Can You Uncover The Duke's Secret In This Choose-Your-Path Story?
Chapter 1: "The Apothecary"
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The Apothecary is an interactive story in which your choices determine your fate. Don’t read the sections in order. At the end of each section, make your choice and click on the corresponding link to be taken to your next section. Will you choose to save the duke from a fairy curse, or will you aid the prince in a darker quest?
Start Here: The Woods
In the late evening mist, a glassy stream winds through a dark wood. Here, moss creeps over rocks and roots. Cold light falls on ancient beech trees. They shelter wild roses in their roots, which you gather for use in your father's apothecary.
Just an hour ago, the king and his fairy bride passed through this wood. Now, you walk alone beneath the bowing trees. Until—
Your breath catches at the sight of a white horse. Where is its rider? You imagine some fairy form, slipping from the saddle and hiding in the trees to watch you.
There—a dark figure, slender as another tree. Your cry of surprise pierces the gloom.
You call out: “Don’t come any closer."
“As you see, I can’t,” says a wavering voice. You steal toward it.
A young man in noble attire stands shivering in the cold air, his hair damp with mist, his dark eyes troubled.
“The prince,” you breathe.
“Not quite,” he answers with a faint smile. “I am the duke. The king’s other son.”
His illegitimate son. Not the fairy prince. He shivers again, his clothes too light to keep out the chill. Why does he stand rooted to the spot?
You look down and find his booted feet lost in a snarl of tree roots that seem to have grown right over them. He is snared.
“Just a game,” he says, sensing your concern. “My brother.”
The fairy prince. You’ve heard of their rivalry.
Try to break the roots and free the duke? Go to Savior.
Ask him how this happened? Go to Investigator.
Balance
You balance on a wide rock and dig down to the roots of the water weed. A long strand of it comes free.
Just then, a hand falls onto your shoulder. “Poaching on the king’s land?”
Your heart leaps. You turn—
The duke stands there in the gloom.
"Only water weed. Surely the king won’t miss it?" you blurt.
His expression flickers and then hardens again. “That matters little. You shouldn’t be in this part of the forest.”
Your stomach drops. If you must pay a fee for poaching, you’ll have nothing left to pay the town council. And if the punishment the duke chooses is worse than a fee…
Go to Two Fates Intertwine.
Delving
You jam a long stick between rocks plump with moss. The water weed is lodged too deeply for you to pry it out.
Step onto a flat rock to get closer to the weed? Go to Balance.
Use a stronger stick to dislodge the weed? Go to Force.
The Ordinary
“It’s an ordinary potion,” you reply. “A fair trade for an ordinary rose. Unless your rose has been touched by the queen’s fairy magic and has a white heart beneath its petals.”
“A rare rose like that would make powerful potions, I would guess,” the duke says.
A creak of wood interrupts your conversation: the roots that snare the duke writhe and wither. “There, you see?” he says with a smile.
He climbs onto his white horse and leans down to give you the rose. When his fingers brush yours, your heart beats fast.
You turn to watch him vanish into the mist on his horse. Only once the sound of the horse’s hooves gives way to the rush of the stream do you look down at the rose.
Beneath its furled petals is a rare, white heart.
Go to The Potion Master.
Wings
You fold its wings over its back and hold the dragonfly securely.
Just then, a hand falls onto your shoulder. “Poaching on the king’s land?”
Your heart leaps. You turn—
The duke stands there in the gloom.
"Only dragonflies. Surely the king won’t miss them?" you blurt.
His expression flickers and then hardens again. “That matters little. You shouldn’t be in this part of the forest.”
Your stomach drops. If you must pay a fee for poaching, you’ll have nothing left to pay the town council. And if the punishment the duke chooses is worse than a fee…
Go to Two Fates Intertwine.
Investigator
“We were riding back to the castle after accompanying the fairy queen to meet with envoys from the North,” he says. This, everyone knows. “My brother thought it better I stay behind to take in the beauty of the wood. But the magic will subside soon enough.”
His dark gaze hints at something more sinister, but it isn’t your place to ask questions.
He shivers again and you remember the warming potion you brought with you. You search your pockets. Your father taught you always to be prepared, to carry potions for yourself—and to help others.
