Sheeba 'Inu' Inushka, intrepid (and slobbery) explorer extraordinaire, is travelling through space on the Armando, a glorious Starship.
[[Begin The Adventure]]Sheeba pushes gently on a lever, and with a powerful lurch, she's away!
[[Explore the Starship]]
[[Look outside]]The Starship Armando is an extensive and luxurious ship inherited from Sheeba's father. Its' walls shine with polished brass, and swooping staircases and slopes travel through the bowels of a metallic beast shaped like an ancient relic supposedly made for champions called a 'Coliseum'.
[[Look outside]]
[[Explore the Library]]
[[Explore the Cockpit]]
[[Explore Sheeba's doghouse]]
[[Explore the kitchens]]Stars float by at a leisurely pace. Pressing her paw to the glass, Sheeba can see the little green dots which represent planets. The longer she presses, the more it extends, until the screen is an infinite field of green.
It reminds Sheeba of home.
[[Explore the Library]]
[[Explore the Cockpit]]
[[Explore Sheeba's doghouse]]
[[Explore the kitchens]] The Library is filled from floor to ceiling with books of all shapes and sizes. The musty smell of aged paper reaches Sheeba's delicate nose. Sitting to one side are a pile of bean bag chairs and up on the second floor above is a statue. Somewhere around here, Sheeba recalls there being one of her favourite books. (Too bad she can't read.)
[[Bounce]]
[[Look at the statue]]
[[Explore the Cockpit]]
[[Explore Sheeba's doghouse]]
[[Explore the kitchens]] The cockpit is a pod surrounded by a ring of the strongest glass in the galaxy. Sheeba's favourite chair is here; it's very soft and spins around. There's also a panel with lots and lots of pretty buttons which light up and have strange inscriptions on them.
[[Sit in Sheeba's chair]]
[[Explore the Library]]
[[Explore Sheeba's doghouse]]
[[Explore the kitchens]]
[[Look outside]] Sheeba's doghouse is near the cockpit, just a single door down. There's a strange metal plaque above the door with Sheeba's name on it! Going inside, Sheeba looks around.
Sheeba's room is just as she remembers it. Even the cookie jar is still here!
[[Eat a cookie]]
[[Explore the Library]]
[[Explore the Cockpit]]
[[Explore the kitchens]] The kitchens are filled with glorious smells. Puttering about, a cooking droid with a wonky chef's hat rolls around, baking more cookies for Sheeba.
Sheeba loves the cooking droid.
[[Beg]]
[[Explore the Library]]
[[Explore the Cockpit]]
[[Explore Sheeba's doghouse]] Sheeba pounces on the beanbags.
Boing!
[[Explore the Cockpit]]
[[Explore Sheeba's doghouse]]
[[Explore the kitchens]]
[[Look at the statue]]Upon closer inspection...
This is a statue of Sheeba! It's made out of solid gold!
[[Explore the Cockpit]]
[[Explore Sheeba's doghouse]]
[[Explore the kitchens]]
[[Bounce]]Sheeba hops into the chair, and barks in delight. Rolling onto her back, Sheeba huffs out a sigh and then sits down to begin her work.
[[View the panel]]There are lots of shiny buttons!
[[Press the blue button]]
[[Press the red button]]
[[Press the green button]]
[[Press the sparkly pink button]]Mmm, delicious!
[[Explore the kitchens]]
[[Explore the Library]]
[[Explore the Cockpit]] The cooking droid looks at Sheeba. An electronic sigh, and the droid gives Sheeba a cookie.
Sheeba eats it immediately.
Yum!
[[Explore the Library]]
[[Explore the Cockpit]]
[[Explore Sheeba's doghouse]] There's an ominous rumble, and a voice from somewhere says, "Starting warp drive. Please pick a destination."
There is a single planet in range, shown in a flashing green on the screen which appears.
[[Select the planet]]There is an ominous beep, and Sheeba is lowered onto the ground.
Sheeba pushes a lever, returning the chair to the correct height, and jumps back up.
[[Press the blue button]]
[[Press the red button]]
[[Press the green button]]
[[Press the sparkly pink button]] A strange noise is heard.
"Inaccessible; Low Power," says a voice. Sheeba wuffs disappointment.
[[Press the blue button]]
[[Press the red button]]
[[Press the green button]]
[[Press the sparkly pink button]] There's a strange, whizzy sound, and glitter falls everywhere.
"Happy Birthday!" Cries a litany of familiar voices. Sheeba barks excitedly and tries to lick the button.
It doesn't taste very good, so she stops.
[[Press the blue button]]
[[Press the red button]]
[[Press the green button]]
[[Press the sparkly pink button]] Sheeba's stomach lurches as strange noises and lights begin to flash. There's an odd rumbling, and the stars which were once merely trailing along are now streaks of light in Sheeba's vision. Yelping, Sheeba pushes back into the chair until she gets used to the pressure of hyperspace travel.
A few minutes later, for the first time Sheeba can remember, a planet begins to approach. It's getting closer...closer...closer...
[[Look out the window]]The planet is so close now that it obscures everything else. The surface is a rich red-green, with huge bodies of water which glimmer in the expanse of space. Tail wagging, Sheeba watches as the vague shapes become sharper, the bigger landforms and mountains becoming definable.
...The ship isn't slowing down.
[[Push the big red lever]]Sheeba pushes the lever.
The starship begins to slow down, but... Sheeba doesn't think it will stop in time. The planet is getting closer, and as pretty as it is, it's becoming more and more daunting to approach as the ship begins to balk against the atmosphere of the planet.
[[Hide, quick!]]
[[Stand fearlessly and watch]]Sheeba races underneath the panel and drags her chair's pillow with her. Huddling underneath, she whimpers as she waits for impact.
A few moments later, everything goes black.
(Sheeba is strong, so she'll be okay, but she's been knocked out for a few minutes.)
[[Wake up]]The time it takes to hit the ground is much shorter than the time to hit the atmosphere from space.
Sheeba only gets a short glimspe of beautiful red trees and an expansive forest before everything goes dark.
