<font size="7">Moondreams</font>(set: $warning to 0)
<img src="http://i65.tinypic.com/2lkd4qp.jpg" align="center" width="700">
(link-repeat: "THE STORY SO FAR (show)")[
You are Suvad Tor, an illusionist who recently graduated from the Académie de Magie Camirand (goooo Fighting Phénixes!). You have begun to prepare for your future wedding to your beloved, Qualia Tuya Kim, who is also a graduate. Your bond of friendship and love blossomed during your harrowing years of studies, and you are to be married in the summer of next year, the year of Lecerion.
Custom dictates that during a wizard wedding, both parties getting married must publicly destroy something of great personal value. In order to demonstrate the depth of your love, you plan to find the most valuable, most powerful object in the universe and destroy it at your wedding: the legendary and half-mythical Subgenial Amulet!
Legends claim, amongst other things, that the Subgenial Amulet can fulfill a person's greatest wish. It is said to exist on the Astral Plane (also called Moondreams), which is accessed by one's astral body. Very few people even have the native ability to enter this plane, let alone get anything from it, but you are one of those who have native plane-walking ability. So with your friend and powerful astral witch Xaahel, you make secretive plans to access the Astral Plane without alerting your beloved, telling her you'll be traveling (which is technically true, although she's probably be miffed if she learned the full truth).
]
(link-repeat: "THE RULES (show)")[
(set: $substance to 20)(set: $aura to 5)(set: $illusion to 5)(set: $herohit to 2)You start with (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE points. It represents the level of confidence you have in your astral body, and will be lowered by apparent injuries. You cannot die in the Astral Plane, but if your SUBSTANCE points are lowered to zero, you "die," i.e. you are kicked back into the real world and must start over. Your SUBSTANCE points may go higher than their current level during play.
You start with (print: $aura) AURA points. This represents your general magical skill in the Astral Plane. In real life, you are far more skilled, but you are unused to magic on different planes of existence. Your AURA points will determine how good you are in magical combat.
You start with (print: $illusion) ILLUSION points. Illusion magic is your specialty, but again, your abilities will be greatly reduced during this adventure. You may require the use of illusion magic at various times.
You cannot bring any equipment with you in the Astral Plane, although you can take one object back with you (hopefully, the Amulet).
You may be asked to test your AURA or ILLUSION, with a number representing difficulty. In that case, one d6 roll will be added to your statistic, and one d6 roll will be added to the difficulty: if your total is equal or greater, you pass the test, otherwise you fail. The tests will take place automatically.
You may also have to engage in combat against various opponents (although you can win the adventure without doing so). In that case, the opponent's statistics (SUBSTANCE and AURA) will be displayed, and the battle will take place automatically. One d6 roll will be added to the AURA of each side, and if your total is equal or higher than the opponent's, you take away 2 SUBSTANCE points from them, otherwise they take away 2 SUBSTANCE points from you. Again, if your SUBSTANCE reaches zero during battle, you are "dead."
]
(link-repeat: "FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE (show)")[
You will travel through the Astral Plane by apparating into various portions of it. You can only do this while in contact with the ether: if you are within a building, or within an atmosphere, you will not able to leave.
Note that there is an optimal path through this adventure, although you may not find it on the first try. No matter what path you take, you will miss certain portions, some of which are more important than others.
Xaahel will be patient and let you keep going for a few hours under her supervision, but if you waste too much time, she will eventually reawaken you. Don't get lost...
Good luck!
]
<i>[[Enter Moondreams->1]]</i>
(set: $inventory1 to 0, $inventory2 to 0, $inventory3 to 0, $inventory4 to 0, $inventory5 to 0, $inventory6 to 0, $inventory7 to 0, $inventory8 to 0, $inventory9 to 0, $inventory10 to 0, $inventory11 to 0, $inventory12 to 0, $inventory13 to 0, $inventory14 to 0, $inventory15 to 0, $inventory16 to 0, $inventory17 to 0, $inventory18 to 0, $inventory19 to 0, $inventory20 to 0, $inventory21 to 0, $inventory22 to 0, $inventory23 to 0, $inventory24 to 0, $inventory25 to 0, $inventory26 to 0, $inventory27 to 0, $inventory28 to 0, $inventory29 to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 0)(set: $hist20 to 0, $hist25 to 0, $hist26 to 0, $hist59 to 0, $hist62 to 0, $hist63 to 0, $hist101 to 0, $hist101a to 0, $hist101b to 0, $hist102 to 0, $hist102a to 0, $hist102b to 0, $hist104 to 0, $hist136 to 0, $hist161 to 0, $hist167 to 0, $hist168 to 0, $hist189 to 0, $hist196 to 0, $hist206 to 0, $hist209 to 0, $hist210 to 0, $hist211 to 0, $hist212 to 0, $hist213 to 0, $hist216 to 0, $hist217 to 0, $hist221 to 0, $hist236 to 0, $mukamukspell to 0, $lugubre to 0)\
<!-- $substance $aura $illusion $herohit --><!-- $substancee $aurae $hite --><!-- $inventory1 to 27 --><!-- $story1 to -->
(set: $warning to 0)Disoriented and having lost your footing, you float about for a while, trying to regain your bearings and senses. When you do so, you find yourself surrounded by astral people looking at you expectantly. Around you, brick walls extend in all directions, curve and warp, riddled by numerous holes and gashes. You also see what appears to be rooms, some floating free in the ether unconnected to any wall. The whole edifice, from your standpoint inside of it, seems to have the general shape of a haphazard sphere.
The people tell you that you have apparated in a place called the Eh Kin, a sort of fortress. They try to build this place as a bulwark against chaotic people who wish to keep the Moondreams plane chaotic and lawless. Groups of rebels, non-conformists, and other undesirables roam about attacking permanent structures like this one, and their magic has proven too powerful for the builders of the Eh Kin to fully defend against. They look at you, perhaps trying to gauge your reaction.
What is your reaction to their story?
[[You love them, for they fight for order where there is none.->2]]
[[You hate them, for they try to impose order where none is necessary.->3]]
[[You pity them, for their endeavor is ultimately futile.->4]]Your hatred shows on your face and body movements, and the people around you begin to feel hostile towards you as well. One person in particular, who claims his name is Tuzbeh, grabs an energy pistol from his belt and begins to shoot at you.
