The Tale of a Dog Hero

The Challenges to Heroism

When Oscar began to leave his room, he noticed he felt a bit more brave. He treaded down the stairs quietly before sneaking through the living room. He walked outside and began to head for town. Around halfway there, he noticed a bit of smoke in the corner of his eye. When he got closer, he realized what it was. 3 piles of ash with the center one having Oscar's money from the day before. He grabbed the money, cleaned it off, and headed to the store. On his way, he found his fathers shop and put his hand against the big glass window. Oscar saw his father walk up to him and shut the blinds in his face. Oscar continued walking until he found the hardware store. There, he bought an axe and a spare handle. As the day continued, Oscar spent a good bit of it splitting wood and moving it into a neat pile. When there was no more wood, Oscar put up the axe and handle and headed into the forest. Tired, he made it to the shrine and knelt infront of it. A few moments later and Artemis appears.
"Wow. You already have done a good deed before you call me. You have bought the axe, and cut all the wood. Do not tell them what you have done, but let it play out. There will be a test through these woods, and at the end will immediately lie another. Once the two tests are complete, go and try to relax at home." Artemis points Oscar in the direction of the first test.
"I'm not sure that is my home anymore. It is just where I live currently..." Oscar begins to head to the path. After a bit of walking, Oscar begins to look around as the trail disappeared from under him. As soon as he was going to run, a frog-like creature came out from behind a tree. The frog was scaly, fat, and slimy except it had fur in places and had a glass eye. "Hello young one. What brings a child into the woods like this? Are you lost?" The frog asks as it approaches Oscar.
"No im not lost. Im just looking for a certain place. Can you help me find it?"
"Actually, I believe I may know where you mean. It has been here for a while. Do you know who I am by any chance?"
"I do not. Should I? "
"Well, not really. What if i were to tell you I am another god... I have been watching you just as Artemis has. She is going to give something to you right? What if I were able to give you something stronger, for free? You could tower over your enemies and crush them with a flick of your finger."
The frog tries to touch Oscar's chest but he manages to back away.
"What do you mean? Like, power?"
"Power, and beyond. You could be a god and all you have to do, is shake my hand. Easy enough, right?" It shoved its nasty hand infront of Oscar.
"Hmm. I'm not sure. Lead me to the location you were talking about and I will think about it some more."
"Well, alright kid. Follow me." The frog leads him through deeper into the woods until they reached a cliff.
"Alright we are here. Have you decided whether or not to accept?" Oscar is standing near the edge as the frog gets closer.
"Why do you want to give free power away?"
"I just want to level the playing field. Is that too much to ask?"
"What exactly do i gain from this? Could you tell me?"
"You, uh... You ask a lot of questions kid. You get like, strength or whatever you want. All you need to do is shake my hand." The frog gets closer with his hand outstretched, creeping towards Oscar.
"May I ask how I can trust you?"
"You just can. Now shake my hand." The frog is starting to look angry as it starts wiggling its hand in the air, waiting for it to be grabbed.
"Im not sure I want this power." Oscar goes to take a step back but realizes the trap he was put in.
"You little bitch! Accept it or die!" The frog leaps at Oscar but he manages to duck and throw a punch before it can grab him. The frog accidentally falls off the cliff and a thud can be heard from far below. Oscar's heart races as he hears a sound in his head. That was the first test! Oscar gets up and tries to leave the area but a large maze rises out of the ground and the only way past is through. Oscar disappointedly walks inside and starts walking around. The first dead end had a puzzle he had to solve in order to turn back. The second dead end had a room with water and a soft looking bed. Oscar tossed a rock on the bed and another at the water. The bed grew teeth and slammed in half. The water had quickly turned into what looked like acid. There were many dead ends that Oscar met, many challenges, many doors, and many creatures, but after 4 hours of navigating, Oscar had made it out with only a bruised knee from when he tripped running from a snake the size of his thigh. It was starting to get dark and he had no clue where home was. After praying a swarm of lightning bugs began forming a line in the form of a trail. Oscar followed them all the way to his house. When Oscar made it through the door, he was met with a stern yelling by his mother and a slap across the face by his father for embarrassing him at work. Oscar didn't even pay attention to them, and went up to his room to pass out on the bed. Just as he reached his bed, a strange portal opened up at his feet. Before Oscar could even react, he fell in and landed face first in a strange room. He managed to get up and noticed a rather large creature that had similar traits as Oscar. It had red fur, blue stomach and green paws. The room around Oscar had a strange machine with colored canisters. The person stared at Oscar with a funny look on its face, but carried a funny looking half-grin. Oscar raised his finger, about to say something when another portal opened and he fell into it. He was back home, but outside the house. Sadly, he already locked the doors so he couldn't go back inside. Instead he went to find the shrine to talk to Artemis about the encounter...