibility of such damages. The author and publisher are in no way liable for the misuse of this book or the information within it.

By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this book. No part of this book or text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, copied, re-sold, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without express written permission of the author Adam Oakley.

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Enter Your Adventure...

Your name is Dr Bernard J. Hoothfellow.

You are a scientist who has become tired of the world. You have fallen out of love with science, you are sick of your job, and the world seems to hold nothing for you anymore.

One night you wander into the forest, the forest that no one ever goes to, the forest that your parents always warned you to never enter. But you enter anyway. Fed up with your old life, you are seeking something new. You seek reality again.

Entering this story means that you will make choices that you will not be able to go back on. You will meet creatures you never knew were real, learn things that you always knew to be true, and once you make your decisions, you must walk the path laid before you.

Good luck.

Enter now...

\- CLICK HERE -

You are alone in the forest. It's dark and quiet. No one goes into the forest anymore. You don't know why you've walked in, but you feel something you have not felt in a long time. Silence. Power. Depth. You feel afraid, but you know there is something here that is worth discovering...

A voice in your head tells you to leave. A voice in your heart tells you to stay. What do you do?

You have two options...

Turn around and begin to walk out of the forest...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Stay, and begin to walk in more deeply...

\- CLICK HERE -

On walking out, you feel relieved, but also regretful. You've missed out on something, but at least you are safe.

You look around at your town, full of wandering people who now completely ignore the forest. Their little worlds are all they know, and you have just glimpsed that there is a great deal more, not far from your own home.

You turn back and wonder whether you should go back in. Something is pulling you towards the forest, but you feel as if you still have a choice. What do you do?

You have two options...

Return to the forest and discover what's in there...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Leave the forest completely and go home...

\- CLICK HERE -

You walk alone through a dark, quiet border of a town, lit with lights shining from houses. You see the occasional person walk between homes. There is a community here, and you feel slightly apart. You wonder what it was that you felt in the forest. Then you try to dismiss it as you walk in through your front door.

It is quiet. You've never noticed silence like this. It makes you feel slightly uneasy.

What do you do next?

You have two options...

Go to bed...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Go out to meet with friends to distract yourself...

\- CLICK HERE -

You fall asleep quickly. It is easier than normal. Your mind becomes calm and it's easy to drift off. It is quiet and peaceful. Suddenly you find yourself somewhere else.

You are back in the forest, in the same place you found yourself before. This time you can't turn back. You try to turn away but you can't. Your only option now is to walk forward. You don't want to walk. You resist, but some unknown force is pushing you. Your feet try to dig into the forest floor but it is no use. You are being forced into the forest, and you don't know what for.

This feels more real than any dream. You feel cold, stressed, afraid, gripped by something more powerful than you.

You struggle for a while longer, you begin to run out of energy. You are tired. You decide there is nothing you can do to stop this. You willingly start to walk forward, to see what awaits you in the forest.

You have one option...

See where you go...

\- CLICK HERE -

You leave your home and begin to walk over to the pub. It's not far. A five minute walk in between other homes with dim lights shining from their windows. You see the pub in the distance. It looks busy. You can hear the bustle already. You can hear music. You don't really want to go in but you don't want to be alone. You approach the pub and stand at the door. It's already late. Something tells you to turn back home.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Turn back home and go to bed...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Enter the pub...

\- CLICK HERE -

As soon as you open the doors you are hit by noise. The noise is louder than normal. Laughter, music, dancing people – you are already being accidently pushed here and there by people filled with drink. You look around for any sign of your friends. You see them to the left, sitting around a table. You begin to walk towards them.

"Oi!" a voice says in your ear. You feel a large hand grip your shoulder. "You just made me spill my drink."

You look to your side. A large man is there, drunk, ugly, stooping down and breathing all over you. The stench of beer and breath is vile.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Apologise and try to move on...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Push him off you forcefully...

\- CLICK HERE -

You apologise, but he does not accept it.

"Buy me another," he says.

You don't want to, but you reach into your pockets for money.

"Hurry up!" he says. He pushes you backwards. You are pushed into another large man who turns around and glares at you.

"You made me spill my drink!" the new man says.

He swings a punch at you and you duck, and the punch lands directly in the first man's chest, knocking him back.

There is a fight. All of a sudden, a cheerful pub has turned into a house of brawlers, and everything kicks off. Punches, chairs, drinks and kicks are being thrown by everyone around you. It is chaos.

You have one option...

Try to escape...

\- CLICK HERE -

You don't know where to turn but you cover your head and try to turn back to where the exit might be. You are ducking, catching accidental blows and you make it to the door. You push the door open and make it to the quiet safety of the night.

Your friends. You've forgotten your friends! You consider going back in to try to help them, but soon they burst out of the pub, laughing and cackling with each other. They see you.

"Eh, Bernard? What you doing here? Lucky you didn't come in, mate, there was a huge fight. Not your scene, not at all."

They are all drunk and declare they are going home. You look around at empty streets and a noisy, fighting pub behind you.

You have one option...

Start walking back home too...

\- CLICK HERE -

You push him away and he barely moves. He looks at you menacingly.

"Right," he says. He draws back his fist and makes a huge swing for your face. You duck and cover your head, and the punch connects with another man standing behind you.

The new man turns, sees the man who has just punched him, and he punches him back. The first man goes flying, and all of a sudden there is a huge fight. Everyone is involved. People are punching, shouting, kicking, smashing glasses. You decide to retreat to safety, and you see your friends clearing off to a back entrance. You follow after them and make it back out into the night.

"Bernard? Bernard were you in there? What started all that?"

You say you don't know. You are ready to go back home. You knew you should never have come.

Your friends start to stagger back to their own homes, and you have nothing left to distract yourself with.

You have one option...

Start walking back to your house...

\- CLICK HERE -

You get back home. You have an overwhelming weariness come over you. You have a feeling that you don't want to deal with the world and the people in it anymore, and sleep calls you to rest.

You go upstairs, get ready for bed and lie down to sleep. Your drowsiness increases and your mind turns strangely peaceful.

You have one option...

See what happens to you in the night...

\- CLICK HERE -

You walk forward in deathly silence. Your shoes crunch against the leaves of the forest as you take each step.

You look around in the darkness and feel as if something is watching you. The trees look like silent people. There is something living in this forest, a presence that you have never been aware of.

You start to look further into the distance, and you suddenly see the figure of a man. He isn't moving. He is standing there in a light mist, as still as the trees. He starts to run towards you.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Run away...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Stand your ground...

\- CLICK HERE -

You turn and run. He isn't making noise as he chases you, but you turn and see him gaining on you quickly. He is hugely tall and strongly built, making no noise at all. You scream out for help and suddenly your mouth is grabbed from behind and you are taken gently to the ground.

He has you trapped in his arms, and they feel like rocks. You can't move. His voice whispers in your ear:

"What are you doing here?"

You have one option...

Will you answer him?

\- CLICK HERE -

You will not be intimidated. This man is running, silently without noise, directly towards you. He is hugely tall and strongly built, and he seems to glide when he runs.

He approaches you swiftly and stops so that he is just a few strides away from you. You look up at him. He is not quite human. He is too big, he looks almost ethereal. You aren't sure what to think, but you know that you have never seen anyone like this before.

He stares at you. Reality seems to shift into nothing for a moment.

He speaks:

"What are you doing here?"

You have one option...

Will you answer him?

\- CLICK HERE -

He uncovers your mouth and you are too afraid to scream. He lets you go. You stand up and back away from him. You stay still, knowing that if you run he will catch you again.

"I don't know why I'm here. I just don't know."

He looks at you. He asks something else:

"No one comes into the forest anymore. Why is that?"

"I don't know. Everyone's working. If they aren't working then they're busy doing something else..."

"Working?" he asks.

"Yes. You know, jobs, school, all the rest. You know."

He looks as if he is trying to remember something very distant in his past.

"Plus there is fear," you say.

"Fear of what?"

"Probably of things like you."

He pauses.

"Why are you here?" he asks.

"I told you I don't know. What are you? Who are you?"

You have one option...

Find out his answer...

\- CLICK HERE -

He stares at you.

"I don't know," you reply. You've never seen anything so silent staring back at you.

"No one comes into the forest anymore. Why is that?" he asks.

"I don't know. Everyone's working. If they aren't working then they're busy doing something else."

"Working?" he asks.

"Yes. You know, jobs, school, all the rest. You know."

He looks as if he is trying to remember something very distant in his past.

"Plus there is fear," you say.

"Fear of what?"

"Probably of things like you," you reply.

"Why are you here?" he asks again.

"I told you I don't know. What are you? Who are you?"

You have one option...

Find out his answer...

\- CLICK HERE -

"I'm an Earthman. I'm like a caretaker of these forests. They are part of me, and I am part of them."

"Where do you come from?"

"The Earth. We all do."

"Are there more of you?"

"Not at the moment. We began to die out."

"From what?"

"A disease. A disease of feeling separate from the Earth."

You look at his feet. There are roots growing out of them, just like a tree.

He stares at you again.

"People have forgotten what lives in these forests now that no one enters. Everything has turned to myth. But they are not myths."

"Like what?" you ask.

"Do you want to see?" he says. "I can show you."

What do you say?

You have two options...

Say yes, show me...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Say no, leave me alone...

\- CLICK HERE -

You say yes, and he turns and begins to walk away.

"Follow me," he says. You follow him and walk slightly behind.

"What's your name?" you ask.

"I don't have one," he says.

You look around. You are looking for more creatures.

"Have you heard of the Nightbug?" he asks.

"Only in fairy tales," you say.

You remember the myth of the Nightbug says that you risk being eaten alive, but stand to gain powers that you never had if you survive.

"There is a nest of them just here," he says. He stops and points at the ground.

"Where?" you ask.

"Here. You have to jump up and down three times to see it."

What do you do?

You have two options...

Jump up and down three times where he points...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Refuse to take part in case it's dangerous...

\- CLICK HERE -

You step on the spot and jump. You jump again. On the third jump, as you land the forest floor gives way, and you are hurtling downwards, as if you are on a slide, and as you call out to the Earthman you see him waving goodbye.

You speed downwards and end up being thrown onto new ground where you roll to a stop.

It's sticky. You can't move so easily. You look around you and there are small lights that begin to move on the walls.

"Who are you?" a dark voice says.

You give your name, you say the Earthman has sent you.

"The Earthman? He sent you?"

"No," you correct yourself, "he didn't send me, but he asked me if I wanted to see a Nightbug."

You can't see what you are talking to, but the lights are still moving around on the walls.

"You're lucky. This is normally where my food lands," the voice says. "Since you know the Earthman, I can not eat you. But I can not free you either. You can only free yourself."

"How?" you ask.

"By finding your inner power."

You have one option...

See if you can find it...

\- CLICK HERE -

"What inner power?" you ask.

"You all have it. All you humans. But you have forgotten about it...

Be quiet. Be very very quiet."

You go quiet. Silent.

"Now look inside."

You close your eyes and look inside. There is a light. You try to grab it but it disappears.

"Yield to the light," the Nightbug says.

You aren't sure what that means, but as you relax, the light gets bigger, and you start to feel the floor become less sticky.

Suddenly you are free, and you feel you have power in your hands. It is pulsating through your body.

You stand up.

"I could use your help," the Nightbug says. "My children are trapped. If you could use your power, you could free them. They won't hurt you..."

You remember hearing stories about Nightbug babies swarming on men, eating them alive.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Decide to help the Nightbug...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Try to get back to the surface...

\- CLICK HERE -

You start to look for an exit. You try to use your power to push yourself up and away from the Nightbug but it doesn't work. You start to clamber around.

"You know, I could just eat you if I wanted," the Nightbug says. "Your power is nothing if it is clouded by fear. Please, help me."

You just want out, but your power starts to dim. You sense the Nightbug breathing on your back. You are in danger.