Tuzbeh will retreat from combat if you substract a mere 4 SUBSTANCE points from him, but you have only two rounds to do so. Note that Tuzbeh is using an energy pistol, so he drains 2 additional SUBSTANCE points on successful attacks.
(set: $enemyname to "Tuzbeh")(set: $substancee to 4)(set: $aurae to 4)(set: $hite to 2)
TUZBEH: 4 SUBSTANCE points, AURA 4
Round 1: (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) Opponent's AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[\
You lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite) You have (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(else:)[\
(print: $enemyname) loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit) (print: $enemyname) has (print: $substancee) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(if: $substance>0)[
Round 2: (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) Opponent's AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[\
You lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite) You have (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(else:)[\
(print: $enemyname) loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit) (print: $enemyname) has (print: $substancee) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
]\
(if: $substance>0)[
Round 3: (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) Opponent's AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[\
You lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite) You have (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(else:)[\
(print: $enemyname) loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit) (print: $enemyname) has (print: $substancee) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
]\
{(if: $substance<1) [(You have died) [[Continue->13]]
](else-if: $substancee<1)[
](else:)[
]}
<i>Test your AURA at difficulty 4.</i> (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$aura/illusion)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+DIFFICULTY)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test)]\
(else:)[(You won the test)]
(set: $substance to it - 10)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[]
(if: $inventory5 is 1)[](else:)[(You do not have a )]
single money check
(if: ($inventory6 is 1) or ($inventory7 is 1))[](else:)[(You do not have gold pieces )]
double money check
(if: ($inventory6 is 1) and ($inventory7 is 1))[](else:)[(You do not have 30 gold pieces )]
single iron shaving check
(if: ($inventory17 is 1) or ($inventory18 is 1))[](else:)[(You do not have iron shavings)]
double iron shavings check
(if: ($inventory17 is 1) and ($inventory18 is 1))[](else:)[(You do not have two bags of iron shavings)]
single plot coupon
(if: ($inventory12 is 1) or ($inventory13 is 1) or ($inventory14 is 1) or ($inventory15 is 1))[](else:)[(You do not have a plot coupon)]
substract one plot coupon
(if: $inventory15 is 1)[(set: $inventory15 to 0)](else-if:$inventory14 is 1)[(set: $inventory14 to 0)](else-if:$inventory13 is 1)[(set: $inventory13 to 0)](else:)[(set: $inventory12 to 0)]
dice roll
Roll a d6. (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(Your roll is (print: $random1))
<style>mark {
background-color: yellow;
color: black;
}</style>
(if: $warning is 0)[
<mark><font size="4"><b>Status</b>: You have (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE points, (print: $aura) AURA points, and (print: $illusion) ILLUSION points.
<b>Inventory</b>: \
(if: $inventory1 is 1)[energy pistol / ](if: $inventory2 is 1)[infrasonic bell / ](if: $inventory3 is 1)[coffee grounds / ](if: $inventory4 is 1)[lucky coin / ](if: $inventory5 is 1)[Wand of Draconic Image / ](if: $inventory8 is 1)[shutdown spell / ](if: $inventory9 is 1)[Capacitor Jewel / ](if: $inventory10 is 1)[bag of peanut shells / ](if: $inventory11 is 1)[circlet of illusion / ](if: $inventory16 is 1)[bag of baby carrots / ](if: $inventory19 is 1)[diamond hammer / ](if: $inventory20 is 1)[patchwork soul / ](if: $inventory21 is 1)[vial of tricorn sweat / ](if: $inventory22 is 1)[vial of lemon zest / ](if: $inventory23 is 1)[bag of parrot feathers / ](if: $inventory24 is 1)[paper cutout / ](if: $inventory25 is 1)[Amplifier Sword / ](if: $inventory26 is 1)[adventurer kit / ](if: $inventory27 is 1)[novelty ring / ](if: $inventory28 is 1)[small horse key / ](if: $inventory29 is 1)[Wand of Slow Fall / ]\
(set: $goldcount to 0)(if: $inventory6 is 1)[(set: $goldcount to it + 1)](if: $inventory7 is 1)[(set: $goldcount to it + 1)]\
(if: $goldcount is 1)[15 gold pieces / ](if: $goldcount is 2)[30 gold pieces / ]\
(set: $couponcount to 0)(if: $inventory12 is 1)[(set: $couponcount to it + 1)](if: $inventory13 is 1)[(set: $couponcount to it + 1)](if: $inventory14 is 1)[(set: $couponcount to it + 1)](if: $inventory15 is 1)[(set: $couponcount to it + 1)]\
(if: $couponcount is 1)[plot coupon / ](if: $couponcount > 1)[(print: $couponcount) plot coupons / ]\
(set: $ironcount to 0)(if: $inventory17 is 1)[(set: $ironcount to it + 1)](if: $inventory18 is 1)[(set: $ironcount to it + 1)]\
(if: $ironcount is 1)[small bag of iron shavings / ](else-if: $ironcount is 2)[2 small bags of iron shavings / ]\
</font></mark>]
<!-- finish 17, 18
ITEMS: (1) energy pistol, (2) infrasonic bell (used in CoG), (3) coffee grounds, (4)lucky coin, (5) Wand of Draconic Image, (6) 15 gold pieces / (7) 15 more gold pieces, (8) shutdown spell, (9) Capacitor Jewel (used in combat), (10) bag of peanut shells (useless), (11) circlet of illusion (+2 illusion), (12) plot coupon (ship)/ (13) plot coupon (rock formation)/ (14) plot coupon (hollow world) / (15) plot coupon (paperland), (16) bag of baby carrots, (17) small bag of iron shavings / (18) small bag of iron shavings, (19) diamond hammer, (20) patchwork soul, (21) vial of tricorn sweat, (22) vial of lemon zest, (23) bag of parrot feathers, (24) paper cutout, (25) Amplifier Sword (+2 AURA) , (26) adventurer kit, (27) novelty ring (+2 ILLUSION), (28) small horse key (29) Wand of Slow Fall -->
(enchant: ?page, (text-colour: black) + (background: white))<u>WARNING</u>(set: $warning to 1)
This online gamebook contains branching paths, vulgarity, and statistically-simulated violence.