(Sheeba is strong, so she'll be okay, but she's been knocked out for a few minutes.)
[[Wake up]]Sheeba shakes off her fur and stretches. Opening her eyes, Sheeba yelps in horror.
The starship Armando beeps sadly and flickers a few lights feebly. Half the ship is jammed into the ground, and the cockpit's drop-door has fallen open. Running outside, Sheeba can see that the shiny, metallic exterior is now caked in dust and dirt.
The starship Armando has crashed.
[[Investigate the Armando]]
[[Investigate the crash site]]The Armando is sparking and beeping occasionally. The door through the cockpit is jammed shut, and the cockpit itself has gone dark, the lights turned out. Clearly, something has happened to the generator; there's no way the Armando is flying until Sheeba finds a new energy source.
[[Investigate the crash site]] Sheeba steps cautiously out of the ship, paws landing on springy, thick moss which is squishy beneath her paws. The rich scent of soil and foliage greets her, and somewhere in the distance, Sheeba can hear the trickling of springwater - a sound she hasn't heard in eons.
All around her are black, smooth rocks, layered with what must be centuries of moss. Looking up, Sheeba can see rough, orange-yellow walls of earth where the ground has been ripped away. It seems the Armando has crashed through to a hidden cave.
[[Look for the springwater]]
[[Search for a way out]]Stepping down from stone to stone, it quickly becomes clear that the springwater is below her. Sheeba ventures forth, following the sound and the faint scent of ocean, and as she trails deeper down a large creek edges into view.
The water is a pure, deep blue, and looking inside, Sheeba can see black stones which trail along the edges of the running water.
[[Jump along the stones]]
[[Look at reflection]]
[[Look into the water]]
[[Drink]]After a thorough investigation(which may or may not have involved rolling around in the moss -- for entirely scientific purposes), Sheeba concludes that there are three ways she can go. First, she can attempt to head upwards and out of the hole, using the rocks jutting out of the walls to do so. Second, she can explore further down the creek by jumping along the stones in the water. Finally, she can explore a strange, smoothed-out cave.
[[Explore the cave]]
[[Jump along the stones]]
[[Attempt to climb out]]Wiggling as she gets into position, Sheeba prepares to pounce onto the first stone.
[[Pounce!]]It's Sheeba! She's got rich golden fur, gorgeous brown eyes, and a boopable nose!
[[Look into the water]]
[[Jump along the stones]]
[[Drink]] Looking into the water, Sheeba can see small fish and rich black sand beneath the surface. The fish have three waving tails which push them forward in short spurts, and they shimmer in a gentle pink shade as they burrow into the sand.
...
The fish are pretty.
[[Look at reflection]]
[[Drink]]
[[Jump along the stones]] * *slurp* * Ahhh.
[[Jump along the stones]]
[[Look at reflection]]
[[Look into the water]] Trotting along, the smoothed-out cave becomes clearer as her eyes adjust to the darkness. The ground below her changes from soft moss to slippery, curved stone.
The deeper she travels, the darker it gets. However, somewhere in the distance, Sheeba swears she can see a light.
[[Follow the light]]
[[Feel the way forward]]Sheeba scrabbles for purchase against the smooth stones, but it seems that today is simply not her day. Flopping back down onto the moss, Sheeba decides maybe there's a different way out.
[[Jump along the stones]]
[[Explore the cave]] Landing gracefully, Sheeba aims for the second stone. Placing one paw back, Sheeba coils in and stretches out!
[[Land gracefully]]
[[Land ungracefully]]Following the light in the distance, Sheeba soon finds that the white glow was coming from a crystalline cavern. Blinking into the cave, Sheeba stares around in awe.
Crystals of all sizes jut out of the ground, gleaming as light from a tunnel in the ceiling pours through to reflect off the sides. Like sitting inside a geode, a hundred formations glimmer back in peaceful silence, a perfect, undisturbed space, untouched by anything but the light above.
There has to be a way to get through. Perhaps the tunnel up will provide a way out. But how to get there? What to try?
[[Throw a stone]]
[[Try to walk across]]
[[Jump for the tunnel]]
[[Admire reflection]]Sheeba's paws trail along engravings in the walls. Curious, she pauses to investigate.
Eyes adjusting to the darkness, Sheeba sniffs the wall. It smells of old paint.
[[Lick the wall]]
[[Look at the wall]]
[[Follow the light]]* *lick* *
...Yeugh. Tastes like pens.
[[Follow the light]]Looking more closely, it seems there's some words on the wall.
[[Try to translate it]]Eht acek hit u lyi
[[Try again]]Teh caek ith ah lye
[[One more time]]"The cake is a lie"
[[Follow the light]]
[[Lick the wall]]Picking up a stone delicately with her teeth, Sheeba rears back and throws her head forward, opening her mouth to release rocky fury.
The stone hits a crystal pillar, and, after a moment of shaky consideration, it remains as is.
[[Throw another stone]]With one shaky paw, Sheeba steps forward.
It almost seems okay, but... yowch!
Pulling back, Sheeba quickly licks her wounds. Now her paw hurts.
Whining, she grumpily returns to the task at hand.
[[Throw a stone]]
[[Jump for the tunnel]] With a prodigious leap, Sheeba jumps valiantly over the crystals. Sailing through the air, Sheeba reaches up and opens her jaw, grabbing onto a convenient stick with her powerful teeth, well trained for exactly this task. Scrabbling up with all four paws, Sheeba pulls herself up onto the stick, which is securely jammed into the tunnel.
She's in!
[[Proceed]]
[[Try to take the stick with you]]Look at you, Sheeba! You're gorgeous! Look at those soulful eyes! That perfectly-toasted-marshmallow fur! Those cute little toe beans!
[[Jump for the tunnel]]
[[Throw a stone]]
[[Try to walk across]] Repeating the tedious process, Sheeba tosses another stone and hits the pillar with picture-perfect precision. A moment of indecision, then... CLANG! Sheeba leaps out of the way as the crystal pillar teeters and tumbles down onto the ground, crashing into the floor.
The side is smooth enough to walk on safely, and if she walks across, she should be able to easily climb up to the tunnel.