"Ok!" you say. "I'll help." The breath of the Nightbug leaves your back, and you feel more at ease. Your power returns.

You have one option...

See what your power does...

\- CLICK HERE -

You say you can help, and the Nightbug steps forward. It is huge, towering, a face with a thousand eyes – all bright yellow and gleaming, it has large moving mandibles at the front, and it looks around at the walls.

"My babies. They are trapped in the walls. There was a collapse from above. If I try to get them out, I might bury myself along with them."

You feel a power pulsating even more strongly in your hands, and your hands raise themselves up to pluck each light from the wall. Every time you pluck, a baby Nightbug is released, and begins to buzz gently around the underground cave.

The Nightbug looks alert. "Don't eat him," it says to them. "Leave him alone."

Some of the Nightbugs buzz around you, as if they are smelling you.

"He saved you, don't eat him," the Nightbug says.

If you stop you might get eaten.

You have one option...

Continue saving Nightbugs...

\- CLICK HERE -

You continue to save Nightbugs, but you feel that as more are saved, more of them want to swarm you. You pluck the final one from the wall, and you sense all of them as one fly towards you, looking to penetrate your body and eat you from the inside. You feel a hand grab you by the shirt and pull you back out of the Nightbug lair, up and out again onto the forest floor.

You fall on to your back, and the Earthman is standing above you. A swarm of glowing baby Nightbugs erupt out of the ground, congregate together in a glowing mass, and dart towards you again. Your fear means your inner power is cut off, and just as the Nightbugs reach you, the Earthman throws a shield of light around you, so that nothing can penetrate. You see the baby Nightbugs darting into the shield, again and again, always bouncing off.

You feel safer, gradually, you start to relax, and your power starts to come back. You feel your power rising from within you, and you feel the power flow through your hands again. You stand up and say:

"Be gone!"

All of a sudden the baby Nightbugs retreat into their hole in the ground, and you and the Earthman are left alone.

"Do you want to continue?" the Earthman asks.

You have two options...

Say yes...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Say no...

\- CLICK HERE -

"No thanks," you say. "I don't want to risk that."

"Ok," says the Earthman, "but you stand to miss out on powers that you have never known before."

"I could also die," you say.

"Very well. But unless you gain these powers through the Nightbug's presence, you will not be well enough equipped to continue through the forest. I would fear for your safety."

"You don't fear for my safety now?"

"No. I will keep you safe for now. It's a question of trust."

Do you trust the Earthman?

You have two options...

Yes – continue your adventure and visit the Nightbug...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

No – turn away and leave...

\- CLICK HERE -

You don't want to risk it, so you turn and start to leave.

You start to walk away, and you feel like the whole forest is trying to pull you back to the Earthman, as if there is something you need to see.

You ignore the pull and keep walking. You turn back and can't see the Earthman. You hear something in the bushes beside you rustling. You can't see what it is. You hear something squeal like a pig, and suddenly a huge boar-like creature is sprinting out from the bushes, and it drives its single tusk into your leg.

You feel the tusk go straight through your leg, and you are lifted high up off the ground while you feel some kind of poison being injected through the tusk into your thigh. You feel your leg go numb, and then the numbness starts to creep into your whole body.

"Piggen!" the Earthman shouts. "Piggen no!"

"Piggen will destroy any human in the forest!" the boar cries, carrying you on its tusk. And gradually, the world fades away into nothing...

You have one option...

See if it reappears...

\- CLICK HERE -

You say you wish to continue. The Earthman nods and leads the way.

"Make sure you stay close," the Earthman says. "Do not get distracted by anything. Stay close."

You stay close beside him. His body looks like it's made out of rock, you still can't understand how he makes no noise when he steps. You start to look at his feet, then at yours.

You notice again the roots that are growing out of his feet. You stoop down to get a closer look, and end up falling a few steps behind. You feel strangely exposed. You need to catch up.

Suddenly you hear a rustling from beside you, and just as you turn to look, a large boar-like creature with a single shining tusk comes charging out of the bushes, drives its head into you and impales your leg with its tusk.

The pain is unbearable, and you feel yourself lifted off the ground as you are carried away. You feel a strange numb sensation flow out of the tusk and into your leg. It is like an injection, seeping into your entire body, and you feel the numbness flow into your face. You feel sleepy.

"Piggen!" the Earthman cries.

The boar speaks:

"Piggen makes sure no nasty humans make it to the forest ever again."

And then everything goes dark, and you feel yourself fade into nothing.

You have one option...

See if you reappear...

\- CLICK HERE -

You wake up in your bed. You aren't sure what happened. You can't believe that any of that was a dream. It was too real. But perhaps...perhaps it was. Perhaps it was just...

You notice a pain in the side of your leg. You pull back the covers, look down and see a large wound covered in a pale, putty-like layer that seals it from the elements.

"Don't touch it!" you hear the Earthman say in your mind. "Don't touch it."

You can't remember anything. You feel tired. You have an urge to write to try to regain your memories of what happened. You also feel sleep calling you again.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Grab a pen and paper and start to write out hidden memories...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Lie back and go to sleep...

\- CLICK HERE -

You start to write, and everything becomes clear.

You remember what happened, what you saw, how you were healed, the journey you went through to get back home. You write at the top of the page, "Bernard's Memoirs", and you realise that if anyone were to read this, they would think you had gone mad...

You're not sure that you care about that. You realise that you now have an insatiable hunger to find out about everything that lives within the forest, to see what you have been missing out on all these years.

You remember that at some point you felt a very strong golden power within you that could flow through you and into the world when you weren't afraid. Whenever you were scared, you would tense up and constrict the flow. This power now seems to be gone. You just feel normal again, apart from this strong urge to go back into the forest.

There is a knock at your door. Three knocks. Then silence.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Go downstairs and answer...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Ignore it...

\- CLICK HERE -

As you sleep you remember what happened, what you saw, how you were healed, the journey you went through to get back home. You resolve to write a series of memoirs to describe what has happened, and you even begin to write inside your dream. You entitle a new page with the words "Bernard's Memoirs", and you begin to write.

You realise that if anyone were to read this, they would think you had gone mad...

You're not sure you care about that, but you realise that you now have an insatiable hunger to find out about everything that lives inside the forest, to see what you have been missing out on all these years.

You remember that at some point you felt a very strong power within you that could flow through you and into the world when you weren't afraid. Whenever you were scared, you would tense up and constrict the flow. This power now seems to be gone. You just feel normal again, apart from this strong urge to go back into the forest.

You are awoken out of your dream by a knock at your door. Three knocks. Then silence.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Go downstairs and answer...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Ignore it...

\- CLICK HERE -

You try to ignore it but the knocks are relentless. They knock again. They keep knocking. It is so loud you fear they might break your door in. You feel a surge of anger, not fear. You go downstairs and notice your leg still has a sharp pain in it.

The knocking stops. You open the door.

There is a note on the ground. It reads:

"Meet me at the forest edge at MIDNIGHT.

Come alone."

You look around. You can't see anyone close by. You don't recognise the slanted handwriting. You close your door and go back inside. Your leg starts to hurt more and you feel a very strong tiredness come over you again. You feel like you might collapse where you stand. You lie on the sofa, look at the note, and wonder who it is from. Just as you fall asleep, you hear a buzzing sound. There is a very faint glow of red coming from somewhere, but the drowsiness is so strong, you exit this world into sleep.

You have one option...

Wake up...

\- CLICK HERE -

You walk downstairs. Your leg hurts, but it can support you. You open the door, and no one is there. There is a note on the ground. It reads:

"Meet me at the forest edge at MIDNIGHT.

Come alone."

You look around. You can't see anyone close by. You don't recognise the slanted handwriting. You close your door and go back inside. Your leg starts to hurt more and you feel a very strong tiredness come over you again. You feel like you might collapse where you stand. You lie on the sofa, look at the note, and wonder who it is from...

Just as you fall asleep, you hear a buzzing sound. There is a very faint glow of red coming from somewhere, but the drowsiness is so strong, you exit this world into sleep.

You have one option...

Wake up...

\- CLICK HERE -

You wake up. It's dark. It's night. You don't know what time it is. You aren't thirsty or hungry, which is strange.

You stand up and the pain in your leg is completely gone. Then you feel something. Something is inside there, moving around. You look down and your leg is glowing red. You feel a buzzing, crawling sensation where the wound was, and something pops out of your leg. It's a glowing red insect, buzzing, hovering in front of you. It's waiting.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Let it out of your home...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Try to catch it to investigate it...

\- CLICK HERE -

You run over to the door, open it, and the insect zooms out of the door and heads straight for the forest, and disappears. You turn a light on, look at the clock.

It's nearly midnight. What do you do?

You have two options...

Go to the forest edge to meet with the mystery note-maker...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Stay home and lock the doors...

\- CLICK HERE -

You stay home and lock the doors. You turn the lights out to make it seem as if you are not home. You aren't tired now. You are fully awake, brimming with life. You sit on your sofa, and a power begins to stir inside you again. It is gentle, it is faint, but you begin to give yourself to it. The more you relax, the more it floods every cell of your body. It feels like fresh life, a new intelligence that knows what to do.

Your door knocks again. You don't know how much time has passed. You can't quite see the clock in the darkness.

The door knocks again. Harder.

"Bernard! Bernard!" You hear someone calling. It's a familiar voice. You run over, open the door, and standing there is Gerald Goodson, a neighbour, with a terribly panicked look on his face.

"Bernard I'm so sorry to disturb you. It's my wife, she's terribly sick! I mean really awful! I'm so worried, could you come and take a look at her?"

What do you do?

You have two options...

Say yes, of course...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Say no, I will not help...

\- CLICK HERE -

You try to grab the insect but it darts, it evades. It wants you to let it out, but you try to grab it again. You miss. It starts to fly into your face and poke at you to set it free. It is uncomfortable. You raise your hands to try to stop it darting at your face. It ends up driving you to the door, which you open, and the insect zooms out and heads to the forest.

It disappears into the distance.

You look at the clock. It's nearly midnight. What do you do?

You have two options...

Go to the forest's edge to meet with the mystery note-maker...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Stay home and lock the doors...

\- CLICK HERE -

You walk out of your door. Cold bites your face. You are wearing a thick coat, and you can see your breath in front of you. You look around, no one is around. You see lights from houses, darkness and trees ahead of you. Your leg is now completely healed, and your whole body feels stronger than ever. You feel something again as you move closer into the forest, a golden light, a power that rises from within you. It feels warm and strong, and the closer you get to the forest, the more it floods your body.

You see the figure of a woman standing by the forest's edge. She stands cloaked, in a hood. She sees you coming. You can't see her face.

She darts into the woods and out of sight.

You suddenly remember something else. The Earthman told you something:

"The forests are more dangerous at night. Do not go there in the dark, and never enter the forest without me. You are not strong enough yet."

As the memory fully dawns on you, you reach the edge of the forest. You still have a choice. You can turn back and stay in your house, and hope this woman doesn't come knocking on your door. Or you hear what she has to say. You can feel her close by.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Go home and lock the doors...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Stay at the forest's edge, and wait...

\- CLICK HERE -

You stay at the forest's edge. You wait to see what happens. You see movement in the trees. You wait and watch. You hear a female's voice...

"Bernard. Bernard I have been watching you. I want you to come with me. I want to show you more of the forest."

"Who are you?" you ask.

"My name is Elisa. I want to show you more, more things that the Earthman will never show you."

"More things? Like what?"

"More creatures. Creatures you will never imagine could exist. I want to show you."

The Earthman's warnings of the darkened forest ring in your heart. You know he would advise against it. Even more memories from your time with the Earthman are popping up into your head. You try to remember them all for the memoirs you plan to write.

"Come with me, Bernard, let me show you what really dwells here."

Out of the darkness you see a female's gloved hand extend. You can't see the rest of her. Just a hand that extends into the light shining from the the nearby town, and it beckons you in.