[[Continue->Intro]](if: ($substance>0) and ($substancee>0))[\
(set: $x to it + 1)\
Round (print: $x): (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) Opponent's AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[\
You lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite) You have (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(else:)[\
(print: $enemyname) loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit) (print: $enemyname) has (print: $substancee) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
]\
(if: ($substance>0) and ($substancee>0))[\
(link: "Next round")[(display: "fightloopexample")]\
]\
(else:)[\
(link-goto: "Continue", $fightgoto)
]\
Your love confirms their fondest hopes and dreams, and they shower you with waves of admiration. This lasts for a long time, and you bask in their praise. <i>You gain 10 points of SUBSTANCE</i> because their admiration strongly reinforces your permanence in this realm. However, <i>you must also substract 1 to your ILLUSION rating</i>, because your constant praising of their fortress' permanency has lowered your ability to see through its illusory nature. (set: $substance to $substance+10)(set: $illusion to $illusion-1)
You are on a dangerous path, for those who attribute the same permanency to the Astral as they do to material objects are condemning themselves to believe that illusions are the real things, just like the people of Eh Kin. Not wanting to share their fate forever, you must do something else. But what?
[[You explore Eh Kin->5]]
[[You decide to leave Eh Kin->6]]Your hatred shows on your face and body movements, and the people around you begin to feel hostile towards you as well. A man detaches himself from the crowd and withdraws from his belt a small rounded barrel with a lowered part where the hand rests, and yellow circles around the end of the barrel: an energy pistol. He claims his name is Tuzbeh, and that his intention is to defeat you.
<i>Tuzbeh will retreat from combat if you substract a mere 4 SUBSTANCE points from him, but you have only two rounds to do so. Note that Tuzbeh is using an energy pistol, so he drains 2 additional SUBSTANCE points on successful attacks (i.e. any round where he drains at least one SUBSTANCE point off you).</i>
(set: $substancee to 4)(set: $aurae to 3)(set: $hite to 4)
TUZBEH: 4 SUBSTANCE points, AURA 3
Round 1- (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) His AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
{(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[Tuzbeh wins round 1- you lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite)
](else:)[You win round 1- Tuzbeh loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit)]}
Round 2- (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) His AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
{(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[Tuzbeh wins round 2- you lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite)
](else:)[You win round 2- Tuzbeh loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit)]}
{(if: $substance<1) [ [[You are defeated->13]]
](else-if: $substancee<1)[ [[You have defeated Tuzbah in two rounds or less->7]]
](else:)[ [[You have failed to defeat Tuzbah after two rounds->8]]
]}
You radiate pity to them, and they accept it. In fact, they downright revel in it. In a few minutes, you hypnotize them into a dwindling spiral of self-pity. They have introverted so much that they no longer move, talk, or even appear to be conscious. You try to extract information from their minds about the Amulet, but you find nothing of interest.
[[You explore Eh Kin while the people are hypnotized->9]]
[[You decide to leave Eh Kin->12]]You explore Eh Kin, which is mostly a spherical, open space with a few closed rooms. People let you go anywhere you wish, and even open doors for you. You don't see much that is impressive or instructive, and reflect that these people must be novices at astral magic, until you remember that you are yourself a first-timer (unless this is not your first attempt at this adventure!).
While most of the rooms are uninteresting, you do find a <i>bag of coffee grounds</i>.(set: $inventory3 to 1) Astral bodies do not require food, so it will not serve you in that respect. They may be using it as a regent, although you can't imagine what arcane spell would require coffee beans.
Floating towards the center, you find one room that seems particularly noteworthy: it is located at the center of Eh Kin and is the biggest one around. You enter and find a room that looks more ornate and finished than the others; it's obvious that the inhabitants have spent a lot of time on it. Amidst rows of magical wards and traps, you find a throne and an altar. There is no one else here.
You approach the altar, and on it lies a magic wand. It seems that magical objects emit signature energies just like in the real world: when you get close enough to sense its energies, you deduce that it must be a Wand of Draconic Image. You are very familiar with such wands because one of your rommates, Tuyb Gek, was studying wand fabrication and used to make such wands for other students to use in their (mostly) harmless pranks.
What do you do?
[[You seize the wand->10]]
[[You sit on the throne->11]]
[[You leave Eh Kin->6]]You float towards the exit of Eh Kin, a circular gate of iron infused with diffusion magic (which will immediately send you back to the real world if you touch it). As you try to figure out the means by which the gate can be raised, some of the people of the fortress come near you. They try to convince you to stay, but you are adamant in leaving. After a long time, they give up on their attempts and wish you best of luck in your travels. They advise you not to come into contact with the rebels and to not talk to anyone. You thank them and leave. What strange people, you think to yourself. [[Continue->12]](set: $warning to 1)For whatever reason, you have “died” or have otherwise been kicked out of Moondreams in failure. Have no fear, however, it is only your astral body that died and not you. You are violently kicked back to the real world, and Xaahel brings you back to consciousness. You may decide to go through the procedure again, in which case you may go back to the beginning. You must reset all your statistics, but you may keep one, and only one, piece of equipment with you, if it is listed below (with the caveat that you are not allowed to carry duplicates at any time).
If you do not wish to return, then you have failed to retrieve the Subgenial Amulet, and the quest ends in failure. But at least you will still marry Qualia...
