Covering your ears against the din of the alarm, you step into the middle of the hall and shout: “Hello? I’m here to see Tharg... Is there anybody ho-” Before you can finish, something slams into you from behind, winding you and knocking you to the floor. A great weight on your back and a barking in your ear tells you you have been pinned down by a dog...but its not until it hops off your back and circles around in front of you that you realise exactly what kind of dog. Suddenly, the alarm goes dead, and you hear someone approaching from behind. “Uhh...sit, Ubu, sit! Good dog! Yup!” says a moronic-sounding robot voice. The metal dog stiffens and growls. “For the final time before I tear you to pieces, you idiot, my name is NOT Ubu!” it snaps, shaking its head in frustration. “Now go tell Tharg everything is under control. We caught an intruder and I’m taking him to Mek-Quake...”
“Wait!” you gasp, pushing yourself up. “I’m not an intruder! Well, I am, but only because I came to return this...” You take the invitation from your pocket and show it to the robot dog and the strange frog-faced droid who has come to stand beside you. You recognise them as Toby and Hoagy, and know only the dog is to be feared. “What’s this?” Toby says, craning his muzzle to sniff at the ticket. “An invitation to the Christmas party,” you explain. “Tharg dropped it outside, I wanted to return it...but that’s not all. I’m not the intruder you have to worry about, I saw the Dictators of Zrag downstairs and they... ” Before you can finish, Toby suddenly snaps his head forward and clamps his teeth down on the invitation, ripping it from your grasp and taking off down the hall. “What the-?” you gasp, watching the dog run to a nearby door and leap up to push the handle down with its paws. “Sorry pal,” Toby growls through clenched teeth. “My ex-squeeze is at that party and damned if I’m not gonna take this chance to catch up with her!” The door swings open and the dog slips into the stairwell, metallic claws scraping on concrete as it starts down the steps...
Do you...
Chase Toby to retrieve the ticket, or...
Go with Hoagy to see Tharg and warn him about the Dictators of Zrag?