You hear another voice from behind you. It sounds panicked.

"Bernard! Bernard!" You turn around. It is Gerald Goodson, one of the locals. He is running toward you, looking terribly aghast. He says:

"Bernard! Thank goodness! All the other doctors, they are out on call. Please, my wife! She is terribly ill! I don't know who else can help...someone told me they saw you walking out here...I need your help!"

What do you to?

You have two options...

Leave the forest and try to help Gerald's wife...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Ignore Gerald and take the woman's hand...

\- CLICK HERE -

You go home and lock the doors. You turn the lights out to make it seem as if you are not home. You aren't tired now. You are fully awake, brimming with life. You sit on your sofa, and a power begins to stir inside you again. It is gentle, it is faint, but you begin to give yourself to it. The more you relax, the more it floods every cell of your body. It feels like fresh life, a new intelligence that knows what to do.

Your door knocks again. You don't know how much time has passed. You can't quite see the clock in the darkness.

The door knocks again. Harder.

"Bernard! Bernard!" You hear someone calling. It's a familiar voice. You run over, open the door, and standing there is Gerald Goodson, a neighbour, with a terribly panicked look on his face.

"Bernard I'm so sorry to disturb you, it's my wife, she's terribly sick! I mean really awful! I'm so worried, could you come and take a look at her?"

What do you do?

You have two options...

Say yes, of course...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Say no, I will not help...

\- CLICK HERE -

You agree to help. You turn away from the figure in the forest, and begin to follow Gerald.

Gerald explains his wife's symptoms. She sounds like she is close to death, and it has all come on within the evening. You explain that you are not a medical doctor, he argues that you have studied drugs, and all the other doctors are unavailable. You follow him into his home to see his wife.

You have one option...

Follow Gerald up the stairs...

\- CLICK HERE -

You agree to help. You leave your home and follow Gerald who leads the way.

Gerald explains his wife's symptoms. She sounds like she is close to death, and it has all come on within the evening. You explain that you are not a medical doctor, he argues that you have studied drugs, and all the other doctors are unavailable. You follow him into his home to see his wife.

You have one option...

Follow Gerald up the stairs...

\- CLICK HERE -

The home is stale. You can barely breathe. There is no fresh air. You don't want to be there for too long. You suggest opening the windows but Gerald says it will become too cold for his wife.

You go upstairs and see her there on the bed – weak, pale, barely breathing. You've never seen anything like it. She is deteriorating quickly.

"Have you called an ambulance?" you ask. Gerald shakes his head.

"Call one," you say.

Gerald looks worried, you see his lips start to tremble. He grabs a phone and starts dialling.

More memories come to you of first encountering that red insect in the forest. You are forced to grab a pen and paper from the bedside table and write these new memories down.

The ambulances are far away from town, maybe too far to reach her in time. The local pharmacies are closed. You aren't even sure what's wrong with her.

You have an idea. A powerful idea that will seem crazy. You know this will be your only hope. You have a choice of what to say. What do you do?

You have two options...

Tell the truth – say you are going to find a small creature known as the Healybug...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Mask the truth – say you must leave to find a remedy from the forest...

\- CLICK HERE -

You tell the truth, and say exactly what you intend to do.

You see Gerald's face turn pale and furious as he puts down the phone. His fear turns to rage.

"What?!" he shouts. "An insect! She needs medicine!"

You try to explain the severity, the strangeness of his wife's illness, but he grabs you by the coat and starts to drag you out of his house.

As you are pulled out of the room, your instinct reaches out to grab at a scrunched-up blouse at the end of the bed, and you stuff it in your coat pocket without Gerald seeing.

He forces you down the stairs and pushes you out into the night.

"Don't you ever come back!" He slams the door shut.

You run to the door and call for him to open a window to get more oxygen in to the room. He does not respond. You bang on the door but he does not answer. You realise you have to go into the forest to find the Healybug. You have a final choice that will determine your fate and that of Gerald's sick wife.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Run into the forest with speed...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Hesitate, and turn back home...

\- CLICK HERE -

You mask the truth, you say there is a remedy in the forest that could help.

Gerald's face turns to fury as he puts down the phone. His fear turns to rage.

"The forest? What good will that do? What are you after, a plant? She needs medicine!"

You try to tell him plants can have strong medicinal benefits, but he has already grabbed you by the coat in anger. He expected you to have some pills to administer. Once he realises you have none, he starts to drag you out of his house.

You try to explain the severity, the strangeness of his wife's illness, but he grabs you by the coat and starts to drag you out of the room.

As you are pulled away, your instinct reaches out to grab at a scrunched-up blouse at the end of the bed, and you stuff it in your coat pocket without Gerald seeing.

He forces you down the stairs and pushes you out into the night.

"Don't you ever come back!" He slams the door shut.

You run to the door and call for him to open a window to get more oxygen into the room. He does not respond. You bang on the door but he does not answer. You realise you have to go into the forest to find the Healybug. You have a final choice that will determine your fate and that of Gerald's sick wife.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Run into the forest with speed...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Give up, and turn back home...

\- CLICK HERE -

You run into the forest with speed, jumping over logs, ducking under branches, wild with instinct, you feel the golden power surging in you again. More memories of the Healybug flood back, you remember where you first met it, you are running faster than ever before.

You notice something to your left. Then it disappears. Something is watching you. You don't know who it is. You keep on running, deep into the forest and you take the blouse out of your pocket.

You hope that the Healybug will detect the scent of sickness in Gerald's wife's blouse. You lay it on the floor. You remain perfectly still.

"I knew you'd come back." It's the cloaked woman from before. She is standing over to your right. You can barely make her out, but she looks beautiful. She is walking towards you slowly.

"Why didn't you take my hand earlier?"

You have a bad feeling in your chest.

"Leave me alone," you say.

She walks closer.

You feel the golden power rising into your hands. If you let it go, it will shoot directly at her, and you don't know what effect it will have. If you hold back, you might avoid a fight. The power wants to surge out.

Do you trust it?

You have two options...

Yes, let it shoot towards her because you feel threatened...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

No, hold it back in case she has even stronger powers than you...

\- CLICK HERE -

You let the power out and it blasts through your hands, lighting up the forest around you, covering the dark woman with light so that she shrieks and raises her arms. Her screaming fills the forest, and she starts to change shape before you.

She changes into a bird, then an elk, then a myriad of strange creatures that you have never seen before, until she shrinks down into a rat and scurries off into the distance. It was as if she was a Shapeshifter, and the stories you have heard about Shapeshifters, were never good ones.

The power stops flowing. It seems to have a mind of its own. It fills you less strongly, but seems to be recharging.

You see a red light in the distance. The Healybug is coming. The low buzz from the insect floods the air around you, and it slowly makes its way over to the blouse on the ground. It hovers above, drops into the blouse, and you quickly cover it up. You run, and start to race back to Gerald's house.

You have one option...

Keep running...

\- CLICK HERE -

You are out of breath, but energised. You run to Gerald's door and knock. You bang on the door. He opens it with a furious, teary-eyed face and storms out of his home and grabs you again.

"She's nearly gone, Bernard! The ambulance is too far off! We don't need you and your tricks!"

He drags you to the ground, and as you fall, you fling the glowing red blouse inside his home. Gerald climbs on top of you, raises his arm to punch down, and you see the Healybug escape out of the folds of the blouse, and begin to fly upstairs.

The first punch misses as you slide out of the way. Gerald yells as he breaks his hand by punching the ground instead. Then you both hear his wife scream, and he climbs off you to run inside.

You have one option...

Follow after him...

\- CLICK HERE -

You run upstairs and his wife is sat bolt upright, unable to move.

"It's inside!" she yells through a clenched jaw. She looks paralysed. Only her eyeballs can move around in fear.

"What is?" Gerald says.

"The Healybug," you say.

Suddenly you see her relax, colour flows back into her face, and the Healybug pops out of her mouth. She looks like a new woman.

"It's healed me," she says, looking at her body in astonishment.

Gerald looks at you, with his mouth hanging open,

"Bernard, what..."

Then the Healybug flies into Gerald's, mouth, knocking him back so that he his clambering around on the walls. You see a red glow flow down his arm, into his hand, where swollen, broken knuckles begin to fix themselves.

"What the..." Gerald says.

You have one option...

See what happens to Gerald...

\- CLICK HERE -

"It's fixing my hand," Gerald says. "What's happening here?"

The red glow zooms back up his arm, out of his mouth, and the Healybug hovers for a moment.

"We have to catch it," Gerald says. "We'll be rich."

Gerald grabs a glass to try to catch it.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Grab Gerald's arms and tell him no...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Let him try to catch it...

\- CLICK HERE -

He runs forward and swipes at the Healybug to try to catch it, but the Healybug darts out of the way and quickly flies out of the room, down the stairs and out of the open front door.

You look at the two of them. Gerald quickly forgets his failed attempt of capture, and looks at his wife. They embrace. They both start to cry, and you make your way out of the home.

"Thank you Bernard, thank you!" they both cry, as you walk out of their home, and back to your own.

As you walk away, you decide you will write a book about the Healybug and every new creature you discover in the forest.

You will call it "Mythical Creatures Of The Forest".

You have one option...

Continue your adventure...

\- CLICK HERE -

You grab Gerald's arms and tell him no. He doesn't understand, he struggles, and soon the Healybug has flown off, down the stairs and out of the open front door.

You look at the two of them. Gerald quickly forgets his failed attempt of capture, and looks at his wife. They embrace. They both start to cry, and you make your way out of the home

"Thank you Bernard, thank you!" they both cry, as you walk out of their home, and back to your own.

I will write a book, you think to yourself. I will call it "Mythical Creatures Of The Forest".

You have one option...

Continue your adventure...

\- CLICK HERE -

The Original Adventure

Get the full adventures of Bernard J. Hoothfellow and others who have wandered in to the forest and still live to tell the tale...

There are more creatures to meet and lessons to learn. While you may have met the Nightbug, the Healybug, the Earthman or the Shapeshifter in this interactive adventure, you are yet to meet creatures like the Garganfan, the Dundenbeast, the Pikaloo, the Mountain Man, the Feasting Tree and the Resurrector in the original book.

Do you know who the Underwater Fisherman is? Or what Heelog does to those who he finds sick or injured in the forest? Do you know what the Treekeeper does, deep underground where so few dare to go? Do you know how to get hold of the Navigation Troll if you find yourself lost in the forest? The original book will explain everything, and take you further on Bernard's journey into the unknown.

Do not expect the same course of events as in this interactive version. What you have experienced here is your own world, your own private version of events, influenced by your own character and preferences...

There is far more to tell of what really happened to Bernard all those years ago, who he met, what he faced, and what he discovered deep within the forest...

Get the original book on Amazon...

Click your country:

\- UK -

\- US -

\- Australia -

\- Brazil -

\- Canada -

\- France -

\- Germany -

\- India -

\- Italy -

\- Japan -

\- Mexico -

\- Netherlands -

\- Spain -

You turn Gerald down. He looks panicked and hurt. He asks you why but you do not answer. You enter the forest and you take the woman's hand, and you feel yourself instantly teleported into the middle of the forest.

"What was that?" you ask.

"I just sped things up a little," she replies.

You can see her more easily now, but her face is still in the shadows. From what you can see, she is beautiful.

She knocks three times on a large tree stump. A door opens up, and you can see a staircase going down it. She invites you to walk in.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Start walking down the staircase...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Say you don't want to...

\- CLICK HERE -

You start walking down the staircase. She follows behind, and you see the light start to fade away as the door shuts behind you.

Suddenly the stairs give way and the ground becomes a slippery slope. You fall, hit your side on the hard floor and start to slide downwards. You hear the woman's laughs from behind you turn very dark and foul, as if she is no longer a woman, and you don't know where you will land.

You have one option...

See where you end up...