If you wish to return, select one amongst the following items to take back:
(if: ($inventory1 is 0) and ($inventory2 is 0) and ($inventory4 is 0) and ($inventory5 is 0) and ($inventory9 is 0) and ($inventory11 is 0) and ($inventory24 is 0) and ($inventory25 is 0) and ($inventory27 is 0))[(You have none of the permitted items) Unfortunately, you cannot take any of your items back. [[Return to the beginning->1]]
(set: $substance to 20)(set: $aura to 5)(set: $illusion to 5)(set: $herohit to 2)
(set: $inventory1 to 0, $inventory2 to 0, $inventory3 to 0, $inventory4 to 0, $inventory5 to 0, $inventory6 to 0, $inventory7 to 0, $inventory8 to 0, $inventory9 to 0, $inventory10 to 0, $inventory11 to 0, $inventory12 to 0, $inventory13 to 0, $inventory14 to 0, $inventory15 to 0, $inventory16 to 0, $inventory17 to 0, $inventory18 to 0, $inventory19 to 0, $inventory20 to 0, $inventory21 to 0, $inventory22 to 0, $inventory23 to 0, $inventory24 to 0, $inventory25 to 0, $inventory26 to 0, $inventory27 to 0, $inventory28 to 0, $inventory29 to 0)
(set: $parreset to 0)(set: $hist20 to 0, $hist25 to 0, $hist26 to 0, $hist59 to 0, $hist62 to 0, $hist63 to 0, $hist101 to 0, $hist101a to 0, $hist101b to 0, $hist102 to 0, $hist102a to 0, $hist102b to 0, $hist104 to 0, $hist161 to 0, $hist167 to 0, $hist168 to 0, $hist189 to 0, $hist196 to 0, $hist206 to 0, $hist209 to 0, $hist210 to 0, $hist211 to 0, $hist212 to 0, $hist213 to 0, $hist216 to 0, $hist217 to 0, $hist221 to 0, $hist236 to 0, $mukamukspell to 0, $lugubre to 0)
]
(else:)[
(if: $inventory1 is 1)[[[energy pistol->13-1]]](else:)[(You did not find an energy pistol)]
(if: $inventory2 is 1)[[[infrasonic bell->13-2]]](else:)[(You did not find an infrasonic bell)]
(if: $inventory4 is 1)[[[lucky coin->13-4]]](else:)[(You did not find a lucky coin)]
(if: $inventory5 is 1)[[[Wand of Draconic Image->13-5]]](else:)[(You did not find a Wand of Draconic Image)]
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[[[Capacitor Jewel->13-9]]](else:)[(You did not find a Capacitor Jewel)]
(if: $inventory11 is 1)[[[circlet of illusion->13-11]]](else:)[(You did not find a circlet of illusion)]
(if: $inventory24 is 1)[[[paper cutout->13-24]]](else:)[(You did not find a paper cutout)]
(if: $inventory25 is 1)[[[Amplifier Sword->13-25]]](else:)[(You did not find an Amplifier Sword)]
(if: $inventory27 is 1)[[[novelty ring->13-27]]](else:)[(You did not find a novelty ring)]
]
Not wanting to lose more of his substance, Tuzbah tries to float away from you, but you overtake him and steal his <i>energy pistol</i>. Note that, from now on, successful attacks will drain four SUBSTANCE points from the opponent instead of two. A wonderful find! (set: $herohit to 4)(set: $inventory1 to 1)[[Continue->14]]Tuzbah has held you off, and everyone is now confident that you are too weak to pose much of a threat. They jump you (as much as anyone can be "jumped" in a realm without a ground to jump from), bind you and leave you in a jail cell whose bars and walls are soaked with diffusion magic. In the real world, such a jail cell would be dangerous, but in this realm, it would be “fatal,” since touching them in any way would entirely dissipate your magical power, and therefore sever the connection between the real world and your astral body. You must therefore stay put.
Some time later (as time is notoriously difficult to evaluate in the Astral Plane, it could have been three hours or a month), you hear cries and crackles of energy outside your cell. A hooligan riding a broom bursts into your jail room, screaming "AHA, a prisoner! Come see this, fellows!" Other hooligans soon appear in the doorway. Some are dressed in all black, others are dressed in colorful robes.
"Why would the drabs have a prisoner?" says one dressed in black.
"Just take him and finish pillaging" replies a colourfully dressed one. "We gotta get a move on."
Their hands crackle with energy as they slowly drain the energy of the entire cell while others capture you. You are now prisoner of the rebels! They travel to an island suspended in a gigantic sand sphere, where they release you from your bindings. [[Continue->15]]As the inhabitants are hypnotized, you may explore the fortress as much as you want, but its design is simplistic and the rooms are for the most part empty. You do find a <i>bag of coffee grounds</i>.(set: $inventory3 to 1) Astral bodies do not require food, so it will not serve you in that respect. They may be using it as a regent, although you can't imagine what arcane spell would require coffee beans.
Floating towards the center, you find one room that seems particularly noteworthy: it is located at the center of Eh Kin and is bigger than the others. You enter and find a room that looks more ornate and finished than the others; it's obvious that the inhabitants have spent a lot of time on it. Amidst rows of magical wards, you find a throne and an altar.
You approach the altar, and on it lies a magic wand. It seems that magical objects emit signature energies just as in the real world: when you get close enough to sense its energies, you deduce that it must be a Wand of Draconic Image. You are very familiar with such wands because one of your rommates, Tuyb Gek, was studying wand fabrication and used to make such wands for other students to use in their (mostly) harmless pranks.
What do you do?
[[You seize the wand->16]]
[[You sit on the throne->11]]
[[You leave Eh Kin->6]]You float aimlessly. None of the people at Eh Kin know anything about the Subgenial Amulet except the same legends that are well-worn in the real world. There is no obvious landmark as far as your eye can see. Frustrated, you decide to try to zero in on the Amulet by screaming its name and concentrating on any psychic response you get. You get three images flashing in your head: the first is of an island floating on top of a gigantic sphere of sand, the second is of a room filled with gold pieces and baubles, and the third is of giant bubbles floating in the ether. Which lead do you follow?
[[The island on a sand sphere->19]]
[[The room filled with gold->17]]
[[The giant bubbles->18]]You grab the <i>Wand of Draconic Image</i>.(set: $inventory5 to 1) Immediately, an alarm sounds and you hear screams of protest converging rapidly towards your location. [[Continue->14]]You sit on the throne. A fraction of a second too late, you realize that the throne's seat is actually a conduit for apparating magic! If this was a trap, you fell right into it. Working like a wand but in reverse, a conduit uses the magical energy of anyone that comes into contact with it in order to bring about some effect on that person. In this case, transporting you somewhere. But where? You have plenty of time to ponder this question, and other things besides, as you are apparated. You feel as if you're falling into a black hole and the loss of control is very distressing. [[Continue->80]]Now hostile, the other people assembled there harass you and chase you until you finally escape from a hole in the wall. But as you think you are finally scot-free, one of them zaps you with a Paralysis spell. Your body is frozen and glides through the ether in a straight line on the basis of your initial momentum, like some kind of human-shaped meteor. And like most meteors you eventually end up in the orbit of something bigger than you, in this case a gigantic sphere of sand. The sight boggles your mind, but you are forced by the laws of physics (that is, whatever passes for physics in this realm) to orbit around it until you eventually espy land: an island floating on top of the sand like a cherry on a moon-sized, tan-colored sundae. Just as the Paralysis spell releases you from its iron grip and you are free to move again, a gang of hooligans fly up to you on their brooms and capture you! [[Continue->15]]A rebel named Eke, a black man dressed in a trenchcoat and military boots, wielding a spear, addresses you:
"We are all stronger than you, kid. You are in over your head. Go back to the real world and stay there!" The other rebels nod in agreement. They are all dressed in military uniforms.