[[Climb into the tunnel]]Marching upwards, Sheeba follows a trail of shiny gems and sunlight through the narrow tunnel, careful not to shift the ground too much. Her paws move silently over the ground, and soon, she is blinking into the morning sunlight, overlooking a beautiful, sunshine-filled town, built into the side of a cliff.
Water crashes below, rich and loud, and along almost every building, clinging to the yellowed bricks, are vines with tiny white flowers. They flow from pots hung from windowsills and trail along the streets. It's clear nobody has tended to them for a long time.
Trotting down towards the road, Sheeba eventually finds herself at a split. Heading upwards are a twining set of stone steps which trail off towards the sky. Down and to the left, a railing seems ready to take her by the paw and lead her down to the sparkling shore, vines following her like curious sprites.
[[Go up]]
[[Go down]]Unfortunately, not only is Sheeba standing on the stick, but it's stuck fast to the wall and does *not* want to budge. Too bad.
[[Proceed]]Hopping up onto the pillar, Sheeba balances carefully, crawling with her belly shifting along the smooth crystal. Looking up, she eyes the tunnel and aims for the prize.
[[Jump for the tunnel]] Stepping up stair by stair, Sheeba traces lines of vines up towards the highest point of the town. The wind whispers in her ear as she walks, and soon she has reached the top.
Off in the distance, a path winds out and down towards a rich red forest. To one side, an ancient, crumbling house sits, cracked windows shaping the wind to whistle into the empty air.
[[Go to the house]]
[[Follow the path]]As Sheeba travels down the steps, she feels an inching uneasiness in her shoulders. The rich scent of honey is suddenly apparent, and the walls around her seem to come alive with movement. The vines are beginning to shift, racing up and down the edges of the sun-kissed town.
[[Look around]]
[[Bark]]Sheeba lands with grace befitting her glory.
Standing, now, on the other side of the creek, a winding, narrow path stretches out into a dark, damp cave. The water continues to race along into the darkness.
[[Follow the water]]
...Sheeba is graceful all the time. Jerk.
[[Land gracefully]]Following the water, Sheeba travels with delicate steps, her paws shaking every time it seems she may slip into the water. The cave narrows, and the water is beginning to rise.
[[Keep going]]It isn't long before the passage dives suddenly, the way forward flooded with water which has become ink-black in the darkness. It seems as if there's little to do.
[[Swim]]Sheeba pokes the water and whines.
[[Try it again]]
[[Turn around]]Sheeba dips both legs in the water, but quickly retreats once it touches her chin.
[[Try again!]]Sheeba huffs out a sigh of relief and returns to the crash site.
[[Investigate the crash site]]
[[Investigate the Armando]] Sheeba dips one back leg and one front leg into the water. Claws gripping the sand tightly, she screws her eyes shut.
[[Encourage her]]
[[Challenge her]]Sheeba is suddenly filled with confidence and determination! It's almost as if someone is helping her along...
Diving into the water in an elegant swan dive, Sheeba pushes with all her might!
[[Keep swimming!]] A strange voice floats through the void. Suddenly, Sheeba feels slightly insulted. This is just a little water! She gulps this down for breakfast! No way is she going to back down when this tichy little river is *mocking* her!
Sheeba leaps into the water and pushes with all her strength!
[[Keep swimming!]]The water is all-encompassing. It surrounds Sheeba in a crushing embrace, and her once-powerful strides seem to be crushed at every turn, dragged down deeper.
[[Fight the current]]
[[Follow the current]]Sheeba screws her eyes shut and fights the current for all she's worth. Paws scrabbling, she uses every scrap of purchase she can get to throw herself forward, battling uphill for every inch of distance she can get.
Blue light begins to shine into her eyelids. The pressure is changing, and it fills her with both dread and hope.
[[Swim up]]
Sheeba opens her eyes and pants in fresh air.
...she's back at the crash site.
[[Investigate the Armando]]
[[Investigate the crash site]] Leaping out of the water, Sheeba gulps air and almost forgets to breathe when she opens her eyes to a cave filled with shining blue lights.
Every wall is covered in them; speckled stars among a grey rock ceiling. It's almost like stargazing, and Sheeba's eager eyes trace the lights as she does the stars when she's sleeping in the cockpit.
[[Keep travelling]]Past the blue lights, the passage winds upwards. Following the creek along, Sheeba can hear ocean waves and smell the intense scent of live fish as they flail in the water. Her pace picks up as she reaches the sunlight.
Greeting it with eagerness, Sheeba lets out a yap of excitement as she finds herself on an island of smooth, black stone at the base of a beautiful town built into a cliff. A passageway of stairs trail downwards, vines crawling along the banisters, where the town meets the ocean, bending along to travel past the shore. Upwards, abandoned houses appear to be overgrown by white-flowered ivy, which stretches along the brick wherever Sheeba looks.
[[Go up]]
[[Go down]] Looking around frantically, Sheeba catches sight of something coloured like rich amber buzz past her. Hopping backwards, she's just in time to see a huge flock of strange, yellow-gold creatures fly past her.
The last one seems to have a wonky wing, and it barrels straight into her nose.
Ouch!
Blinking down at the small, buzzing creature, she sniffs. It smells like honey with the faintest scent of maple.
"Don't *do* that!" Squeaks the creature. "You scared me!"
[[Look at the creature]]
[[Whine apologetically]]Sheeba lets out a mighty ruff.
Suddenly, a huge storm of creatures fly past her in terror. One creature, with a wonky wing, runs headfirst into Sheeba's forehead. They stare at each other eye to eye for a moment before the creature gasps and falls back onto the ground.
"Don't *do* that!" the creature cries. "You scared me!"
[[Look at the creature]]
[[Whine apologetically]] The creature is perhaps the size of a humming bird, but it definitely doesn't look like one. The small being has a sleek, smooth body like polished amber and two gem-blue eyes in a small, chubby-cheeked face. Frills, perhaps almost as big as the creature itself, extend from its' head and continue down its' back, meeting at the base of its' tail. It seems capable of flight with these frills, but it's beyond Sheeba how they actually work.