\- CLICK HERE -

You don't want to go down the staircase. You tell her this. She stares at you. Suddenly a cold arm reaches out from her body and snatches you to the ground. She pushes you onto the staircase, and all of a sudden the staircase turns flat and slippery. You start to slide down it, building speed, and you hear her laughing as the door shuts behind you, and the light is cut out.

You have one option...

See where you end up...

\- CLICK HERE -

As you slide down you try to summon your inner power, but you are too afraid for it to flow. You are kicking at the walls, trying to stop yourself from sliding, but it is of no use. You see a light, a room, and you are hurtling towards it. You are thrown into the room, and you hit the wall on the other side. You are on your knees, you look up, and there is a room full of caged animals.

They all look at you when you look up, but none of them make any noise. It's as if they have been drained of life. Goats, birds, deer, strange creatures in the distance that you cannot quite make out, and just to your left, a human being. A woman, naked, standing in the cage, trapped and exhausted.

You hear something coming down the slide behind you. It's a terrible squelching noise that makes your insides twist.

You have one option...

Look to see what it is...

\- CLICK HERE -

You see a huge blue slug-like creature sliding down the slope, and it appears, squeezing itself through the doorway. It has a face, a wide thin mouth and beady little eyes.

It has a dark voice.

"Hello," it says.

"What are you?" you ask. You try to back away.

"I'm a Shapeshifter. I brought you here. You would not have come with me unless I was in a more familiar form."

You know one of these cages is meant for you.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Try to fight the Shapeshifter with your bare hands...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Wait and see what happens to you...

\- CLICK HERE -

You stand up and charge at the Shapeshifter and try to punch its face. You swing but it disappears, then it reappears again behind you. It morphs into a huge gorilla, grabs you by the foot and starts to drag you towards a cage.

You are grasping at anything, trying to hang on to any piece of cage you can find, but soon you are hurled into a cage, and the door is locked behind you.

Now you don't know what to do. You have to do something.

You have one option...

Ask what is going on...

\- CLICK HERE -

The Shapeshifter slides towards you, morphs into a gorilla and grabs you by the ankle. It snatches your foot from under you and starts to drag you towards a cage. You are dragged past creatures that you have never seen before, and you are thrown into a cage. The door is locked and bolted behind you, and the Shapeshifter walks off.

You don't know what to do. You have to do something.

You have one option...

Ask what is going on...

\- CLICK HERE -

You call out to the Shapeshifter and ask what is going on. The gorilla turns and walks towards you.

"That's none of your business," it says. "But if you must know, I harvest energy. I harvest mental energy from all of these creatures, and I use it for myself. The more they suffer, the more I am fed. I pick it up in the airwaves. You wouldn't understand."

You feel a glimmer of your inner power. It wants to speak...

"I forgive you," you say out loud. It is spontaneous, as if the inner power is speaking through you.

The gorilla snorts and steps back.

"Shut up," it says. It looks confused. "You aren't supposed to say that. Don't say that."

You have one option...

Say it again...

\- CLICK HERE -

"I forgive you," you say again, this time even more strongly, like you mean it. You see the gorilla's knees buckle.

"No," it says. "Stop it."

"Everyone..." you look around. "Everyone if you can forgive this Shapeshifter, then we will all be free from him. Everyone, please, let's forgive him, to see what it feels like."

A bird starts singing.

"Shut up shut up!" the Shapeshifter yells. It covers its ears. Its gorilla form gets smaller, it gets thinner and weaker.

"I forgive you," you say again. There are more noises coming from other cages, languages you don't yet speak.

"No!" the Shapeshifter cries.

You have one option...

Get the whole room going...

\- CLICK HERE -

"We all forgive you!" you say directly to the Shapeshifter, and suddenly its thin wiry frame turns into a thin, old slug, and it keels over onto its side.

"No," it whispers.

Your cage door loosens. It falls ajar. You walk out. Other creatures start to leave their cages. You help release the birds. You all walk out together towards the entrance, where a staircase once again awaits, and an open door to freedom sits at the top of the steps.

You all walk out, into the forest, and you begin to make your way back home.

You notice that many of these creatures are beginning to morph back into human beings. You speak with them to find out what went on, and you discover what the Shapeshifter did to them, and why.

As you walk back home you decide you will write a book about this and every new creature you discover in the forest. You will call it, "Mythical Creatures Of The Forest".

You have one option...

Continue your adventure...

\- CLICK HERE -

You say no. You don't want to see any more.

"Why not?" the Earthman asks. "Is it fear?"

It is fear, but you don't want to admit it.

"It's fine to be scared," the Earthman says. "It's natural. But you must know – if you are led away from the forest by fear, then you will never know the mysteries of this place."

You can turn away and end your adventure, or you can move forward to join the Earthman.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Continue with the Earthman...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

End your adventure...

\- CLICK HERE -

You walk forward, and the Earthman turns and begins to walk away.

"Follow me," he says. You follow him and walk slightly behind.

"What's your name?" you ask.

"I don't have one," he says

You look around. You are looking for more creatures.

"Have you heard of the Nightbug?" he asks.

"Only in fairy tales," you say.

You remember the myth of the Nightbug says that you risk being eaten alive, but stand to gain powers that you never had if you survive.

"There is a nest of them just here," he says. He stops and points at the ground.

"Where?" you ask.

"Here. You have to jump up and down three times to see it."

What do you do?

You have two options...

Jump up and down three times where he points...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Refuse to take part in case it's dangerous...

\- CLICK HERE -

You turn back home, feeling heavy, hurt and disheartened. You walk in to your house, shut the door behind you and lie down face-first on the sofa. You have a moment of depression, then the door knocks.

You look at the door. It is still.

Then it knocks again.

You stand up and walk over to the door, expecting Gerald.

You open the door. No one is there.

You look down. There is a glove on the floor, a black glove with a note on it.

You pick up the glove and the note. The note reads:

"Wear this. Join me."

You stare at the glove. It seems to glint in the darkness. It wants you to wear it.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Put on the glove...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Throw the glove away...

\- CLICK HERE -

You put on the glove, and you realise instantly that it was a mistake. You are snatched away from your home, you feel as if you are being dragged through the forest by a figure of a cloaked woman. You try to fight her off but she drags you, she keeps dragging you, until you are deep within the forest, in front of a large tree that has an opening at the bottom.

You feel as if you can't move. The glove has a strange power over you. You want it off.

You reach to the glove, and a searing pain shoots through your hand as you grab hold of it and tear it off, and as the glove flies off your hand, you feel a boot land straight in your back, kicking you forwards, down into the opening of the tree, and you are soon tumbling down a slippery slope of darkness.

You have one option...

See where it takes you...

\- CLICK HERE -

As you slide down you try to stop yourself, but nothing is working. You are tight and frantic and afraid. You are kicking at the walls, trying to stop yourself from sliding, but it is of no use. You see a light, a room, and you are hurtling towards it. You are thrown into the room, and you hit the wall on the other side. You are on your knees, you look up, and there is a room full of caged animals.

They all look at you when you look up, but none of them make any noise. It's as if they have been drained of life. Goats, birds, deer, strange creatures in the distance that you cannot quite make out, and just to your left, a human being. A woman, naked, standing in the cage, trapped and exhausted.

You hear something coming down the slide behind you. It's a terrible squelching noise that makes your insides twist.

You have one option...

Look to see what it is...

\- CLICK HERE -

You throw the glove away, but it sticks to your hand. You try to rip it off. You grab it with your other hand, but it sticks to that as well.

Now the glove is stuck to both hands, and the more you struggle, the closer the opening in the glove moves towards your fingers. Each time you struggle, it moves that bit closer and each time it moves you try to struggle against it even more.

Before you can calm down enough to stop struggling, the glove is slipping on to your right hand, engulfing your fingers, and it sucks your hand in so that it becomes a perfect fit.

You feel as if a cloaked figure of a woman appears in front of you, taking you by the hand, dragging you in towards the forest.

You try to fight her off but she drags you, she keeps dragging you, until you are deep within the forest, in front of a large tree that has an opening at the bottom.

You feel as if you can't move. The glove has a strange power over you. You want it off.

You reach to the glove, and a searing pain shoots through your hand as you grab hold of it and tear it off, and as the glove flies away from your hand, you feel a boot land straight in your back, and you are tumbling down a slippery slope inside the open tree.

You have one option...

See where it takes you...

\- CLICK HERE -

You hold it back but it feels painful. She reaches out to you and takes your hand. She starts to pull you away. The pain from holding back your power becomes unbearable, as if it is killing you from the inside.

You release your resistance and a power comes shooting out of you that blinds you for a moment. It is bright, so golden, it blasts through your hands, lighting up the forest around you, covering the dark woman with light so that she shrieks and raises her arms.

Her screaming fills the forest, and she starts to change shape before you. She changes into a bird, then an elk, then a myriad of strange creatures that you have never seen before, until she shrinks down into a rat and scurries off into the distance. It was as if she was a Shapeshifter, and the stories you have heard about Shapeshifters, were never good ones.

The power stops flowing. It seems to have a mind of its own. It fills you less strongly, but seems to be recharging.

You see a red light in the distance. The Healybug is coming. The low buzz from the insect floods the air around you, and it slowly makes its way over to the blouse on the ground. It hovers above, drops into the blouse, and you quickly cover it up. You run, and start to race back to Gerald's house.

You have one option...

Keep running...

\- CLICK HERE -

You see a huge blue slug-like creature sliding down the slope, and it appears, squeezing itself through the doorway. It has a face, a wide thin mouth and beady little eyes.

It has a dark voice.

"Hello," it says.

"What are you?" you ask. You try to back away.

"I'm a Shapeshifter. I brought you here, to add to my collection."

It laughs, and its body wobbles as it laughs.

"I've seen you in the forest recently, and thought you would be a good catch. So few people enter the forest these days, it's a real shame. It would have been much easier to just meet me and take my hand in the forest, you know. This other method was rather costly for me. I'll have to save up a lot more energy before I can ever do something like that again."

It stares at you for a moment, with its dark beady eyes.

"And by the way," it adds, "even if you don't want to be here, it doesn't matter. In fact it's better if you hate it here."

You know one of these cages is meant for you.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Try to fight the Shapeshifter with your bare hands...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Wait and see what happens to you...

\- CLICK HERE -

You turn Gerald down. He looks terribly hurt.

"Please!" he says. "Please I have no one else to turn to."

You say no and close the door on him. You hear him crying at the door, then he runs off somewhere else.

You go and sit back on the sofa.

You have a moment of silence, then the door knocks.

You look at the door. It is still.

Then it knocks again.

You stand up and walk over to the door, expecting Gerald.

You open the door. No one is there.

You look down. There is a glove on the floor, a black glove with a note on it.

You pick up the glove and the note. The note reads:

"Wear this. Join me."

You stare at the glove. It seems to glint in the darkness. It wants you to wear it.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Put on the glove...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Throw the glove away...

\- CLICK HERE -

You walk forward, step on the spot and jump. You jump again. On the third jump, as you land the forest floor gives way, and you are hurtling downwards, as if you are on a slide, and as you call out to the Earthman you see him waving goodbye.

You speed downward and end up being thrown onto new ground where you roll to a stop.

It's sticky. You can't move so easily. You look around and there are small lights that begin to move on the walls.

"Who are you?" a dark voice says.

You give your name, you say the Earthman has sent you.

"The Earthman? He sent you?"

"No," you correct yourself, "he didn't send me, but he asked me if I wanted to see a Nightbug."

You can't see what you are talking to, but the lights are still moving around on the walls.

"You're lucky. This is normally where my food lands," the voice says. "Since you know the Earthman, I can not eat you. But I can not free you either. You can only free yourself."

"How?" you ask.

"By finding your inner power."

You have one option...

See if you can find it...