(if: $inventory5 is 1)[[[You have a Wand of Draconic Image and wish to use it->23]]](else:)[(You do not have a Wand of Draconic Image)]
[[You use an illusion spell->15b]]
[[You tell them of your mission->20]]
[[You try to intimidate them by telling them about your expertise->21]]
[[You challenge Eke in single combat->22]]You seize the <i>Wand of Draconic Image</i>(set: $inventory5 to 1), and an alarm sounds from all directions. However, the people are still hypnotized and do not respond to it. What do you do?
[[You try to find the source of the alarm->24]]
[[You sit on the throne->11]]
[[You leave Eh Kin->12]](if: $inventory9 is 1)[\
Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
]
(link: "Stake")[The dracula crumbles to dust.] (unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Tuzbeh")(set: $substancee to 10)(set: $aurae to 4)(set: $hite to 2)\
TUZBEH: 10 SUBSTANCE points, AURA 4
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?
[(link: "Yes")[\
(set: $inventory9 to 0)\
(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[\
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "CURRENTPARA")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1) (display: "CURRENTPARA")
]
]
(link: "No")[\
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "CURRENTPARA")(display: "fightloopexample")
]
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "CURRENTPARA")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) \
]\
]\
You apparate on top of the torso of a gigantic naked human figure all in blue, about fifty meters from head to toe, of indeterminate biological sex, which is lying down on a ground made of some cloud-like substance. They are very audibly snoring. Looking around, you see that you are in a room of considerable size, which really is the only kind of size that can accommodate a giant of this stature. There are two guards at the entrance of the room: they have not noticed you yet, but they will very soon. What do you do?
[[You run to one of the giant's ears->98]]
[[You surrender to the guards->99]]
You appear on an island floating on top of a gigantic sphere of sand, as big as your eye can see. Immediately you are set upon and captured by a gang of hooligans! [[Continue->15]]You apparate inside a vast room filled with gold and baubles as far as the eye can see. There is a large circular hole on the ceiling, large enough to accommodate a small house, presumably the means of leaving. You appear to be located within some greater structure, since looking through this hole from afar only reveals more walls. What do you do?
[[You rummage through the baubles to try to find something of use->25]]
[[You snag some gold->26]]
[[You leave the room->27]]You apparate in a field of gigantic bubbles floating lazily in the ether. You take a look at the interior of the bubbles, which are translucent. The first of the bubbles reveals a great surprise: there is a person in there! Whoever it is seems to be unmoving, and you cannot tell if they are dead or alive. Do you try to release them or move on to other bubbles?
[[You try to release them->28]]
[[You move on to other bubbles->29]]You use the Wand and turn yourself into a dragon, but Eke laughs at you and dispels your illusion instantly. "You really think you can fool us with such parlor tricks?" he replies, and spears you. You lose 14 SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to it - 14)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead)[[Continue->13]]](else:)[You take this chance to fake being “dead.” Being simpletons, they don't realize that, if you actually were “dead,” you would simply vanish from the Astral Plane. They don't even check to see if you're actually faking. You're an amateur and even you think they're a bunch of amateurs, although they hit hard.
Once they leave, you concentrate on the Subgenial Amulet and receive two images. One is of an enormous room filled with gold. Another is... of a class at the Académie? How is this even possible? No matter. Which location will you investigate?
[[A room filled with gold->17]]
[[The class at the Académie->30]]]You attempt to fool the rebels with an illusion.
<i>Test your ILLUSION magic at difficulty 3.</i> (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$illusion)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+3)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) You must fight Eke. [[Continue->22]]]\
(else:)[(You won the test) You take the shape of the Eagle of Shadows, whose shadow swoops down on people who are about to die. The rebels panic and apparate away. As you suspected, they were nothing but superstitious fools! Now alone with your thoughts and mentally revitalized, you concentrate on the Subgenial Amulet and receive two images. One is of an enormous room filled with gold. Another is... of a class at the Académie? How is this even possible? No matter. Which location will you investigate?
[[A room filled with gold->17]]
[[The class at the Académie->30]]
](set: $hist20 to 1)You explain to the rebels that you seek the Subgenial Amulet in order to destroy it. As they are rebels against all forms of order in Moondreams, they sympathize with your desire to obliterate a great source of power, so it doesn't take much to convince them to help you out. They tell you that there are two famous wizards in the Astral Plane who may be able to help you find the Amulet: Trémande Lugubre (a name you vaguely recognize from the history of your school) and Mirsu Agek. They also tell you that, unfortunately, Lugubre was captured and is kept imprisoned in an unknown location, while Mirsux Agek is a slave in the slave-state of Arslycus, or dead (depending on who's telling the story). This does not fill you with confidence, but at least you have something to go on.
Before you leave, the rebels also give you a present, a <i>lucky coin</i>(set: $inventory4 to 1). You doubt its usefulness, but thank them anyway.
You concentrate on the Subgenial Amulet and receive two images. One is of an enormous room filled with gold. Another is... of a class at the Académie? How is this even possible? No matter. Which location will you investigate?
[[A room filled with gold->17]]
[[The class at the Académie->30]]Like a true geek, you tell them about your Académie training and your test scores. The rebels have none of it. Eke replies: "Listen here, people! We got ourselves a real badass! Went to some hack-a-demi! Well la-dee-fucking-dah! Get your ass back there then!" He then spears you: you lose 14 SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to it - 14)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead)[[Continue->13]]](else:)[You take this chance to fake being “dead.” Being simpletons, they don't realize that, if you actually were “dead,” you would simply vanish from the Astral Plane. They don't even check to see if you're actually faking. You're an amateur and even you think they're a bunch of amateurs, although they hit hard.
Once they leave, you concentrate on the Subgenial Amulet and receive two images. One is of an enormous room filled with gold. Another is... of a class at the Académie? How is this even possible? No matter. Which location will you investigate?