"Are you just going to *stand* there?" The amber being folds its' arms.
[[Whine apologetically]] Sheeba whines pitifully, and the creature looks immediately guilty.
"Okay, okay, sorry," The amber being grumbles. "Hey! Don't look at me like that."
[[Melt its' heart]]Nothing can defeat the puppy dog eyes. This applies even to tiny aliens, and the small, amber creature looks significantly guiltier.
"Will you stop looking at me like that?" It whimpers. "What do you even want?"
[[Cookies]]
[[To fix my ship]]
[[To find my father]]The creature retrieves a strange amber cookie from the wall of the town, where their homes are apparently situated. You accept it gratefully and scarf it down.
It tastes like honey, maple, and bees.
"Anything else?" the creature inquires.
[[To fix my ship]]
[[To find my father]]"Fix your... ship?" The being considers this, frills flapping idly. "Starship, huh? Well, if it's broken, I'm sure the Icewarden could fix it." Pointing up the staircase, it adds, "You have to travel through the Byreal Woods to get to the Icewarden. Rufus lives up there; he can show you the way."
The creature flutters up and away, and soon, Sheeba is alone with the waves and the breeze, and the lingering scent of honey.
[[Go up]]"To find your father?" The creature's deep blue eyes melt into pools. "Oh, I see. Well, don't let me stop you, then. I'm sure if there's anything to be found here, the Icewarden will know where it is." Pointing up the steps, the amber being adds, "Rufus should be able to show you where to go to find the Icewarden. Good luck!"
Flying off, Sheeba is soon alone with the crawling vines and the empty home of the amber creatures, and the lingering scent of the ocean breeze.
[[Go up]]The house is dusty and the air is thick with wisps of the wear and tear. Aged wood, unlike the brick of the majority of the houses, looks rotten and tired as it bears the weight of what remains of the roof and windows. Sleeping on the stoop is a large, wolf-like Husky.
[[Talk to the Husky]]
[[Try to sneak inside]]
[[Follow the path]]The road levels out into a sandy dust. As Sheeba steps towards it, however, a bark is heard in the distance.
A Husky races up to her, tail flailing wildly and nose twitching eagerly. "Friend, wait!" Cries the Husky. "Where are you going?"
[[To the Icewarden]]Placing a paw on the Husky's nose, it isn't long before the dog twitches and sneezes, scrambling to his feet. After a moment of mild disorientation, he turns around and his tail begins to wag wildly.
"Hello, new friend!" he barks eagerly. "Where are you going?"
[[To the Icewarden]]
Creeping along, Sheeba manages to reach the stoop and tip-toe over the snoring Husky. Inside the door is a number of small, intimate tables. On one of them is a strange jar.
[[Poke the jar]]"Oh! Oh!" he hops around in a circle energetically. "I know how to get there! Follow me! Follow me! Oh, this is so exciting!"
Bushy tail flailing as if there's no tomorrow, the Husky races down the path.
[[Follow the Husky]]There's a cookie inside!
Sheeba eats it immediately! It tastes kind of salty.
[[Talk to the Husky]]
[[Follow the path]] Tailing the excitable Husky, the path soon becomes rocky and uncertain, but Sheeba's newly acquired guide seems to know where he's going.
Tall trees kiss the clouds above. The forest floor is layered with rich red leaves in every shade, from rosewood to amaranth. Breathing in, Sheeba can smell bark and the hints of sap within. Small amber creatures like those from the town flit through the trees, but none of them seem brave enough to approach.
[[Hop around in the leaves]]
[[Talk to her guide]]Hop! Hop! Hop!
Leaves go everywhere and get stuck in Sheeba's fur. The Husky looks excited and hops around with her. Soon, the sound of crunching leaves and yapping canines fill the air.
Sheeba soon gets bored, however, and the pair have to continue.
[[Talk to her guide]] "I'm Rufus!" explains the Husky, Rufus, wagging his tail. "It's been a very long time since anyone has come by, especially another dog!" he seems almost ready to skip. "Oh, oh! Just past this grove should be a river we need to cross!"
The trees indeed split away to reveal a trickling, shining river. However, the river is a strange, coppery colour. Over the river, half a tree is laid over from one side to the other. It looks stable enough to cross.
[[Cross the river]]
[[Keep talking]]Stepping in single file over the log, Sheeba and Rufus reach the other side of the rushing river. A wintry hush falls over them, and a strange chill fills the air.
"Just keep going," Rufus assures Sheeba confidently. "The Icewarden stays in the cold."
The red water seems to trickle in from every direction, all going to the same place. The ground beneath their paws changes from soft soil to hard, black rock, and branches swoop down to tickle Sheeba's nose.
"Just a little farther," says Rufus.
[[Go just a little farther]]Rufus tilts his head. "Why is the river red?" He points his muzzle at the leaves. "Why are the leaves red? Why is the sun red? I don't know." He looks a bit sad. "I don't actually know very much, other than how to find the Icewarden."
[[Reassure him that this is a very important thing to know.]]
[[Cross the river]] "You're right!" Rufus stands taller. "It *is* a very important thing to know, and that's better than knowing a lot of useless things!" He gives Sheeba a little doggy grin. "You know, you're very smart. Are all Shiba Inus as smart as you?"
Sheeba informs him that only she is as smart as that.
[[Cross the river]] The pair reach a deep pool of water, swirling gently clockwise. The pool seems to be shifting, and sometimes it is clear as black ice while at others it appears as thick and red as fresh blood. The chill seems ready to climb through into Sheeba's fur, though Rufus seems unbothered by the cold.
"The Icewarden is up ahead," Rufus informs her. "All you have to do is hop into the lake and swim down."
[[Hop into the lake]]
[[Ask about the Icewarden]]Emboldened by the confidence Rufus has in his claims, Sheeba lines up with the center of the swirling pool and leaps.
As her paws hit the water, the penetrating cold which coated the area is suddenly intensified a thousand fold. Screwing her eyes shut, Sheeba paddles deeper, and soon, something great in power reaches out and grabs her, twisting violently.