\- CLICK HERE -

After saying you can help, the Nightbug steps forward. It is huge, towering, a face with a thousand eyes – all bright yellow and gleaming, it has large moving mandibles at the front, and it looks around at the walls.

"My babies. They are trapped in the walls. There was a collapse from above. If I try to get them out, I might bury myself along with them."

You feel a power pulsating even more strongly in your hands, and your hands raise themselves up to pluck each light from the wall. Every time you pluck, a baby Nightbug is released, and begins to buzz gently around the underground cave.

The Nightbug looks alert. "Don't eat him," it says to them. "Leave him alone."

Some of the Nightbugs buzz around you, as if they are smelling you.

"He saved you, don't eat him," the Nightbug says.

If you stop you might get eaten.

You have one option...

Continue saving Nightbugs...

\- CLICK HERE -

You say no. You don't want to risk it, so you turn and start to leave.

You start to walk away, and you feel like the whole forest is trying to pull you back to the Earthman, as if there is something you need to see.

You ignore the pull and keep walking. You turn back and can't see the Earthman. You hear something in the bushes beside you rustling. You can't see what it is. You hear something squeal like a pig, and suddenly a huge boar-like creature is sprinting out from the bushes, and it drives its single tusk into your leg.

You feel the tusk go straight through your leg, and you are lifted high up off the ground while you feel some kind of poison being injected through the tusk into your thigh. You feel your leg go numb, and then the numbness starts to creep into your whole body.

"Piggen!" the Earthman shouts. "Piggen no!"

"Piggen will destroy any human in the forest!" the boar cries, carrying you on its tusk. And gradually, the world fades away into nothing...

You have one option...

See if it reappears...

\- CLICK HERE -

You stay home and lock the doors. You turn the lights out to make it seem as if you are not home. You aren't tired now. You are fully awake, brimming with life. You sit on your sofa, and a power begins to stir inside you again. It is gentle, it is faint, but you begin to give yourself to it. The more you relax, the more it floods every cell of your body. It feels like fresh life, a new intelligence that knows what to do.

Your door knocks again. You don't know how much time has passed. You can't quite see the clock in the darkness.

The door knocks again. Harder.

"Bernard! Bernard!" You hear someone calling. It's a familiar voice. You run over, open the door, and standing there is Gerald Goodson, a neighbour, with a terribly panicked look on his face.

"Bernard I'm so sorry to disturb you. It's my wife, she's terribly sick! I mean really awful! I'm so worried, could you come and take a look at her?"

What do you do?

You have two options...

Say yes, of course...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Say no, I will not help...

\- CLICK HERE -

You agree to help. You leave your home and follow Gerald who leads the way.

Gerald explains his wife's symptoms. She sounds like she is close to death, and it has all come on within the evening. You explain that you are not a medical doctor, he argues that you have studied drugs, and all the other doctors are unavailable. You follow him into his home to see his wife.

You have one option...

Follow Gerald up the stairs...

\- CLICK HERE -

The home is stale. You can barely breathe. There is no fresh air. You don't want to be there for too long. You suggest opening the windows but Gerald says it will become too cold for his wife.

You go upstairs and see her there on the bed – weak, pale, barely breathing. You've never seen anything like it. She is deteriorating quickly.

"Have you called an ambulance?" you ask. Gerald shakes his head.

"Call one," you say.

Gerald looks worried, you see his lips start to tremble. He grabs a phone and starts dialling.

More memories come to you of first encountering that red insect in the forest. You are forced to grab a pen and paper from the bedside table and write these new memories down.

The ambulances are far away from town, maybe too far to reach her in time. The local pharmacies are closed. You aren't even sure what's wrong with her.

You have an idea. A powerful idea that will seem crazy. You know this will be your only hope. You have a choice of what to say. What do you do?

You have two options...

Tell the truth – say you are going to find a small creature known as the Healybug...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Mask the truth – say you must leave to find a remedy from the forest...

\- CLICK HERE -

You tell the truth, and say exactly what you intend to do.

You see Gerald's face turn pale and furious as he puts down the phone. His fear turns to rage.

"What?!" he shouts. "An insect! She needs medicine!"

You try to explain the severity, the strangeness of his wife's illness, but he grabs you by the coat and starts to drag you out of his house.

As you are pulled out of the room, your instinct reaches out to grab at a scrunched-up blouse at the end of the bed, and you stuff it in your coat pocket without Gerald seeing.

He forces you down the stairs and pushes you out into the night.

"Don't you ever come back!" He slams the door shut.

You run to the door and call for him to open a window to get more oxygen in the room. He does not respond. You bang on the door but he does not answer. You realise you have to go into the forest to find the Healybug. You have a final choice that will determine your fate and that of Gerald's sick wife.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Run into the forest with speed...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Hesitate, and turn back home...

\- CLICK HERE -

You mask the truth, you say there is a remedy in the forest that could help.

Gerald's face turns to fury as he puts down the phone. His fear has turned to rage.

"The forest? What good will that do? What are you after, a plant? She needs medicine!"

You try to tell him plants can have strong medicinal benefits, but he has already grabbed you by the coat in anger. He expected you to have some pills to administer. Once he realises you have none, he starts to drag you out of his house.

You try to explain the severity, the strangeness of his wife's illness, but he grabs you by the coat and starts to drag you out of the room.

As you are pulled away from the bed, your instinct reaches out to grab at a scrunched-up blouse at the end of the bed, and you stuff it in your coat pocket without Gerald seeing.

He forces you down the stairs and pushes you out into the night.

"Don't you ever come back!" He slams the door shut.

You run to the door and call for him to open a window to get more oxygen in the room. He does not respond. You bang on the door but he does not answer. You realise you have to go into the forest to find the Healybug. You have a final choice that will determine your fate and that of Gerald's sick wife.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Run into the forest with speed...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Give up, and turn back home...

\- CLICK HERE -

You run into the forest with speed, jumping over logs, ducking under branches, wild with instinct, you feel the golden power surging in you again. More memories of the Healybug flood back, you remember where you first met it, you are running faster than ever before.

You notice something to your left. Then it disappears. Something is watching you. You don't know who it is. You keep on running, deep into the forest and you take the blouse out of your pocket.

You hope that the Healybug will detect the scent of sickness of Gerald's wife's blouse. You lay it on the floor. You remain perfectly still.

"I knew you'd come to meet me eventually. Did you get my note?" You hear a woman's voice. You look up and see a hooded figure, the tall, slender figure of a woman with a smooth but dark voice. She is your mystery note-writer.

"I haven't come to meet you," you say. "I don't even know you. I'm busy."

You have a bad feeling in your chest as she walks towards you.

"Leave me alone," you say. You can still barely see her face.

She walks closer.

You feel the golden power rising into your hands. If you let it go, it will shoot directly at her, and you don't know what effect it will have. If you hold back, you might avoid a fight. The power wants to surge out.

Do you trust it?

You have two options...

Yes, let it shoot towards her because you feel threatened...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

No, hold it back in case she has even stronger powers than you...

\- CLICK HERE -

You walk out of your door. Cold bites your face. You are wearing a thick coat, and you can see your breath in front of you. You look around, no one is around. You see lights from houses, darkness and trees ahead of you. Your leg is now completely healed, and your whole body feels stronger than ever. You feel something again as you move closer into the forest, a golden light, a power that rises from within you. It feels warm and strong, and the closer you get to the forest, the more it floods your body.

You see the figure of a woman standing by the forest's edge. She stands cloaked, in a hood. She sees you coming. You can't see her face.

She darts into the woods and out of sight.

You suddenly remember something else. The Earthman told you something:

"The forests are more dangerous at night. Do not go there in the dark, and never enter the forest without me. You are not strong enough yet."

As the memory fully dawns on you, you reach the edge of the forest. You still have a choice. You can turn back and stay in your house, and hope this woman doesn't come knocking on your door. Or you hear what she has to say. You can feel her close by.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Go home and lock the doors...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Stay at the forest's edge, and wait...

\- CLICK HERE -

You go home and lock the doors. You turn the lights out to make it seem as if you are not home. You aren't tired now. You are fully awake, brimming with life. You sit on your sofa, and a power begins to stir inside you again. It is gentle, it is faint, but you begin to give yourself to it. The more you relax, the more it floods every cell of your body. It feels like fresh life, a new intelligence that knows what to do.

Your door knocks again. You don't know how much time has passed. You can't quite see the clock in the darkness.

The door knocks again. Harder.

"Bernard! Bernard!" You hear someone calling. It's a familiar voice. You run over, open the door, and standing there is Gerald Goodson, a neighbour, with a terribly panicked look on his face.

"Bernard I'm so sorry to disturb you, it's my wife, she's terribly sick! I mean really awful! I'm so worried, could you come and take a look at her?"

What do you do?

You have two options...

Say yes, of course...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Say no, I will not help...

\- CLICK HERE -

You agree to help. You leave your home and follow Gerald who leads the way.

Gerald explains his wife's symptoms. She sounds like she is close to death, and it has all come on within the evening. You explain that you are not a medical doctor, he argues that you have studied drugs, and all the other doctors are unavailable. You follow him into his home to see his wife.

You have one option...

Follow Gerald up the stairs...

\- CLICK HERE -

The home is stale. You can barely breathe. There is no fresh air. You don't want to be there for too long. You suggest opening the windows but Gerald says it will become too cold for his wife.

You go upstairs and see her there on the bed – weak, pale, barely breathing. You've never seen anything like it. She is deteriorating quickly.

"Have you called an ambulance?" you ask. Gerald shakes his head.

"Call one," you say.

Gerald looks worried, you see his lips start to tremble. He grabs a phone and starts dialling.

More memories come to you of first encountering that red insect in the forest. You are forced to grab a pen and paper from the bedside table and write these new memories down.

The ambulances are far away from town, maybe too far to reach her in time. The local pharmacies are closed. You aren't even sure what's wrong with her.

You have an idea. A powerful idea that will seem crazy. You know this will be your only hope. You have a choice of what to say. What do you do?

You have two options...

Tell the truth – say you are going to find a small creature known as the Healybug...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Mask the truth – say you must leave to find a remedy from the forest...

\- CLICK HERE -

You tell the truth, and say exactly what you intend to do.

You see Gerald's face turn pale and furious as he puts down the phone. His fear turns to rage.

"What?!" he shouts. "An insect! She needs medicine!"

You try to explain the severity, the strangeness of his wife's illness, but he grabs you by the coat and starts to drag you out of his house.

As you are pulled out of the room, your instinct reaches out to grab at a scrunched-up blouse at the end of the bed, and you stuff it in your coat pocket without Gerald seeing.

He forces you down the stairs and pushes you out into the night.

"Don't you ever come back!" He slams the door shut.

You run to the door and call for him to open a window to get more oxygen into the room. He does not respond. You bang on the door but he does not answer. You realise you have to go into the forest to find the Healybug. You have a final choice that will determine your fate and that of Gerald's sick wife.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Run into the forest with speed...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Hesitate, and turn back home...

\- CLICK HERE -

You mask the truth, you say there is a remedy in the forest that could help.

Gerald's face turns to fury as he puts down the phone. His fear has turned to rage.

"The forest? What good will that do? What are you after, a plant? She needs medicine!"

You try to tell him plants can have strong medicinal benefits, but he has already grabbed you by the coat in anger. He expected you to have some pills to administer. Once he realises you have none, he starts to drag you out of his house.

You try to explain the severity, the strangeness of his wife's illness, but he grabs you by the coat and starts to drag you out of the room.

As you are pulled away, your instinct reaches out to grab at a scrunched-up blouse at the end of the bed, and you stuff it in your coat pocket without Gerald seeing.

He forces you down the stairs and pushes you out into the night.

"Don't you ever come back!" He slams the door shut.

You run to the door and call for him to open a window to get more oxygen into the room. He does not respond. You bang on the door but he does not answer. You realise you have to go into the forest to find the Healybug. You have a final choice that will determine your fate and that of Gerald's sick wife.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Run into the forest with speed...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Give up, and turn back home...