[[A room filled with gold->17]]
[[The class at the Académie->30]]](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Eke")(set: $substancee to 12)(set: $aurae to 4)(set: $hite to 2)\
"Hah!," replies Eke, "A challenge? Very well, face me in magical combat. If you defeat me, you are free to leave. But if I destroy you in this realm, you have to promise to kill yourself as soon as you get back to the real world!"
This is an incredibly stupid bet, so naturally you take it. Fight Eke to the “death.”
EKE 12 SUBSTANCE points AURA 4
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "22")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "22")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "22")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "22")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) [[Continue->31]]\
]\
]\
You close your eyes, mentally seek out the image of yourself at the Académie, feel a short period of disorientation, open your eyes and... you're back in your old Transmogrification class with Professor Magreaux Wuzcafé! You turn around and, sure enough, you see your old friend Xaahel sitting to your right in the third row, although you notice that she looks younger. You look at your own face on your polished metallic desk and you look like you're eighteen years old again! You've heard that the Astral Plane was full of weird stuff, but this takes the cake. It seems like you're back in time, but are you really?
Professor Wuzcafé, a witch in her thirties with big features which made her look as if she was always in the middle of a transmogrification, waves a wand about as she lectures on the mathematical relationship between the molecular nature of a transmogrification and the energy required to maintain it. You vaguely remember this lecture, but you don't remember what happens next: Wuzcafé calls on you.
"Mister Tor," she says, rolling the r as she was (is?) wont to do, "since you had the highest note on our last exam, why don't you do the honors of the next demonstration."
Trying desperately to remember what the demonstration was about, you hesitantly walk up to the practice area on the right side of the classroom, besides a small table with a transmogrifying potion on it, and wait for the professor to explain what is to happen. But instead of explaining, she drags out a wide chest to the practice area, and opens the latch with a telekinesis spell. A few seconds pass, then a Behemoth bursts out of the chest! The eight foot tall clawing beast emits a horrible scream and leaps towards you. You've never known fear until you've seen an eight foot clawing beast leap at you! How could you not remember this? Or did this not happen in your actual past? Well, whatever the reason for you not remembering this encounter, you must act fast, as the creature is only one more leap away from clawing your face off. Since this is a transmogrification class, you assume that some kind of transmogrification must be the answer, and you rapidly quaff the potion besides you. Which form will you concentrate on?
[[You transmogrify into a weasel->42]]
[[You transmogrify into a chickadee->43]]
[[You transmogrify into a sentient mist->44]]Remaining calm, you find a source of the noise and trace its energy connections to a box. You approach it cautiously, and open it to reveal a giant mouth with a shining red jewel set above it on a skin-like gel. The mouth screams at you: "YOU! YOU ARE THE ONE! WHO TRIGGERED THE ALARM! YOU! MUST BE STOPPED!" The jewel begins to glow a menacing crimson. What do you do?
[[You try to seize the jewel->32]]
[[You attempt to silence the mouth->33]]
[[You attack the box->34]]
[[You run away->35]](set: $hist25 to 1)You find a great number of non-magical luxury items such as diamond-encrusted diadems, staffs made of platinum, duodenum, and unobtainium, robes lined with gold and silver, and other such useless nonsense. In a fit of rage you throw a jouster's helmet covered in sapphire and ivory horns against a wall, when suddenly you feel a gentle tug of magical energy. Frantically you dig downward into the pile of objects covered in hard jewels. You finally find the magical object: it is an <i>infrasonic bell</i> imbued with musical magic (set: $inventory2 to 1). You shake it and hear nothing, as expected. Music was never your specialty, and you have no idea what such an object might even do. Oh, if only you were a bard!... are words said by nobody, ever.
Now what?
(if: $hist26 is 1)[(You have already snagged some gold)](else:)[[[If you haven't yet snagged some gold, you may do so->26]]]
[[Otherwise, leave the room->27]](set: $hist26 to 1)
There is so much gold in this room that it would probably compare favorably to the gold reserves of all the kingdoms of the world. You really cannot take even a fraction of it, especially given their weight. But you do stuff your pockets with <i>15 gold pieces</i> (set: $inventory6 to 1) which in the real world would be a not inconsiderable sum. Too bad you can't actually take them back to the real world with you (unless you choose them as your one item when you “die,” of course).
(if: $hist25 is 1)[(You have already searched for useful items)](else:)[[[If you haven't yet searched for useful items, you may do so->25]]]
[[Otherwise, leave the room->27]]You fly through the open hole and emerge in a room that is almost as enormously big as the one below, covered in tapestries, weaponry and suits of armor. But before you can marvel at it all, you smell that unmistakable saurian odor... a dragon! A White Dragon, to be more precise. It has not yet seen you, so you quickly duck back into the hoard/treasure room (for that is obviously what it is, given the identity of the occupant) and try to look for exits to sneak past the dragon, but you find none. Being unable to get back to the ether, you cannot use your powers to connect to the rest of Moondreams. You must somehow leave this place, but how?
[[You make a hole in the treasure room->36]]
[[You speak to the dragon->37]]
(if: $inventory5 is 1)[[[You use your Wand of Draconic Image to impersonate a dragon->38]]](else:)[(You do not have a Wand of Draconic Image)]You try to push through the bubble, but it is too thick and will not let you through. Someone really wants to keep this person here! After some thinking, you decide to materialize an illusionary sword and try to pierce the bubble. <i>Test your ILLUSION magic at difficulty 5.</i> (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$illusion)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+5)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) You can try again, first subtracting 4 SUBSTANCE points from the mental effort every time (if your SUBSTANCE ever equals zero or less->13). Try again?
(link-goto: "Yes","28b")(link-goto: "No","29")]\
(else:)[(You won the test)(set: $lugubre to 1) You stab the bubble and it violently pops, jolting its bound and gagged inhabitant into the ether. You are immediately seized by surprise and wonderment, because you recognize this man from a painting you've seen hanging on the walls of the Camirand Académie of Magic: a painting of famous former professor Trémande Lugubre, who was reported lost eleven years ago!
"Professor Lugubre!" you exclaim. "You're alive!" You liberate him from his bonds as fast as you can.
"Yes, yes, I am quite alive, quite alive indeed.” His voice is gravely and sports a heavy French accent. “Thank you very much for saving me. Thank you indeed.” He rubs his sore wrists. “Are you perchance one of my students? I was sure someone would come to save me eventually. It's been weeks since I've seen the real world..."