The spin sends her dizzily tumbling through a deep red darkness.
[[Open eyes]]"The Icewarden?" Rufus sits down next to Sheeba at the lake's edge. Leaves drift down slowly as he thinks, seeming ready to freeze before they reach the forest floor. Oddly, the lake is clear of any dropped foliage. "The Icewarden is a great and powerful being who lives on the Other Side." Somehow, how he says it seems important. "The Icewarden lives alone in an icy cave, deep inside a mountain, and watches a pool of water which can show anything in the whole world." Rufus juts out his chest proudly. "The Icewarden trusted me to lead anyone who wanted to meet them to the Other Side."
Silence reigns. The leaves continue to fall.
[[Hop into the lake]] Sheeba opens her eyes.
Doggy-paddling in the water of an aqua-tinted cave, she abruptly realizes that despite floating in what appears to be an underwater cavern, she can breathe easily. Curious, she paddles forward, moving easily through as if she were a dolphin instead of a dog.
The chill in the air persists.
[[Go forward]]
[[Look around the cavern]]Ahead of her, the water seems to become clearer and brighter. Swimming easily forward, she attempts to ignore the unfamiliar glide of water over her fur and observes the cave widening around her, the ground below and the roof above drifting slowly away the deeper she swims.
With a sudden sharp gasp, her head is abovewater. However, as she gasps, she soon recoils back, feeling as if she had just inhaled pure fire.
The water seems to simply stop at the mouth of the cave. The tunnel mouth looks out into a huge cavern, inside of which there are countless glimmering bubbles.
The unbreathable air is home to some tall, seaweed-like plants, many times larger than she. They flail in the current and occasionally lie flat against the bubbles, but never enter them.
There has to be an exit somewhere...
[[Poke paw out]]
[[Leap out]]
[[Swan dive]]
Upon closer inspection, the tunnel system is dimly lit by small, frozen crystals, which shine even through the walls. Only the slightest hints of the shards are actually visible, but together they are enough to illuminate the whole area in a dim blue glow.
The water itself flows forward, the only way she has to go.
[[Go forward]]Sheeba pokes one paw out. The current continues to push her along, and, stumbling with a gasping yelp, she tumbles downwards through the air.
With a loud splash and a feeling not unlike being caught by a pile of wet cushions, she falls into a bubble not far below.
All around her, bubbles float in the air. Paddling to keep herself in the water, she peers around at the different routes she can take. To the Northwest, just a little higher, a bubble leans against a huge plant. Down below, she can see another sphere of pure water, with a few small and colourful fish within.
[[Go to the plant]]
[[Go to the fish]]
[[Turn back]]With a powerful push, Sheeba screws her eyes shut and leaps. Her paws soon hit water, and she paddles furiously to stay within the floating sphere.
If she looks just above her, there's a section of the cavern wall that she could almost touch, if she made the jump from her current bubble to the one above.
[[Climb up to the next bubble]]
[[Turn back]]With a swish of her tail and a powerful stretch, Sheeba dives gracefully out into the bubble directly in front of her.
Sheeba, now in the center of the room, takes a moment to catch her breath and resists the urge to shake the water off her fur. The only bubble she thinks she can reach is just a little bit further up.
[[Leap up]]
[[Turn back]]Ridges of leafy greens greet Sheeba and lay gently on the bubble's side. It smells strongly of salt and something cinnamon-y. Wrinkling her nose, Sheeba looks around.
Below her is a bubble hovering just above the floor of the huge cavern. There is little else to go to.
[[Poke the plant]]
[[Drop down]]
[[Turn back]] Glimmering fish in rainbow colours flicker all around her and attempt to burrow themselves into Sheeba's fur as she idles in the bubble. A few half-hearted snaps, and they give her her space. Take that, fish!
They are still very pretty, though.
Slightly further down is a bubble which hovers just above the cavern floor, floating at the base of a giant seaweed. To her right is a bubble which shines a peculiarly bright blue.
[[Hop to the bright blue bubble]]
[[Drop down]]
[[Turn back]]Reaching the next bubble, Sheeba balances herself and looks around. The wall is close enough to look at, now, and icy crystals seem much more plentiful here, jutting freely out of the walls as if clamoring for attention. The cavern seems deliberately curved, as if something had plans for this place a long time ago.
Something crumbly is sticking out of the wall. Off behind her, there's a strange, wobbly bubble which seems to be fluctuating wildly in shape.
[[Bite the crumbly thing]]
[[Hop to the wobbly bubble]]
[[Turn back]]Sheeba turns back, retracing her pawprints to the entrance of the starnge bubble cavern.
[[Poke paw out]]
[[Leap out]]
[[Swan dive]] Sheeba leaps upwards and catches herself in the bubble with a splash. Nearby, one of the strange, giant seaweed float gently closer.
Looking up, Sheeba can see something embedded in the very tip of the leaf. But she can't reach it from here; she'll have to find another way around.
[[Lick the seaweed]]
[[Turn back]]Sheeba licks the seaweed.
Ugh! Spicy!
[[Turn back]]Nom!
...
It's a cookie! Sheeba eats as much of it as she can reach.
[[Hop to the wobbly bubble]]
[[Turn back]] Diving into the wobbly bubble, Sheeba has only just gotten her balance when it begins to fling her about. Curling in and working against the current, she fights against the waters which are whirling her around adn soon finds herself flung across the cavern.
Landing in another bubble which floats at the tip of the giant seaweed, she shakes her fur and gathers herself, shuddering.
*Never* again.
[[Inspect the seaweed]]
[[Turn back]]Sheeba leaps into the bubble.
The water in the bubble feels distinctly different, chillier than the rest of the cavern. As she paddles, it soon becomes clear that the bubble is moving, and it is now far too late to turn back.
The bubble approaches another embedded into the cavern wall, shimmering in the same bright blue. Blinking away the strange, glittery feeling in her eyes, Sheeba jumps from the bubble to the one embedded in the wall.
A current grips her, and, carrying her away, and she soon loses sight of the cavern altogether. She is plunged into darkness, with only the rushing, pulsing current pushing her through the tunnels for company.