\- CLICK HERE -

You run into the forest with speed, jumping over logs, ducking under branches, wild with instinct, you feel the golden power surging in you again. More memories of the Healybug flood back, you remember where you first met it, you are running faster than ever before.

You notice something to your left. Then it disappears. Something is watching you. You don't know who it is. You keep on running, deep into the forest and you take the blouse out of your pocket.

You hope that the Healybug will detect the scent of sickness of Gerald's wife's blouse. You lay it on the floor. You remain perfectly still.

"I knew you'd come back." It's the cloaked woman from before. She is standing over to your right. You can barely make her out, but she looks beautiful. She is walking towards you slowly.

"Why didn't you come and meet with me earlier?"

You have a bad feeling in your chest.

"Leave me alone," you say.

She walks closer.

You feel the golden power rising into your hands. If you let it go, it will shoot directly at her, and you don't know what effect it will have. If you hold back, you might avoid a fight. The power wants to surge out.

Do you trust it?

You have two options...

Yes, let it shoot towards her because you feel threatened...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

No, hold it back in case she has even stronger powers than you...

\- CLICK HERE -

The Full Adventure

Get the full adventures of Bernard J. Hoothfellow and others who have wandered in to the forest and still live to tell the tale...

There are more creatures to meet and lessons to learn. While you may have met the Nightbug, the Healybug, the Earthman or the Shapeshifter in this interactive adventure, you are yet to meet creatures like the Garganfan, the Dundenbeast, the Pikaloo, the Mountain Man, the Feasting Tree and the Resurrector in the original book.

Do you know who the Underwater Fisherman is, or what Heelog does to those who he finds sick or injured in the forest? Do you know what the Treekeeper does, deep underground where so few dare to go? Do you know how to get hold of the Navigation Troll if you find yourself lost in the forest? The original book will explain everything, and take you further on Bernard's journey into the unknown.

Do not expect the same course of events as in this interactive version. What you have experienced here is your own world, your own private version of events, influenced by your own character and preferences...

There is far more to tell of what really happened to Bernard all those years ago, who he met, what he faced, and what he discovered deep within the forest...

Get the full book on Amazon...

Click your country:

\- UK -

\- US -

\- Australia -

\- Brazil -

\- Canada -

\- France -

\- Germany -

\- India -

\- Italy -

\- Japan -

\- Mexico -

\- Netherlands -

\- Spain -

Or get the ePub/PDF...

\- Click here -

Continue Your Adventure...

You have started writing your book, "Mythical Creatures Of The Forest", a book that you hope will serve as a record for anyone else looking to find out what really dwells in the forest beyond your little town. But you have only just scratched the surface. You know there is so much more out there that you are yet to discover, and it will take you many years to finish your book.

You have spent months writing, going back into the forest and meeting with the Earthman to discover what else is out there. You are no longer working at your job, because you have found another way to support yourself. Your social life has become non-existent, because you are becoming completely consumed by the wonders of the forest.

You are at home, writing about a recent encounter with a particularly strange creature who was threatening to steal all of your money. There is a knock at your door. It is your friend, Peter Wiswick.

"Bernard. Bernard?" you hear him call.

He is knocking at your door. You go and open it.

"Blimey, Bernard, is that you?" Peter says. "You look...you look different. Are you alright? We've been worried, haven't seen or heard from you in a while. Still...still going into the forest, are you?"

You nod. You feel you are in a different world to him now. You know that your appearance has changed. Your body is bigger, stronger, more powerful than before.

"Well, look, I just came round to see if everything is alright. Do you...do you need any company?"

You are aware that everyone in the area is starting to think you are going mad. This might be your chance to convince someone that what you are witnessing in the forest is actually real.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Say yes, come in...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Say no, I'd rather be left alone...

\- CLICK HERE -

You say yes, and Peter smiles and walks in.

You have nothing to talk about. You say you are going to go into the forest.

He looks uncomfortable. He doesn't want to go.

You get ready to leave, and he hesitantly follow after you as you walk out the door.

He follows behind as you lead the way up to the forest. You reach the edge, and you feel a familiar pull that now guides you to where the Earthman is.

"Ready?" you ask.

Peter says he feels uncomfortable. He isn't sure why. You start to walk in, and he stays at the edge of the forest, not wanting to follow after you. You look behind you, and see him, unable to step over the threshold and return back into nature.

You have two options...

Continue on by yourself...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Call back to Peter to ask what's wrong...

\- CLICK HERE -

You call back to him to ask him what's the matter.

He says he doesn't know. You can see he feels afraid, but he doesn't want to say.

You offer him one more chance to come with you, but you admit that you can't guarantee his safety.

He politely declines, and he begins to back away.

You have one option...

Continue by yourself...

\- CLICK HERE -

You say no. He looks disappointed, looks at the floor and turns away to leave. You feel sad that a friendship is ending, but you also feel he would not be able to enter the forest even if he tried. He does not seem ready.

You leave for the forest, and you notice that from a distance, Peter is following you. You can sense it. He thinks he is undetected. You reach the edge of the forest, and feel the familiar pull that now guides you to wherever the Earthman is, and you follow the pull and start to walk through the forest.

After a while you turn around, and you see Peter standing at the threshold, looking at you, unable to enter.

"Are you coming?" you call to him.

He shakes his head, unable to take the step into the unknown. You continue walking, to find the Earthman.

You have one option...

Continue by yourself...

\- CLICK HERE -

You continue walking. You are starting to become more and more familiar with the living forest. It speaks to you, it seems to feed you with something, something that moves in through your skin and up through your feet.

You look around you and sense an unkind presence. Someone is lurking around here, with bad intentions.

You kneel down and peer through the trees. In the distance you see two armed figures holding a large pink net. They are creeping up on something, ready to catch it.

You move silently towards them, and you see a small creature sitting under a tree, sleeping. It looks like a large frog, oblivious to its surroundings. It has a pink forehead.

You have never seen anyone in the forest before. You realise, as you look closer, that these two hunters are not human. Their masked faces are strangely shaped. They are ready to capture this frog in their net.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Chase them down and fight them off...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Wait and watch to see what happens...

\- CLICK HERE -

You start to move towards them.

"Stop!" you yell.

They dart their eyes towards you, the frog wakes up, looks at them and starts to scream. It jumps in the air and lands on one of their faces, and it starts to suffocate one of them by clinging to its face.

The other flees, and you pursue. This one is so fast that it disappears from your sight completely. You turn around and see the other collapse with the giant frog clinging to its face, and when it is pacified, the frog releases its grip. The frog bows to you, and it hops off into the bushes.

The hunter is stirring, barely breathing. It wears a helmet, body armour, a mask and dark glasses, but the skin is a light green.

"What are you?" you ask it.

"I needed that frog," it says.

"Why?" you ask.

"None of your business. Do you know what those frogs do? That's a Wishing Frog. If you tie it up, trap it, it will do anything you want. It will grant you unlimited wishes. It's one of the last of its kind, and now it's gone. We might never find it again."

You have a choice.

Part of you wants to now tie up this hunter, so that it knows exactly how it feels to be trapped.

Or you can let it regain its strength, and watch it leave.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Tie it up...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Let it go...

\- CLICK HERE -

You take a few steps back, and you watch as it regains its strength. It stands, looks at the sky and makes a terribly loud and strange clicking call from the back of its throat. Then it looks at you.

"More will be here soon," it says.

"What are you?" you ask again.

"I'm an Elnok. We are swamp dwellers, and we have travelled out to this area to find one of the last Wishing Frogs in existence."

You hear rustling in the trees. More Elnoks. Poison dart guns are being aimed at you.

You can feel them. They are ready to fire. You feel your same golden power begin to form inside your body, and you feel you can move with great speed.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Stand and fight...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Run away...

\- CLICK HERE -

You pick up the hunter and tie it between two trees using some Herven Vines that you find nearby. Herven Vines will not break unless under extreme pressure.

You let the hunter hang in between trees, and it starts to cry out.

It makes a very strange noise with the back of its throat, it is loud, noisy, and soon you sense more of them, gathering from far away.

It struggles in the vines and looks at you.

"More will be here soon," it says.

"What are you?" you ask again.

"I'm an Elnok. We are swamp dwellers, and we have travelled out to this area to find one of the last Wishing Frogs in existence."

You hear rustling in the trees. More Elnoks. Poison dart guns are being aimed at you.

You can feel them. They are ready to fire. You feel your same golden power begin to form inside your body, and you feel you can move with great speed.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Stand and fight...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Run away...

\- CLICK HERE -

You feel like fighting. You run forward and hear shots begin to be fired. You are instinctively moving, managing to avoid poison darts that are whizzing past your head and body, and you start to run up a tree.

You spring from the tree, land and roll at the feet of a reloading Elnok and you grab it from behind by the legs and neck, and hold it up as a shield. Your new shield gets filled with darts before the shots stop, when you realise the poison does not affect Elnoks. It is squirming in your hands, but you have increased in strength so much recently that it doesn't matter.

You see more Elnoks move out into your sight, out of cover of the trees.

They put up their hands and lay down their weapons.

They think you might kill their family member who you are holding in your hands. You have no such intention, but you do not correct them.

"Leave the Wishing Frog alone!" you call out.

You hear something. Giant wings flapping overhead. The Elnoks have not noticed. You feel an immediate urge to run. You put the Elnok down and flee, and you turn to see giant birds of prey landing on the Elnoks, scooping them up in their talons and tearing them apart. You want to run, so you keep running, far off into the distance.

You turn back again to look at what's happening. Then you run into something immovable.

You have one option...

See what it is...

\- CLICK HERE -

You run. You hear zips and feel shots of air whizzing past your face and body as darts are fired at you. You duck, change direction, feel the trees and use them as barriers. You feel something fly into your neck. You snatch it out, but something leaks into your body and weakens your legs. You start to stumble. You hide behind another tree, but you hear them coming after you.

There are more shots of poison darts zipping past, more strange, loud, shrieking calls coming from the Elnoks.

And then you hear something which seems to mask everything else.

It is the sound of huge wings, pushing tons of air down into the forest. You feel the air pressing down onto your body, and you see it swaying the branches of the trees.

There is more than one set of wings. You look up and see a figure of a giant bird of prey soaring over the tees, and then swooping down to land on the Elnoks.

You hear the Elnoks screaming. They are no longer focused on you. You look behind you, around the safety of the tree, to see these giant birds swooping down and grabbing at the Elnoks with their talons, pulling their bodies apart, slashing at them and chasing them down as they try to run away. You feel an urge to run again. The weakness in your leg is subsiding. You run, you run, you run, and as you turn to look back again, you run into something hard.

You have one option...

See what it is...

\- CLICK HERE -

You run right into him, hitting your face on his chest. You are knocked back to the ground.

The Earthman is standing over you.

"What happened?" he asks.

"You already know, I think," you reply.

He smiles.

"What are those birds?" you ask.

"We call them Guardians. They protect the powerful and innocent. It seems that you were a Guardian yourself."

You stand up.

"Come on, let me show you something," he says.

You have one option...

Follow the Earthman deeper into the forest...

\- CLICK HERE -

You wait and watch. As they approach closer to the frog, with their net being held in the air above them, suddenly the frog opens one eye and looks at them. Both its eyes open wide, bulging, and it screams a high-pitched scream that makes these hunters grab at their ears under their helmets, and the frog leaps into the air and clings to one of their faces.

It seems to be suffocating one of them, and the hunter is dropped to his knees.

The other one regains hold of their net, but doesn't want to throw it over both the frog and his own ally. The standing hunter hesitates, and you feel yourself moved to intervene. You start walking, then running quickly through the forest towards the disturbance, and the the hunter sees you. It quickly flees and disappears, leaving the other to collapse to the ground as the frog jumps off. The frog sees you intervening, bows at you, and then hops into the undergrowth.