"No, I'm afraid not, professor. I did study at Camirand, but you've been lost for a whole eleven years. I actually found you entirely by accident."
"Eleven years! Foutu de bled merdique," he says, slipping into his native tongue with no little distress in his voice. "Well, I suppose one can't expect otherwise from a realm where the laws of physics are only a timid suggestion," he continues mournfully. "Time to get on my way, then. Thank you again for rescuing me, brave lad. Please, do come see me any time you wish. I owe you a great deal! Au revoir!" He raises his wand.
"Wait!" you exclaim, raising your own arm. "Before you go, can you tell me about the Subgenial Amulet?"
He frowns. "The Subgenial Amulet... Why would you be looking for something like that?"
You explain to him the nature of your mission and the paucity of information on the location of the Amulet, hoping that he can help fill in the blanks.
"As it turns out, I do happen to know where the Amulet is, mainly because I was the one who sealed it away in the first place. I did indeed.”
"Sealed it away? You mean..."
"As a graduate, you should understand what I am about to tell you... I enchanted a crystal ball with a boundary-contained spacetime distortion vector and projected the Amulet into an alien dimension. I then locked the crystal ball into a treasure chest that can only be opened with a materials-specific dispelling... anything else will blow up in your face quite horribly. Then I placed the chest inside a mist cloud which I placed inside the hollow core of a water planet which I placed inside an interdiction field powered by tidal energy. In short, there's no way to get to the chest."
"But what if you dispel the planet itself?"
"Then the chest is automatically destroyed.”
"That's very clever, professor," you reply, wondering why exactly he would go through all this trouble when he could just have destroyed the amulet to begin with, but not wishing to derail the conversation.
"Quite," he says proudly. “Quite. My good friend Mirsu Agek created all the links and connections between each level. That was his specialty, you see. Now, well, he's dead. Dead indeed.”
"So... how does one get to the crystal ball then?"
"I would normally keep this quiet, but since you want to destroy the Amulet, I trust you will do the right thing. An apparating drive that can lead you to the inside of the water planet exists at the core of the City of Glass. Find the City and destroy its surface, exposing its infrastructure. That's the only way I know to reach the crystal ball. But the City of Glass is well defended, so I doubt you can succeed at such a task... let alone find the Amulet. I recommend you give up on your quest and find another, more reasonable way to symbolize your union."
You discuss with the professor for a while longer, gently rebuffing his attempts at changing your mind about this foolish endeavor. Finally, he regretfully says goodbye again, wishes you good luck, and returns to the real world. You gently float towards the other bubbles. [[Continue->29]]]You look inside the other translucent bubbles. Some of them are empty. Two in particular capture your attention: one looks like it has a giant wheel inside of it, and another seems to contain a large statue.
[[You try to open the bubble with a giant wheel->39]]
[[You try to open the bubble with a large statue->40]]
[[You are not interested in either and wish to leave->41]]You dispatch Eke. His friends are disgruntled, but their sense of honor (or perhaps cowardice) prevents them from exacting revenge. You escape unscathed into the ether.
Now alone with your thoughts and mentally revitalized, you concentrate on the Subgenial Amulet and receive two images. One is of an enormous room filled with gold. Another is... of a class at the Académie? How is this even possible? No matter. Which location will you investigate?
[[A room filled with gold->17]]
[[The class at the Académie->30]]You extend your hand towards the jewel and try to pry it out of its socket, but it is well affixed and won't budge. You think of using your wand but, before you take your hand off, the jewel shoots it with a beam of pure heat. Lose 6 SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to it - 6)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead)[[Continue->13]]](else:)[You feel that this is probably only a fraction of the jewel's power. What will you do now?
[[You use your wand to try to seize the jewel->45]]
[[You attempt to silence the mouth->33]]
[[You attack the box->34]]
[[You run away->35]]
]You quickly reason that casting a silencing spell would probably not work because this mouth is not the mouth of an animate creature, but rather some kind of astrally-made semi-sentient sensory-based reactive system. You conclude that the best way to silence the mouth is to overload its sensory apparatus. Seeking out the sensory connection in this room, you brandish your wand in its direction and send a blinding light towards it. The mouth stops screaming immediately.
[[You now try to seize the jewel->46]]
[[You sit on the throne->11]]
[[You decide you've had enough of this place and leave->12]](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Sensory Box")(set: $substancee to 8)(set: $aurae to 5)(set: $hite to 2)
You engage in magical combat with a screaming mouth in a box. Its jewel emits a stream of heat which damages your substance.
SENSORY BOX 8 SUBSTANCE points AURA 5
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
(link: "Yes")[\
(set: $inventory9 to 0)\
(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "34")
(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1) (display: "34")
]
]
(link: "No")[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "34")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "34")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) What do you do now?
[[You try to seize the jewel->46]]
[[You sit on the throne->11]]
[[You decide you've had enough of this place and leave->12]]\
]\
]\
You attempt to escape the fortress, but its inhabitants, now roused by the alarm, set themselves upon you vigorously with force lances and vibrating knives. You knock them down with spell after spell in a desperate attempt to escape, but there are many of them and they are veterans of astral combat: finally, a woman with a knife lands a lucky hit and cuts you into astral ribbons. [[Continue->13]]You start chipping a hole through the treasure room wall with small kinetic spells, but you soon hear heavy footsteps above you, no doubt attracted by the noise you're making. Soon a vast shadow falls over you as a dragon's head appears over the opening. Its eyes gleam with malice and intelligence.
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY TREASURE?" the White Dragon roars. A fair question. What do you do in reply?
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[[[You have a Capacitor Jewel and wish to give it to the dragon to appease it->47]]](else:)[(You do not have a Capacitor Jewel)]
[[You fight the dragon->48]]
[[You try to enter into dialogue with the dragon->37]]"Ahem," you cough, "ahem. Mister dragon, I hope I am not imposing but I-"
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" the dragon roars.
"A fair question, sir. You see, I am looking for a powerful artefact-"
"FIRST OF ALL, I AM A FEMALE AND YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS SUCH!"
