Board Thread:Deltora Quest/@comment-28175840-20160410132046/@comment-27081137-20160411032414

It sounds to me like the scenario you are describing is the one Ben mentioned.

In City of the Rats, the third book of Deltora Quest 1, the three protagonists are given strange beasts called Muddlets to ride. The shopkeeper who sold the Muddlets warns the questers not to take the Muddlets down the Broad River path when the road forks. However, he does not give a reason for his warning, which leads the companions to incorrectly guess his motives for warning them. They believe he was just trying to keep them out of danger -- out of the City of the Rats, which lies on the Broad River and is exactly where they want to go. They take the Broad River path despite the shopkeeper's advice against it, and end up riding right by an apple orchard not far from the Muddlets' original home. The Muddlets threw their riders and bolted when they saw home and smelled their favorite food. The questing companions end up in loads of trouble when they wake up Muddlet-less in a creepy city of cultish people obsessed with cleanliness.

So here are my answers to your questions, based on my understanding of the information you gave.

1) The book is City of the Rats, from Deltora Quest 1.

2) The main character is Lief, and the deuteragonists are Barda and Jasmine.

3) No one is making them choose, but they had vague advice not to choose a certain path.

4) Neither option was particularly bad, but the path the companions chose was a wide road through fertile green country. The other road was wide and strong as well.

5) The companions chose the road they thought would lead them to their destination, regardless of the shopkeeper's suggestion.

I hope this helps!

Rey