You approach the fallen hunter.

It is lying on its side, stirring, barely breathing.

It wears a helmet, body armour, a mask and dark glasses, but the skin is a light green.

"What are you?" you ask it.

"I needed that frog," it says.

"Why?" you ask.

"None of your business. Do you know what those frogs do? That's a Wishing Frog. If you tie it up, trap it, it will do anything you want. It will grant you unlimited wishes. It's one of the last of its kind, and now it's gone. We might never find it again."

You have a choice.

Part of you wants to now tie up this hunter, so that it knows exactly how it feels to be trapped.

Or you can let it regain its strength, and watch it leave.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Tie it up...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Let it go...

\- CLICK HERE -

You pick up the hunter and tie it between two trees using some Herven Vines that you find nearby. Herven Vines will not break unless under extreme pressure.

You let the hunter hang in between trees, and it starts to cry out.

It makes a very strange noise with the back of its throat, it is loud, noisy, and soon you sense more of them, gathering from far away.

"More will be here soon," it says.

"What are you?" you ask again.

"I'm an Elnok. We are swamp dwellers, and we have travelled out to this area to find one of the last Wishing Frogs in existence."

You hear rustling in the trees. More Elnoks. Poison dart guns are being aimed at you.

You can feel them. They are ready to fire. You feel your same golden power begin to form inside your body, and you feel you can move with great speed.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Stand and fight...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Run away...

\- CLICK HERE -

You feel like fighting. You run forward and hear shots begin to be fired. You are instinctively moving, managing to avoid poison darts that are whizzing past your head and body, and you start to run up a tree.

You spring from the tree, land and roll at the feet of a reloading Elnok and you grab it from behind by the legs and neck, and hold it up as a shield. Your new shield gets filled with darts before the shots stop, when you realise the poison does not affect Elnoks. It is squirming in your hands, but you have increased in strength so much recently that it doesn't matter.

You see more Elnoks move out into your sight, out of cover of the trees.

They put up their hands and lay down their weapons.

They think you might kill their family member who you are holding in your hands. You have no such intention, but you do not correct them.

"Leave the Wishing Frog alone!" you call out.

You hear something. Giant wings flapping overhead. The Elnoks have not noticed. You feel an immediate urge to run. You put the Elnok down and flee, and you turn to see giant birds of prey landing on the Elnoks, scooping them up in their talons and tearing them apart. You want to run, so you keep running, far off into the distance.

You turn back again to look at what's happening. Then you run into something immovable.

You have one option...

See what it is...

\- CLICK HERE -

You take a few steps back, and you watch as it regains its strength. It stands, looks at the sky and makes a screaming and strange clicking call from the back of its throat. Then it looks at you.

"More will be here soon," it says.

"What are you?" you ask again.

"I'm an Elnok. We are swamp dwellers, and we have travelled out to this area to find one of the last Wishing Frogs in existence."

You hear rustling in the trees. More Elnoks. Poison dart guns are being aimed at you.

You can feel them. They are ready to fire. You feel your same golden power begin to form inside your body, and you feel you can move with great speed.

What do you do?

You have two options...

Stand and fight...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Run away...

\- CLICK HERE -

You run. You hear zips and feel shots of air whizzing past your face and body as darts are fired at you. You duck, change direction, feel the trees and use them as barriers. You feel something fly into your neck. You snatch it out, but something leaks into your body and weakens your legs. You start to stumble. You hide behind another tree, but you hear them coming after you.

There are more shots of poison darts zipping past, more strange, loud, shrieking calls coming from the Elnoks.

And then you hear something which seems to mask everything else.

It is the sound of huge wings, pushing tons of air down into the forest. You feel the air pressing down onto your body, and you see it swaying the branches of the trees.

There is more than one set of wings. You look up and see a figure of a giant bird of prey soaring over the trees, and then swooping down to land on the Elnoks.

You hear the Elnoks screaming. They are no longer focused on you. You look behind you, around the safety of the tree, to see these giant birds swooping down and grabbing at the Elnoks with their talons, pulling their bodies apart, slashing at them and chasing them down as they try to run away. You feel an urge to run again. The weakness in your leg is subsiding. You run, you run, you run, and as you turn to look back again, you run into something hard.

You have one option...

See what it is...

\- CLICK HERE -

You run right into him, hitting your face on his chest. You are knocked back to the ground.

The Earthman is standing over you.

"What happened?" he asks.

"You already know, I think," you reply.

He smiles.

"What are those birds?" you ask.

"We call them Guardians. They protect the powerful and innocent. It seems that they were looking out for you. Or possibly the frog."

You stand up.

"Come on, let me show you something," he says.

You have one option...

Follow the Earthman deeper into the forest...

\- CLICK HERE -

"Where are we going?" you ask.

"We're going to address this imbalance with the Elnoks. Since hearing there were more Wishing Frogs in existence, they have been relentlessly trying to catch one, and it is not ending well for them."

"What do you want to do?" you ask.

"I feel we should visit them, and expose them to the riches that lay stored beneath their feet. They have grand reserves of wealth and resources beneath them, more than they could ever need, but they stand above it all, living in poverty, always wanting for things, because they fear to go deeper."

"What kind of wealth?"

"I'll show you. Their home is many many miles from here. We can travel using the Navigation Troll, or we can each ride on a Nobellian if they are close by. Both come at a price. Which do you choose?"

You have two options...

Use the Navigation Troll's services...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Try to summon a Nobellian...

\- CLICK HERE -

"What's a Nobellian?" you ask.

"You'll see. It's a bit like a horse, but with wings."

The Earthman makes the strangest noise you have ever heard. It is a wailing, waning noise that comes from the back of his throat, and he stares at the sky as he does it. Then he does it again. He waits.

From above you see a large, dark, horse-like creature but bigger, with a larger snout than a horse, fly down with wide, graceful wings and land right in front of the Earthman.

"Hello," the Earthman says, stroking it's head. The Nobellian leans into him.

"Your turn," he says.

You try to do what he did, and to your surprise, you can make a similar noise. You look at the sky and do the same thing, and soon a silvery grey Nobellian also flies down and lands right in front of you. You stroke its head.

"Hello," you say.

"Be fully calm. Only when it kneels, can you get on," the Earthman says.

You have one option...

See if your Nobellian kneels...

\- CLICK HERE -

The Earthman's Nobellian kneels down in front to him. He climbs on. Yours doesn't.

"What's happening?" you ask.

"Don't question it," the Earthman says. "You have to be patient. If you need it to kneel down too badly, it can sense it, and it will be put off. Neediness is often a repellent."

You relax, and you appreciate the Nobellian, its size, its strength, its gracefulness, its breathing.

It kneels.

You have one option...

Climb on...

\- CLICK HERE -

A strange thing happens. Your mind fuses with the Nobellian's. Suddenly you are in control of it. You can connect to its legs, its neck, its wings. You can control everything, easily.

"Follow me," the Earthman says. His Nobellian starts to run forward through the forest. You start to run too, the speed is incredible, you are clinging tightly against the wind pushing back on your face, and soon both you and the Earthman are both taking off, and you soar up into the sky.

You have one option...

Follow the Earthman to the Elnok swamp...

\- CLICK HERE -

You can see how far the forest goes on for. From this height it looks endless. Behind you, you can see your small town, and larger towns beyond it. You never knew the forest was so vast in comparison.

The Nobellian mostly glides. You don't need to flap the wings too much, it uses the air like a wave, and you are clinging on tightly to where its huge neck meets its body.

The journey is smooth, and you see the Earthman ahead begin to descend into a thickly wooded area, and as you follow behind him you swoop down and land with ease.

You climb off the Nobellian, and the first thing you notice is the terrible smell from the nearby swamp. It makes you want to gag.

The Earthman looks like he might have a plan.

You have one option...

Hear his plan...

\- CLICK HERE -

"We have two options for guiding the Elnoks to their hidden riches," the Earthman says. "Stealth and trickery or blunt and obvious force. This is an important part of your learning to deal with difficult situations. Which do you feel to go with?"

You have two options...

Use stealth and trickery...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Use blunt and obvious force...

\- CLICK HERE -

You opt for blunt force.

"Then you must lead the way," the Earthman says. "I will show you what to do, then you have to go through with it."

"Why only me?" you ask.

"Because it is senseless to risk both of us for one task. I can not help you when it comes to this method. You can still change your mind. We can use stealth, and work together, or you can use blunt force, and go it alone. Do you want to change your mind?"

You have two options...

Yes, go with stealth...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

No, stick with blunt force...

\- CLICK HERE -

You wish to stick with blunt force.

The Earthman leads you quietly through the trees, until you can see the swamp in the distance. The smell is now even stronger, as if it is burning the inside of your nose.

Your eyes are watering.

"Now you know why they wear masks," the Earthman says. "We can not stay here for long. Do you see that tunnel?"

He points to a tunnel opening in the ground, behind a particularly large Elnok. It is sitting with others around a small swampy pond, with a larger green swamp further behind them.

"That tunnel leads to riches. But they fear the darkness, the unknown, and the stories they used to hear about the tunnels...

"You have to catch them by surprise, run through and drag the large one into the tunnel, through the darkness and into their wealth. I will be on the other side, ready to help you escape."

"Ok," you say. "Why the big one?"

"Without that one, they are lost. They all follow that leader. They will hopefully follow him through the darkness. Once the leader discovers paradise, they all will."

"Ok," you say. You look at them all around the small swamp, clicking and communicating. They are armed, armoured, with those dart rifles hanging on their backs.

"Speed is key," the Earthman says. "Let yourself be rapid."

You feel a surge of energy, a golden glowing within.

You have one option...

Charge through and take the Elnoks by surprise...

\- CLICK HERE -

You charge at full speed, and as you jump and leap over raised tree roots and fallen branches, you are in the lair of the Elnoks. They stand to their feet, scream and raise their rifles. The large one is just about to point his rifle at you when you snatch him from the ground and carry him down into the tunnel.

He is fighting you, squirming, but you hold him very tightly.

You run through darkness, through damp stone and murkiness, and you see a light that you emerge into. You are surrounded by grassy fields, fruit trees, a waterfall, warm sunshine and a feeling of bliss floods through your body. You let the Elnok go, and it stands there, aggravated and without its weapon. It looks around. You start to back away. It calls the others, and you move further across this newfound haven, wondering where all the light is coming from. There is a sky, a bright sky, but you are sure you have gone further underground.

Your mind can make no sense of it, but you see the Earthman in the distance, up on a rocky ledge, beckoning you to come closer.

You run, climb the wall below him and stand next to him.

You have one option...

Watch to see if the other Elnoks emerge into their new home...

\- CLICK HERE -

You turn around and see the large Elnok let out a sound quite unlike anything you have ever heard. It is a beautiful sound, like a bird call, a joyous sound that makes you feel as if everything has been brought into balance.

You feel the breeze and you can sense the abundance in the air.

You look and see more of the Elnoks are emerging out of the tunnel, joining their leader, and as they walk into their new paradise they instinctively drop their weapons, remove their masks, start to breathe in the fresh air, and they dance.

They dance together, they jump, they all start to sing in unison. You are glad to have taken that risk with the leader.

"We should leave them to it," the Earthman says. "We are no longer needed."

You watch a moment longer, then feel it is time to leave.

You have one option...

Turn and follow the Earthman through another tunnel of darkness...

\- CLICK HERE -

You turn and follow the Earthman through another tunnel of darkness. He finds a trap door above you.

"This would have been the entrance for the stealth route," he says, and he opens the door for you to climb out.

You climb out of the tunnel, back into the forest, and you notice sitting in front of you, as if it is waiting, is a Wishing Frog.

It is staring at you. It is about to speak.

You have one option...

Hear what it has to say...