Light begins to shine at the end of the tunnel, approaching quickly.
[[Escape the tunnel]]Dropping down into the bubble offsets its balance, and, with the gentle nudge of Sheeba's weight, it falls down to the cavern floor. Sheeba's paws become gritty with sand as they reach out to hold her up, wobbling after so long in the water.
Plumes of sand are kicked up as strange, flat sea creatures, with long thin tails and raised spines, skitter away, leaving Sheeba alone at the bottom of the cavern.
The seaweed is rooted here, and it reaches down much farther, little hints of its path peeking out from the sand all around her. The beginnings of the little eddies in the higher reaches start here, and the seaweed flaps in a steady rhythm, sending a ripple through the bubble with each cycle.
The bubble begins to rise again, now accustomed to Sheeba's weight, and Sheeba is forced to begin paddling to stay in the bubble.
There's nothing else here.
[[Turn back]] * *poke* *
The giant seaweed is scratchy and rough to the touch. Sheeba doesn't like it.
[[Drop down]]
[[Turn back]] Lying on the seaweed beneath her is a strange, disc-shaped, cream-coloured object.
[[Lick it]]Sheeba licks the cream-coloured disc.
...It's a cookie! Sheeba gobbles it up eagerly.
Yum! Ice cream!
[[Turn back]]Bursting out of the tunnel, Sheeba finds herself flying through a watery expanse of mossy, drooping trees. As far as the eye can see, branches reach out and coil around each other like winding, woodland snakes, green, leafy maws hanging open.
Below her, a familiar husky hops to his feet. The lake below is the icy white-blue of fresh-fallen snow, mixed with the deep blue of the darkest ocean. it seems to swirl in the opposite direction to the portal Sheeba remembers.
Floating gently downwards, Sheeba lands next to Rufus, though how he got here she doesn't know. Shaking off her fur in a futile attempt to erase the watery feeling crawling up her skin, she blinks her eyes open.
[[Talk to Rufus(?)]]
[[Look around the mossy jungle]]Sheeba woofs a question.
"There are two guides, one for each side," this strange, other Rufus informs her. "one to lead you here, and myself to lead you on the last leg towards the Icewarden. Simply follow me when you are ready."
[[Follow Rufus]]
[[Look around the mossy jungle]]The tangle of trees seem to reach endlessly high, and no matter how far up Sheeba looks, she cannot see where the canopy meets the sky. Dappled sunlight reaches through, fizzling out as it hits the water to create a gentle, glimmering day, not quite bright enough to be morning but not quite dark enough to be evening.
The trees are of a light brown bark, with leaves the colour of spring grass. They droop down in stringy clumps, and were she to climb up upon one, Sheeba could see herself nestling quite comfortably within the boughs. Undoubtedly, some wildland creatures have made their homes here.
[[Talk to Rufus(?)]]
The strange, calm Rufus stands up, and, with an idle swish of his tail, he leaps unimaginably high, soon landing on one of the boughs. It shakes, but holds his weight, and he soon leaps to another.
Turning, he barks, "What are you waiting for?"
[[Follow Rufus along the boughs]]Wiggling her rump, Sheeba winds up and launches herself upwards, landing shakily on a branch not far from Rufus. With a gruff nod, he begins to leap along with careless ease, as if he has done this a thousand times.
Following him, Sheeba quickly acclimates to the odd, floaty jumps through the watery, mossy jungle. The ground is soon far below them, covered by what must be a hundred different branches which reach through the layered trees.
The forest is silent save for the sound of their paws hitting the wood and moss. Not a bird deems to chirp, nor a leaf even to fall.
[[Look around the forest]]
[[Keep leaping]]If Sheeba squints, it appears small bubbles are floating through the water around them. Rufus is pointedly avoiding them, weaving a complex path away from the strange, tiny bubbles. They hit your fur harmlessly.
A large shadow is moving at the edge of Sheeba's vision, far too large to be natural and moving too fast to be anything but alive. But, the moment she looks, the leviathan shadow is gone.
[[Keep leaping]] A strange rumbling can be heard. Rufus seems nervous.
"Just keep going," he murmurs, hunched more with every jump. He's moving faster, now, and it takes all of Sheeba's concentration to keep up. "and whatever you do, don't look down."
Sheeba gulps.
[[Look down]]
[[Don't stop]]Sheeba regrets it immediately.
There's a strange darkness beneath her, creeping up through the trees and crawling up the bark. The unnatural shadow is getting faster as it goes, and even looking at it causes a disgusted crawl on her fur.
Sheeba looks back up. Rufus is gone.
[[Stop]]Sheeba keeps going.
Rufus keeps getting faster. His silence is unnerving, and Sheeba keeps pushing herself farther to try and keep up. Despite her efforts, this strange, odd Rufus is just too fast.
With a final leap, he goes out of view and disappears into the forest. It's too late; no matter how fast she goes, she can't keep up.
[[Stop]]Sheeba stops, huddling into one of the boughs. The darkness reaches her quickly, and climbs past, clinging along her fur like a thin film of ichor. Feeling disgustingly oily, Sheeba waits.
A minute later, she feels safe enough to move again.
[[Shake off oil]]
[[Rub off oil]]
[[Check surroundings]]Sheeba shakes furiously. All this achieves is getting the ichor deeper into her fur, so she quickly stops.
[[Rub off oil]]
[[Check surroundings]]Rolling around on the bough, Sheeba manages to get rid of some of the sickly ichor. It falls off in gloopy lumps which cling feebly to the moss like water to a dog's chin before falling through to the boughs below.
Feeling mildly better, Sheeba stops to check her surroundings.The forest is a maze of twisty paths through the boughs, so complex it's hard to think of where to go. Lights in hues of blue and white glimmer in the distance, more obvious now that a dark gloom clings to everything in sight.
[[Go downwards]]
[[Follow the blue light]]
[[Follow the white light]]
[[Try to follow the direction Rufus took]]Hopping down from branch to branch, the boughs become darker and more tightly packed. Here, the strange ichor is thicker, and it chokes her in an indefinable way - as if, instead of air thinning, something gunky and tasteless is getting thicker...