“What are you doing in the woods on such a cold evening?” the duke asks.
“Collecting wild roses for my father’s apothecary. I brew all the potions while my father is delivering medicine to combat the illness in the north.”
“Does your father teach you to brew potions with them?” the duke asks.
“I’ve learned to brew many potions since I was young, and now I must prove to my father that he is right to leave his shop in my hands." You take the warming potion from your pocket and hold it out to him.
“Is this flower worth that much?” The mist thins. In the duke’s hand is a wild rose, perhaps pulled from the roots tangled around his legs.
How will you answer?
"You don’t have to give me anything. I only meant for the potion to be a gift to you." Go to The Gift.
“It’s an ordinary potion. A fair trade for an ordinary rose." Go to The Ordinary.
Glitter
Your net falls over a glittering insect. You twist the net’s rim until the dragonfly is captured.
Just then, a hand falls onto your shoulder. “Poaching on the king’s land?”
Your heart leaps. You turn—
The duke stands there in the gloom.
"Only dragonflies. Surely the king won’t miss them?" you blurt.
His expression flickers and then hardens again. “That matters little. You shouldn’t be in this part of the forest.”
Your stomach drops. If you must pay a fee for poaching, you’ll have nothing left to pay the town council. And if the punishment the duke chooses is worse than a fee…
Go to Two Fates Intertwine.
The Potion Master
One month later…
Amidst the clutter of vials and jars, under the garlands of dried plants, you study your father’s careful handwriting. He used to tell you that you had a gift for the careful chemistry of potion making.
“But I would trade that gift to have you back now,” you say aloud.
The shop door opens and a woman hobbles inside, her rich dress sweeping the bits of dried leaves and petals that always seem to litter the floor. “Where is the potion master?”
“I run my father’s apothecary until he returns,” you answer, wishing your voice sounded more certain.
Her hungry gaze falls on the jars lining your shelves as she leans on her cane. “I’ve heard he brewed a rose water potion that restores the vigor of youth.”
She means the potion you brewed from the fairy rose with the white heart. The astonishing gift from the duke.
The duke must have known the rose’s worth. And yet he gave it to you, merely because of the kindness you showed him with a simple warming potion.
“I made the rose water potion,” you reply. “But I have none left.”
She squints at you, disbelieving. “You made the potion? But where is your father?”
“He still hasn’t returned from delivering medicine to the north," you say, your chest tightening.
“After all this time?” She frowns and then quickly composes herself. “But you shouldn’t fear. Of course, he’ll return soon.”
She turns to leave but you call out to her–
“Please, I need the coin to pay the town council."
“Surely your famous rose water potion was enough to pay the shop fees to the council?” she says.
“Only enough to pay the shop’s debts. Not enough to pay the higher fees.”
“If you don’t have the rose water potion, can you make a draught that will strengthen my back?” she asks.
For that, you’ll need dragonfly wings–not an easy ingredient to secure.
Just then, the door opens again and a young boy in rags creeps into the shop, only daring to lift his gaze to yours after a long moment. “Please,” he says, his eyes wide, “I need medicine for my sister. She has the howling cough.”
You would need to gather water weed before you can make the medicine for him. It would take time…and you doubt he can pay for the medicine.
Still, if you can cure his sister’s cough, perhaps your reputation will build and that will bring in more customers, just as the rose water potion did. On the other hand, the woman seems rich enough to pay for the strengthening potion she wants.
You only have time to gather ingredients for one of the customers. The other will surely go to a rival apothecary...
Gather water weed and brew the potion for the boy’s sick sister. Go to Altruist.
Gather dragonflies and brew the strengthening potion for the rich woman. Go to Adept.
Swish
You perch on a wet rock and swing your net… but you lose your footing.
The water is more treacherous than you accounted for. It drags you to an icy end...
Perhaps you should have used fruit juice instead. Go to Statue.
Altruist
You can harvest water weed for the boy’s sick sister only from the part of the stream that passes through the king’s land.
Which means you are poaching.
You'll have to be quick...
Plunge into the river? Go to Daring.
Use a stick to poke between the rocks? Go to Delving.