\- CLICK HERE -

"I want to say thank you," the Wishing Frog says. It has a croaky but effortless voice. It looks slightly slimy. The Earthman pulls himself up and closes the trap door, then covers it with leaves.

"I know what you did," it croaks. "You were the one that stepped in to save me, and you just showed the Elnoks their true home. Now I am safe. I want to repay you. How can I repay you?"

It thinks to itself.

"I can grant you a wish. I can accelerate your awakening here in the forest, so that you pick up more powers and strength in a shorter time, and you become your own version of an Earthman even faster."

What do you say?

You have two options...

Yes, accelerate my awakening...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

No thanks, leave me alone...

\- CLICK HERE -

You opt for stealth.

"This is wise, I feel," the Earthman says. "We must lure them into their own riches, kindly. Let's go."

You follow the Earthman, silently, and you begin to hear noise. The Elnoks communicate with strange clicks and grunts. You begin to see them through the trees, gathered around a small green pool, with a much larger green swamp behind them. They are all holding their weapons. The area is lifeless, stinking, rotting.

"Can you understand them?" you whisper to the Earthman.

He raises a finger to his lips to indicate quiet. You become so quiet, that without trying, you begin to understand their language. You don't know how, but something is happening inside you to adjust to the noises they are making.

They are talking about those who are out hunting today. They do not yet know what happened. You look to their right and see a dark tunnel that leads underground. That must be where their riches are.

The Earthman starts to quietly move off to the side.

You have one option...

Follow his lead...

\- CLICK HERE -

The Earthman starts to move off to the side.

You quietly follow the Earthman, and you begin to walk around the outskirts of the swamp, to the right, behind the tunnel entrance.

"There is another entrance here," the Earthman says. "We must go in through this back entrance. But it might be a challenge."

You walk further away from the swamp and Elnoks, and the Earthman goes to one knee, and begins to sweep away at some leaves.

There is a little trap door that he tries to open.

"It requires a password," the Earthman says. "Can you sense what it is?"

You walk over to look at the trap door. There is writing on it. The writing says:

To all of thee that try to flee or find the wealth beneath,

a simple tree must say to thee that you are quite worthy.

And for the tree to say this, you must utter words,

Speak out words that show to it that you are forged from Earth.

Read this riddle simply, do not try to strain,

just speak out words this riddle asks for you to simply say.

You look at the Earthman. He looks back at you.

Take a moment.

Do you know the answer?

You have two options...

Yes, you do...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

No, you don't...

\- CLICK HERE -

"Words," you say. "Words."

A tree to your right starts to bend forward, and with one branch it hooks around a small lever on the trap door, and it pulls it open for you.

"Well done," the Earthman says. "That is too obvious for some."

With the trap door open, you see a dark and dingy tunnel. The Earthman enters first to show you it's safe. As he drops down, he looks up at you.

"They can see you," he says.

Suddenly you hear screams, loud screams and clicks of the Elnoks, and you see from the swamp in the distance, they are running towards you with guns pointed.

"Quick!" the Earthman says. You drop down and close the door behind you, and you and the Earthman are in darkness, with screams and clicks of Elnoks running overhead.

You have one option...

There is no escape. You must keep going...

\- CLICK HERE -

"Words," the Earthman says.

A tree to your right starts to bend forward, and with one branch it hooks around a small lever on the trap door, and it pulls it open for you.

With the trap door open, you see a dark and dingy tunnel. The Earthman enters first to show you it's safe. As he drops down, he looks up at you.

"They can see you," he says.

Suddenly you hear screams, loud screams and clicks of the Elnoks, and you see from the swamp in the distance, they are running towards you with guns pointed.

"Quick!" the Earthman says. You drop down and close the door behind you, and you and the Earthman are in darkness, with screams and clicks of Elnoks running overhead.

You have one option...

There is no escape. You must keep going...

\- CLICK HERE -

"Perhaps our stealth was not quite good enough," the Earthman says. He doesn't seem to sound very bothered by what is happening.

"Let me show you what lies beneath," he says.

He starts to run through the dark tunnel. You follow after. You are in darkness for around ten seconds, and then you enter a whirlwind of light. You take a few more steps and you look out onto a complete paradise.

There is a waterfall, fruit trees, song birds, the freshest air you have ever smelt, and a feeling in the air of life and vitality. It is quite different to the swamp you have just approached.

"This is their birthright," the Earthman says. "But they are too fearful to leave their poverty on the surface. They are like people who become addicted to noisy, harmful thoughts, afraid to leave it all behind and access the wealth within them."

"How do we get them in?" you ask.

"The Elnoks are known for their fear of the underground. They are told stories as youngsters about monsters who dwell beneath. The only thing that can blind their fear, is their anger. They have short tempers, quick to aggression, as you have seen. We have to aggravate them. Once they find their true home, there is a chance their minds will ease, and they will cease from trying to hunt down precious creatures."

"So it's not guaranteed to work?"

"I don't know. All I know is I feel to try. Let's find some fallen fruit that is rotting on the ground."

You have one option...

Find some rotting fruit...

\- CLICK HERE -

You walk around, and the place is giving you a great sense of peace. The wildlife seems friendly, the birds come to sing to you. You find some apples on the earth that are brown and rotting.

"Where is the light coming from?" you ask.

"There are more suns than just the one you know about," the Earthman says.

You have a bunch of rotting fruit in your arms, but even these smell fresh. You carry them over to the Earthman, who has a load in his arms too.

"Now we will go to the entrance to their swamp, and begin to assail the Elnoks with rotten fruit," he says. "It won't hurt. It will only infuriate. We only need one to follow us down here. Then we can escape."

What do you do?

You have one option...

Find the tunnel leading to the Elnoks...

\- CLICK HERE -

You walk through the paradise and find another tunnel on the other side. It is dark and black and dingy, and you begin to walk through again. You can smell the swamp beginning to fill your nostrils. It is a savage, stinging smell, and now you know why the Elnoks wear masks all the time. Some are returning from trying to chase you down a few moments ago. You see them sitting round a small green pool, and there is a particularly large one with its back to you.

The Earthman silently points for you to throw it at the large one.

You have one option...

Hurl your first fruit at its back..

\- CLICK HERE -

You throw, and it actually lands right on the Elnok's head.

It looks up, screams, and the Earthman starts to throw a load at it too.

"All on that one!" the Earthman says.

You unload the rotten fruit onto this one Elnok, who has become so blinded by rage that it has stood up and is sprinting towards you both.

"Run!" the Earthman says.

You both turn and run, and you throw one more at the Elnok as it follows you into the tunnel.

You and the Earthman are both much faster than this larger Elnok, and you hear more of them entering into the tunnel from behind you.

You enter into paradise again and head for the tunnel on the other side with the trap door. You run through the fresh air and sweet smells, then you make it into darkness, turn around and watch.

You have one option...

See what happens to the Elnoks chasing after you...

\- CLICK HERE -

You turn, you watch, and the biggest Elnok steps out into the light of its true home. It instinctively takes off its mask, its helmet, and it puts down its weapon. It breathes in fresh air, it walks around and starts to dance. It sends out sounds that are more like bird calls than anything else.

Then the other Elnoks begin to flood in. They all react the same way. They relax. They take off their armour and helmets, put down their weapons, and they begin to dance together. They begin to sing a sound so pure that you feel tears start to rise in your eyes. They join hands, they dance, and you were glad to have thrown that fruit.

"We should leave them to it," the Earthman says. "We are no longer needed."

You watch a moment longer, then feel it is time to leave.

You turn to leave, walk through the darkness and find the trap door in the ceiling.

"Words," the Earthman says. The trap door opens, you pull yourself up, and look around to check for stray Elnok. There are none, and as you arise onto the surface, sitting in front of you, staring at you, waiting for you, is a Wishing Frog.

You have one option...

See what it wants...

\- CLICK HERE -

"Take my hand," the Earthman says.

You take his hand and feel a surge of power enter into you.

"Touch that tree with your other hand," the Earthman says.

You do.

"Close your eyes and think of a bad memory," he says.

You think of the memory that makes you feel most terrible.

"Now say: 'I give this memory to the Navigation Troll.'"

"What?"

"Just do it."

You say it out loud, and the earth begins to shake. The ground rumbles, and you turn around to see something emerging out of the ground.

You have one option...

See what it is...

\- CLICK HERE -

Out of the ground emerges an old, grumpy-looking troll wearing dirty-looking shorts. Its eyes are closed, and it is holding a notepad and pen. The pen is made of wood.

Its eyes pop open.

"The Navigation Troll, at your service," it says.

You stare at it. It stares back. It still has a grimace.

"Where to?" it asks.

"The Elnok Swamp," The Earthman says.

The Navigation Troll begins to laugh.

"Are you sure? You know what they're like!"

"We are sure," the Earthman says.

The Navigation Troll nods at you.

"Well, what this fella here provided was power enough for both of you."

Now the troll speaks directly to you.

"You're aware that once I take that memory of yours, sir, that's it. It's gone. No more dwelling on it. The time you would have spent dwelling, I use for transport."

"That's Ok," you say. You've had about enough of being lost in pains of the past.

"Very well," the Navigation Troll says, writing something down, and the putting his pen and paper in his shorts.

"Please place your hands on my hair," he says to both of you.

The Earthman obliges.

You have one option...

Put your hand on the troll's hair...

\- CLICK HERE -

Suddenly things start to shake again, the forest around starts to gleam with white and everything becomes fuzzy. You are holding on to The Navigation Troll's hair, and he is running through some kind of portal, sprinting, jumping, panting through a shortcut in the universe, and after an unknown amount of time, you are in a completely new area, and the smell is very strange.

It smells dark and rotten. It feels heavy in your nostrils. You can hear strange creatures in the trees.

"The Elnok swamp is six Oaks' lengths that way," the Navigation Troll points beyond you. "I did not drop you in the middle of it, for obvious reasons," he says.

"Thank you," the Earthman says.

"Will that be all?" the Navigation Troll asks.

"Yes, thank you," the Earthman says.

The ground rumbles and shakes, and the Navigation Troll sinks back down into the ground, waving as he goes, with his eyes closed.

"We have two options," the Earthman says. "Stealth and trickery or blunt, obvious force. This is an important part of your learning to deal with difficult situations. Which do you feel to go with?"

You have two options...

Use stealth and trickery...

\- CLICK HERE -

or

Use blunt, obvious force...

\- CLICK HERE -

The Wishing Frog closes its eyes, crouches down and launches itself at your face. It clings to your face, it cuts off your breathing and you are forced to the ground.

"Relax," it says, "just relax, give your wish to me."

You give your wish away, and you feel an intense rush of power as roots explode out of your feet and travel deeply down into the Earth, and you feel your body begin to become fuelled by a deeper power that you were never aware of. Something starts to breathe you. You are becoming part of the forest, part of the forest that can move around and experience itself. You are becoming more of an Earthman.

The Wishing Frog jumps off you, and you stand there, looking around.

"He's nearly ready," the Earthman says.

You are evolving.

You have one option...

Discover the original adventure...

\- CLICK HERE -

No, you don't want your awakening to be sped up. You say no to the Wishing Frog. It bows to you, and it hops away into the bushes nearby.

"Why didn't you want that done?" the Earthman asks.

You don't answer. You become very quiet, very still. You start to walk back to where you started, but something grips you to the ground. You can't move. Your legs are stuck, your feet are being sucked down into the ground.

You feel roots suddenly plough out through your feet and burrow deep down into the earth.

You feel a strong power surge up from the earth and into your body.

Something starts to breathe you. You are becoming part of the forest, part of the forest that can move around and experience itself. You are becoming more of an Earthman.

"You are evolving by yourself," the Earthman says.

You have one option...

Discover the original adventure...

\- CLICK HERE -

## Contents

  1. Enter Your Adventure...
  2. The Full Adventure
  3. Continue Your Adventure...

## Landmarks

  1. Cover