[[Try to follow the direction Rufus took]]
[[Follow the blue light]]
[[Follow the white light]] The blue light is higher up, and Sheeba scrambles to reach each jump. Her paws seem unable to grip the moss the way she can rock and wood, and once she reaches the light, she is breathing hard, thoroughly exhausted.
Sheeba looks up, barely noticing two large, blue eyes, like sapphires, which close and move away, disappearing before she can identify them.
Here, a thick bed of mossy boughs is home to a small colony of strange blue creatures. They glow in the dark, and as they approach, they seem to trail along Sheeba's fur in a pleasant way.
[[Walk among the blue creatures]]
[[Look at the blue creatures]]
[[Investigate]]
[[Go back]]The light grows as Sheeba travels, and the weight which settled surreptitiously on her back begins to lighten. Peering through the mossy branches, Sheeba can see a break in the trees.
[[Go to the break in the trees]]
[[Woof]]Thinking hard about each jump, Sheeba leaps from bough to bough with pinpoint precision, tracing Rufus's incomprehensible path through the growing darkness.
She is soon lost, despite her efforts. The area is unfamiliar, and even her return path is unclear.
[[Follow the white light]] Hopping about through clouds of the fluttering creatures, Sheeba can feel the disgusting ichor clinging to her fur being stripped away. Soon, she is as ichor-free as she was before.
With a satisfied yip, she flops down onto the ichor-free boughs and wags her tail.
[[Go back]]
[[Investigate]]
[[Follow the white light]]
[[Try to follow the direction Rufus took]] Upon closer inspection, the blue creatures are odd beings with twelve wings - four, two big, two small, along their bubble head, another six along its furry back, and a final two lining their heels. They look very much like eyeless, two-legged caterpillars. They are poking Sheeba with their toes(?).
[[Walk among the blue creatures]]
[[Investigate]]
[[Go back]]Sheeba pokes her head into the boughs where the sapphire-eyed being was.
She quickly pulls back from the deep darkness, feeling as if she'd stuck her head in a vat of oil. Shaking herself off furiously, she steps quickly back and away.
[[Walk among the blue creatures]]
[[Look at the blue creatures]]
[[Go back]] Sheeba returns, carefully tracing her steps back to where she began when Rufus abandoned her. The thought makes her ears droop, but with a determined shake of her head, she finds herself where she started.
[[Check surroundings]] Sheeba blinks into the light as she balances on the branch.
Down below her, a sprawling and familiar town reaches out. Without the ivy and flowers, however, it looks dreadfully liveless and cold. In fact, a light dusting of white instead layers the ground, and the snow is perfectly unbroken, as if none have been there in years. Frost trails cold fingers over every window, and, in the low light, it glimmers with a gentle and lonely beauty.
The sky is boundless and clear.
[[Jump up]]
[[Drift down]]Have you ever heard the phrase, 'When you woof, the abyss woofs back?'
That happened. Though, it was more a deep, bone-rattling, reptilian cry.
[[Go to the break in the trees]]. Fast.Jumping up, the momentum carries Sheeba closer and closer to the sky. Paddling furiously, she can feel the air fighting her, but a deep part of her wants to keep going, just to see how high she can go.
[[Keep paddling]]
[[Drift down]]Drifting down, Sheeba aims carefully and falls gently through a hole in the ceiling of a crumbling wooden cottage at the edge of the city. Landing feather-light in a thin, soft pile of snow, Sheeba looks around.
Light filters through the cracks in the boards and the snow-crusted window, illuminating the uprooted dust of the dark interior. A permeating silence eats at Sheeba's thoughts.
Sheeba sneezes.
[[Check for the cookie jar]]
[[Exit the house]]For a beautiful moment, Sheeba can feel the boundless grip of space, and it is as if she is once more home inside the Armando.
The moment ends, and she begins to fall.
[[Drift down]] The cookie jar is exactly where Sheeba remembers it being. However, sticking her snout in, Sheeba is disappointed to find it is empty.
[[Exit the house]] Pawing the door open, Sheeba steps out into the wintry city.
The layout is as she remembers. From the west, a watery scent reaches her nose; looking to her right, she can see a huge, towering mountain, layered with slick ice and grey stone. The ice-lined streets are slippery under her paws.
[[Go to the sea]]
[[Go to the mountain]]
[[Walk the streets]]The ocean air has a frigid quality which makes each breath feel fresh. As Sheeba steps along the white stone, she checks for the holes where the amber beings lived.
They aren't there. Instead, smooth wall greets her, empty, and somehow disappointing.
A crashing wave breaks her concentration. Out on the water, icebergs of varying size and clarity float on a grey-blue broth of ocean, serene and reaching endlessly into the distance.
Sheeba sits for a while, but soon, the silence begins to creep up her shoulders, and she can't bear to stay any longer.
[[Walk the streets]]
[[Go to the mountain]]The mountain towers over everything. In the cool night, it feels somewhat foreboding. A gaping entrance has been cleared away, eating at the mountain with unnerving ease.
Sheeba looks up, and up, and up. The mountain looks down.
[[Lick the ice]]
[[Go inside]]Sheeba slips around on the ice for a bit before getting a rhythm going. Flicking her paws with skill, she slides around on the ice.
Wheee!
[[Go to the mountain]]
[[Go to the sea]] *lick*
The ice is cold. Sheeba tugs her tongue away and shakes her head furiously. Was that... *icing* she tasted?
Maybe she should lick it again?...
nah.
[[Go inside]]The tunnel is a hundred times Sheeba's width, and stretches in all directions. Strange, curved grooves line the walls, a twisting, twirling pipeline.
The stone is smooth and unmarred, as if nothing has touched the place in centuries. The sheer lack of mess or wear on the stone sends goosebumps along Sheeba's shoulders; even more worrying is the click of her claws on the white rock, loud and obtrusive.
[[Keep walking]]The tunnel opens up into a cave.