Savior
“Don’t trouble yourself,” the duke says. “It won’t work. My brother did this. He thought it better I stay behind to take in the beauty of the wood. But the magic will subside soon enough.”
His dark gaze hints at something more sinister, but it isn’t your place to ask questions.
He shivers again and you remember the warming potion you brought with you. You search your pockets. Your father taught you always to be prepared, to carry potions for yourself—and to help others.
“What are you doing in the woods on such a cold evening?” the duke asks.
“Collecting wild roses for my father’s apothecary. I brew all the potions while my father is delivering medicine to combat the illness in the north.”
“Does your father teach you to brew potions with them?” the duke asks.
“I’ve learned to brew many potions since I was young, and now I must prove to my father that he is right to leave his shop in my hands." You take the warming potion from your pocket and hold it out to him.
“Is this flower worth that much?” The mist thins. In the duke’s hand is a wild rose, perhaps pulled from the roots tangled around his legs.
How will you answer?
"You don’t have to give me anything. I only meant for the potion to be a gift to you." Go to The Gift.
“It’s an ordinary potion. A fair trade for an ordinary rose." Go to The Ordinary.
Daring
You steel yourself for an icy chill and jump into the stream. Water weed draws its slimy fronds across your shins.
You bend down to seize the weed… and lose your footing.
The water is more treacherous than you accounted for. It drags you to an icy end.
Perhaps you should have used a stick instead. Go to Delving.
Force
You find a sturdy branch to wedge between the rocks, and when you pull it free, a long strand of water weed comes with it.
Just then, a hand falls onto your shoulder. “Poaching on the king’s land?”
Your heart leaps. You turn—
The duke stands there in the gloom.
"Only water weed. Surely the king won’t miss it?" you blurt.
His expression flickers and then hardens again. “That matters little. You shouldn’t be in this part of the forest.”
Your stomach drops. If you must pay a fee for poaching, you’ll have nothing left to pay the town council. And if the punishment the duke chooses is worse than a fee…
Go to Two Fates Intertwine.
The Gift
"You don’t have to give me anything,” you reply. “I only meant for the potion to be a gift to you."
“But I would make it a trade,” he says, “and give you this rose, since you’re collecting them.”
"I've been hoping to find a rose with a white heart beneath its petals," you say. "One touched by the queen’s fairy magic."
A creak of wood interrupts your conversation: the roots that snare the duke writhe and wither. “There, you see?” he says with a smile.
He climbs onto his white horse and leans down to give you the rose. When his fingers brush yours, your heart beats fast.
You turn to watch him vanish into the mist on his horse. Only once the sound of the horse’s hooves gives way to the rush of the stream do you look down at the rose.
Beneath its furled petals is a rare, white heart.
Go to The Potion Master.
Adept
You can harvest the dragonflies for the potion that will strengthen the rich woman’s back only from the part of the stream that passes through the king’s land.
Which means you are poaching.
You'll have to be quick...
Stand on a rock and swing your net over the water? Go to Swish.
Pour your vial of fruit juice over your arms and let the insects come to you? Go to Statue.
Statue
The insects don’t seem interested in you, despite the scent of cherries.
Crouch at the water’s edge and swing your net? Go to Glitter.
Close your hand around a dragonfly perched on the grass? Go to Wings.
Two Fates Intertwine
“Please—” You start to beg forgiveness but the duke interrupts.
“There is something you can do for me,” he says.
“How is it possible I could do anything to help the king’s son?” you say.
“I’ve heard of the potion you made with the fairy rose,” he says. “A rare and difficult potion to brew, they say.”
He steps back but keeps his mournful gaze locked on yours. “Can you help me?”
He lifts his shirt. Circling his chest like a poisoned vine is the black mark of a deadly curse.
“The fairy queen has cursed me," he says. "Please… you’re the only one I can ask for help.”
End of Chapter 1.
Read Chapter 2? Go to The Duke and The Prince.
Return to the beginning? Go to Start Here: The Woods.
Click here to read Chapter 2: The Duke and The Prince. To cure the duke, you'll need to brew a rare potion. But his brother, the prince, has his own plans for you.
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This concept is amazing, thank you. How did you get the links to go to different parts of the same page?
i’d like to create something like this.