You awaken partway through the night. The fire has died down quite a bit, and you think you hear beautiful music off in the distance. Sitting up, you rub your eyes and look around. Off into the forest, tiny lights dance about. You are about to stand when you hear a strange, low noise behind you. You look around, and see a wild cat crouched, eyeing you intently. As you scramble to your feet, it pounces, and knocks you flat again. You roll out of the way and grope wildly for your sword. The cat attacks again, raking you brutally with its claws. A long struggle ensues. You manage to kill the cat, using the magic your master taught you. You yourself have lost a lot of blood, however, and the pain from your wounds keeps you up most of the night.
After bandaging your wounds and stopping most of the bleeding, you finally fall into a fitful sleep, and awaken around noon, damp and chilled. You re-stoke the fire, but you can't get warm no matter how hard you try. You are ravenously hungry, but when you look in your pack you discover that your bread and cheese have gone mouldy. You cut the mould from the cheese and eat it anyway, then, desperate, you cut bits from the wildcat and cook them on a long stick over the fire, shivering uncontrollably the whole time.
Your energy is almost completely gone from this simple act. You are certain that your wounds have become infected, and you are going to die.
In a last desperate attempt to save your life, you cry out to Bjorn, the god of the monastery you were travelling to.
"If you will save my life," you pray, "I promise that I will join your followers and devote the rest of my life to your service".
You lie by the fire, miserable and dejected, fading in and out of consciousness. At some point you wake up, to find the dwarf standing over you. Several other dwarves peer from over his shoulder.
"Well," he says, "I suppose that I had best do something. Let's take this human to the monastery. They'll be able to do something, as long as we're not too late."
In return for your poor hospitality, the dwarf saves your life. He and his cousins make a crude travois and heave you onto it, and take turns dragging it to the monastery. You pass out partway there, and when you awaken you feel considerably better. You are lying in a small cell in the monastery, on a straw mat. You smell fresh home-baked bread, and turn your head to see that there is a jug of water and several thick slabs of buttered bread beside you.
Over the next few weeks, you slowly regain your strength. Afraid to break your vow to Bjorn, you join the ranks of his followers, and lead a dull but long life within the confines of a religious house.
If you're enjoying Adventure in Lindau, you probably find role-playing games where you get to think a little fun. "Thief II, the Metal Age" is my favorite computer role-playing game. Why not try it yourself?
THIEF II: THE METAL AGE