Inside, a river, once flowing in a hoop around the center island, is now frosted over with thick, clear ice, below which strange fish swim freely. The place is bright, despite a lack of any visible light sources, and a heavy sound buzzes in Sheeba's ears.
The center island has a thick layer of snow on it. But... there's no way for it to have gotten here.
[[Woof quietly]]
[[Woof loudly]]
[[Hop over and poke the snow]]
The mound of snow twitches, then turns. Glistening scales shift like shards of ice in the sunlight, and a long, iridescent neck twists around to meet Sheeba's stare. Large, hefty limbs shuffle around to turn the being towards her.
This, without a doubt, is the Icewarden.
"Hello, strange creature," Hisses a tired, cautious voice. "What brings you here?"
[[I'm looking for cookies]]
[[I'm looking for a way home]]
[[Do you have a spare charger?]]The snow startles, bursting into the air with a flash of... wings?
A long, winding neck uncurls and spins around to lay a gimlet gaze on Sheeba, large, sapphire eyes blinking open. A rumbling growl is heard, and Sheeba is abruptly plunged into darkness before she can see just how the being is shaped, large wings blocking out all light but that coming from its large eyes.
This is, undoubtedly, the Icewarden.
"Speak," hisses a sibilant, scratchy voice, sounding as if it had gone unused for eons. "now. What brings a creature from *Elsewhere* to my domain?"
[[I'm looking for cookies]]
[[I'm looking for a way home]]
[[Do you have a spare charger?]]The snow twists, and Sheeba is pushed into the ground by a large, clawed limb which digs deep into the ice as if made for the purpose. A furious roar cries, "Have you never been to Hogwarts?!"
This, certainly, must be the Icewarden.
Sheeba informs the Icewarden she has never been to a Hog's wart, but the Icewarden is not listening.
"What brings you here, insolent fool?!"
[[I'm looking for cookies]]
[[I'm looking for a way home]]
[[Do you have a spare charger?]] "Ha ha, very funny," says the Icewarden. "You're not getting *my* cookies. Try again."
[[I'm looking for a way home]]
[[Do you have a spare charger?]]"A way... home?" The Icewarden steps away, as if staring from a distance will make Sheeba more sensical. The Icewarden's tail snaps against the ice, slamming into the ground with a mountain-shaking rumble. "Explain."
[[Explain]]"A...what?" The Icewarden frowns. "I... I think I do? Let me check my hoard."
Scrambling off, the Icewarden vanishes behind a clump of rocks and returns with a strange, glowing hourglass. "Here we go. You should have said all you needed was a charger. What are you going to do with it?"
[[Travel home]]The Icewarden's gaze softens, melting like the very ice the Icewarden resembles.
"Far be it from me to stop you, then." the Icewarden murmurs, passing the hourglass gently to Sheeba. "I shall open a portal," the Icewarden says officiously, "so you may return to your ship. You should find it" The Icewarden gestures to the hourglass, "sufficiently powerful enough to charge it. I wish you luck, strange furred one."
As promised, a portal opens, swirling in dizzy patterns of dark blue and bright white.
[[Go through the portal]]Sheeba recounts her adventure so far.
"I see," murmurs the Icewarden, moved. "Far be it from me to stop you, then. Stay there." Reaching elegantly behind some rocks, the Icewarden returns with a delicate hourglass, holding it gently in two clawed limbs.
"This hourglass will power anything in the galaxy." the Icewarden whispers, so confident that Sheeba believes it without pause. "Use it. Alone, in this mountain, I have no use for it." The Icewarden's tail curls around Sheeba protectively as the hourglass passes from claw to paw. "I will open a portal. It will take you back to your ship."
As promised, a portal opens, shining the same blue-white of the water from which Sheeba escaped. It swirls in her vision and makes her dizzy, but it draws her forward with the promise of home.
[[Go through the portal]]Leaping through the portal, Sheeba feels a distinct grip around her muzzle, and she is pulled in. A strange power tugs her in all directions, and it is all she can do to prevent herself from crying out.
All too soon, the colours begin to change, and Sheeba blacks out...
[[Awaken]]Sheeba is in the cockpit.
Her spinning chair is knocked on its side. The glass is thankfully intact, and, as she rises, the hourglass floats out of her paws of its own accord. Floating along, it turns a corner, and the rumbling sound of the Armando reparing itself fills her ears.
[[Push the red lever]]
With a rumbling groan, the Armando begins to rise. Yapping excitedly, Sheeba rushes to the window, where the feeble light of distant stars gleam through, lighting up the cockpit and her panel. A droid walks in and rights her chair.
[[Sit in the chair]]Sheeba plops down into the chair and spins a few times, dizzy in a happy, giddy way. Her panel's buttons are still flickering, but a few are lit up.
[[Push the sparkly pink button]]
[[Push the red button]]
[[Push the green button]]
[[Push the blue button]]There's a strange, whizzy sound, and glitter falls everywhere.
"Happy Birthday!" Cries a litany of familiar voices. Sheeba barks excitedly and tries to lick the button.
It doesn't taste very good, but she licks it a few more times anyway, just to be sure.
[[Push the red button]]
[[Push the green button]]
[[Push the blue button]] Sheeba knows what will happen if she does that. Turning up her nose at the red button, she sniffs.
[[Push the sparkly pink button]]
[[Push the green button]]
[[Push the blue button]] A screen rises from the ground, a panel sliding away to let it through. It sparks, fizzes, and bursts to life.
On the panel is the silhouette of someone Sheeba remembers.
"Listen closely, my precious Inushka," says a gentle voice which makes Sheeba feel homesick in a way she never has before. She scrambles up to the screen and licks it, and keeps licking, even though it tastes bad, and nothing like the man she remembers. "This is what you must do..."
[[THE END]]"Error; the ship is currently adjusting to new conditions. Please standby until the Armando is ready before plotting a new route," says the familiar alto voice.
[[Push the sparkly pink button]]
[[Push the red button]]
[[Push the green button]] Thank you for playing The Adventures of Sheeba Inushka! I hope you enjoyed the adventure!
Did you get all the cookies? There are 6 different cookies to find!
(Happy birthday, Kane.)