In The Shepherds Journey, the participants of the event got a unique chance to directly vote for and decide the fate of a lost shepherd, set out on a quest to rescue his herd.
So what are you waiting for?
Just click any of the links above, or keep scrolling this page, to hop right into the adventure!
Welcome to The Journey!
Chapter 1 - Interlude
Silence. Finally some silence. The blowing wind and the waves hitting the hull of your ship are the only sounds that can be heard. You can’t remember the last time you felt so calm, out on the open sea, just you and your herd. Tired of your old hectic lifestyle, you decided to pack your whole life up and set out for a new harmonious existence, to the most peaceful island in the world - Pastura
With the wind in your sails and the sun gazing over your head, your journey continues. And after several days out in the open sea, you finally catch your first glimpse of the island far out in the horizon. You excitedly observe the island getting bigger and bigger for every hour, and as the sun starts to set, you can begin to see the lights from the houses in the only big city on the island. The vast green lands of untouched nature starts to darken and eventually, only the contours of the island can be seen.
The occasional “Baa”-ing from the herd slowly starts to decrease, and you look back at your sleeping herd with a smile. At last, the dream of the life you have always longed for is right in front of your eyes.
But then, with less than an hour left until the island is reached, a mist starts to creep in…
…growing thicker every minute, it starts engulfing more and more and more of the island...
...until the shape of the island is completely inextinguishable.
The mist continues to thicken, and the lights from the city that were your only guide during the night soon fades into darkness. The temperature drops quickly, and you find yourself standing on deck, looking out into the darkness, shivering from the cold. Anxiously, you keep on course, hoping that the path you are on will guide you to the docks of the city.
But then, you see something.
Piercing through the darkness, a bright light can be seen, fluttering through the thick mist.
The light looks to be coming from near the shore of the island, but still, none of its surroundings can be seen. At first, you let out a sigh of relief. Guided by the lighthouse, reaching your destination will be an easy task. But a sliver of doubt starts to grow in your mind. The course you are on felt like it was the right way to the docks, but aiming for the light would mean a fairly drastic deviation from your current path.
You need to make a choice, do you keep your course and go straight into the dark mist, or do you change it to aim for the light?
55% choose to stear towards the light
Uncertain of your current path, you stear of towards the light. As you get closer and closer, the light seems to flicker more and more, but still no trace of the surrounding area. You look around, but you can barely see a few meters of black water surrounding the boat before the mist takes over. Suddenly, a noise is heard behind you. You run to the stern and look out in the mist.
At first, nothing can be seen. But more and more, a shadow seems to starts taking form, roughly a cable length behind you. Minutes go by, and the shadow seems to be keeping the same distance behind. Glancing towards the bow, you can see the mist starting to clear, and all of a sudden you are out in the open again. You can see a wall of mist behind you, but still no trace of your pursuers.
A short moment later, the bow of a ship starts to appear out of the mist. Over the course of a few seconds - which feels like hours - the shape of the enormous ship starts to take form, and is soon fully revealed. You can clearly see the big Y shape adorning its sails, a shape that is infamous across the whole world for its atrocious owners.
Glancing towards the island, you see a big fire burning on the shore, surrounded by pirates. You’ve fallen right into their trap! Now, out of the mist, the pirates sails has caught wind. They have now started to close their distance to your ship and will soon be within shooting distance. You can now hear horrible screams coming from their ship, and you feel the sweat running down your face. You take what might be a last look at your herd, still peacefully asleep. You need to act not only for your own best, but also for theirs.
You need to make a choice. Quickly. How do you handle the pirates?
59% choose to fight
Thinking of the best for your herd, you decide that the highest chance of their survival is to fight back against the pirates, how grim the odds even might be. Disregarding the fact that your ship is a freight vessel designed for carrying livestock, and with just one canon employed, you start to turn your ship around to face the pirates. With the pirate ship menacingly approaching, you position your cannon in their direction, and fire…
...the cannon ball bounces against their reinforced hull, barely making a dent. You look fearfully as their advance uninterruptedly continues towards you. Soon, the pirates have caught up to your ship. Sailing at a height more than twice the distance from the water surface, you look up at the colossal ship that is now right next to yours. You attentively await the next move from the pirates, and you can hear their laughter coming from above. Suddenly a long rope ladder is hurled of their ship onto yours, and a large assortment of individuals and creatures starts their descent - some even looks to be shepherds who has abandoned their previous occupation.
As the first member steps their foot onto board - a huge ork with a gold monocle over his left eye - he immediately starts sprinting towards you. You position yourself to fight, but to no effect against this intimidating monster. Without a second of hesitation, you are picked up and thrown right of board.
When your body meets the surface of the water, you might just as well have been dropped onto a cliff. The impact makes you instantly lose your breath, and even though you try your very best to fight against the waves, you feel the currents dragging you down. With a last thought of your herd, which you had always swore to protect, your body is pulled under water…
...and then everything turns black.
You feel… empty.
You slowly open your eyes, and is dazzled by your bright surroundings. After a few seconds, your eyes have adjusted to the light from the sun, and you look up to find yourself on a beach. You push yourself up, feeling the fine sand seeping between your fingers. You glance out towards the ocean, but the pirates, your ship and the mist that were in front of you what feels like a moment ago, are gone. Frantically you limp across the beach as fast as your little body can take you, but no trace of your ship or herd. You let out a desperate scream, hoping that someone will hear. But in vain - your herd is gone.
You look back up towards the island, and start to try to locate yourself. Over the jungle that streches out in the distance, you see the backside of the huge mountain that towers over the whole island, but other than that, you can find no other landmarks to navigate your journey.
But you won’t give up. If you have made it here, you can make it even further. Filled with vengeance and determination, you step of the beach to decide on your path. You will find your herd. You will get revenge on the pirates. You will get the peaceful life you longed for. This is just a detour. This is not the end of your journey.