"A thousand apologies, esteemed dragoness. I did not mean offense. I was looking for a powerful artefact- in order to destroy it, you see- and, casting my mind about, I saw in my head a room full of treasure and I reasoned to myself that-"
"THAT YOU COULD STEAL SOME OF IT, NO DOUBT!"
As the conversation seemed to be going in the wrong direction, you decide to err on the side of flattery.
"No, not at all... but I imagined, given the great and wondrous size of your treasure, that it must contain many powerful artefacts, including the Amulet I was looking for. Not knowing that all of this was owned by a dragon as mighty and powerful as yourself, surely you can understand my desire to investigate..."
"VERY WELL," the dragon replies, and you think (or perhaps it is wishful thinking) you detect some vanity in her eyes, "WHAT IS IT THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR? PERHAPS I HAVE COME ACROSS IT..."
(if: $hist26 is 1)[[[Continue->49]]](else:)["It's called the Subgenial Amulet. I don't actually know what it looks like, and few people have even seen it, let alone described it. It's said to fulfill wishes."
"NO, I DON'T THINK I HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT."
"Well, are you sure you didn't just forget about it? Your treasure horde, which is quite considerable, may contain many objects which you may not remember about-"
"ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT MY MEMORY IS DEFECTIVE IN SOME WAY?"
"No no not at all, I don't mean any disrespect to your enormous mental capacities-"
"DID YOU JUST CALL ME ENORMOUS?"
Sensing this is going terribly, you put up a mental shield just in time for the dragon to slam into you: thanks to your shield, you only lose 5 SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to it - 5)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[In her frenzy of carnage, the dragon slams into one of her walls, leaving a small hole. You seize on this opportunity to dart through the hole and leave the dragon's home behind. She roars and curses, but does not dare leave her treasure unprotected. You are safe. [[Continue->50]]
]]
You use the Wand to turn yourself into the illusion of a dragon and float to the White Dragon.
"Greetings my fellow draconian colleague. It is a fine day to be a dragon indeed. My name is-"
"WHAT?", it says, startled.
"Do not be alarmed-" you start.
"HUMAN, DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD FOOL ME WITH A PARLOR TRICK? I KNOW WHAT A REAL DRAGON LOOKS LIKE," roars the dragon. It flies towards you with amazing speed and grace, its mouth open to eat you whole.
You must now fight the White Dragon. This is bad news indeed: no human can stand to a dragon's might. The best you can hope for is to survive. Fight three rounds against the White Dragon.
(set: $enemyname to "White Dragon")(set: $substancee to 50)(set: $aurae to 9)(set: $hite to 2)WHITE DRAGON 50 SUBSTANCE points AURA 9
Round 1: (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) Opponent's AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[\
You lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite) You have (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(else:)[\
(print: $enemyname) loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit) (print: $enemyname) has (print: $substancee) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(if: $substance>0)[
Round 2: (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) Opponent's AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[\
You lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite) You have (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(else:)[\
(print: $enemyname) loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit) (print: $enemyname) has (print: $substancee) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
]\
(if: $substance>0)[
Round 3: (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) Opponent's AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[\
You lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite) You have (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(else:)[\
(print: $enemyname) loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit) (print: $enemyname) has (print: $substancee) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
]\
{(if: $substance<1) [(You have died) [[Continue->13]]
](else:)[[[Continue->51]]
]}
(set: $substance to it - 4)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead)[[Continue->13]]](else:)[
(set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$illusion)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+5)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) [[Continue->29]]]\
(else:)[(You won the test)(set: $lugubre to 1) You stab the bubble and it violently pops, jolting its bound and gagged inhabitant into the ether. You are immediately seized by surprise and wonderment, because you recognize this man from a painting you've seen hanging on the walls of the Camirand Académie of Magic: a painting of famous former professor Trémande Lugubre, who was reported lost eleven years ago!
"Professor Lugubre!" you exclaim. "You're alive!" You liberate him from his bonds as fast as you can.
"Yes, yes, I am quite alive, quite alive indeed.” His voice is gravely and sports a heavy French accent. “Thank you very much for saving me. Thank you indeed.” He rubs his sore wrists. “Are you perchance one of my students? I was sure someone would come to save me eventually. It's been weeks since I've seen the real world..."
"No, I'm afraid not, professor. I did study at Camirand, but you've been lost for a whole eleven years. I actually found you entirely by accident."
"Eleven years! Foutu de bled merdique," he says, slipping into his native tongue with no little distress in his voice. "Well, I suppose one can't expect otherwise from a realm where the laws of physics are only a timid suggestion," he continues mournfully. "Time to get on my way, then. Thank you again for rescuing me, brave lad. Please, do come see me any time you wish. I owe you a great deal! Au revoir!" He raises his wand.
"Wait!" you exclaim, raising your own arm. "Before you go, can you tell me about the Subgenial Amulet?"
He frowns. "The Subgenial Amulet... Why would you be looking for something like that?"
You explain to him the nature of your mission and the paucity of information on the location of the Amulet, hoping that he can help fill in the blanks.
"As it turns out, I do happen to know where the Amulet is, mainly because I was the one who sealed it away in the first place. I did indeed.”
"Sealed it away? You mean..."
"As a graduate, you should understand what I am about to tell you... I enchanted a crystal ball with a boundary-contained spacetime distortion vector and projected the Amulet into an alien dimension. I then locked the crystal ball into a treasure chest that can only be opened with a materials-specific dispelling... anything else will blow up in your face quite horribly. Then I placed the chest inside a mist cloud which I placed inside the hollow core of a water planet which I placed inside an interdiction field powered by tidal energy. In short, there's no way to get to the chest."
"But what if you dispel the planet itself?"
"Then the chest is automatically destroyed.”
"That's very clever, professor," you reply, wondering why exactly he would go through all this trouble when he could just have destroyed the amulet to begin with, but not wishing to derail the conversation.
"Quite," he says proudly. “Quite. My good friend Mirsu Agek created all the links and connections between each level. That was his specialty, you see. Now, well, he's dead. Dead indeed.”
"So... how does one get to the crystal ball then?"
"I would normally keep this quiet, but since you want to destroy the Amulet, I trust you will do the right thing. An apparating drive that can lead you to the inside of the water planet exists at the core of the City of Glass. Find the City and destroy its surface, exposing its infrastructure. That's the only way I know to reach the crystal ball. But the City of Glass is well defended, so I doubt you can succeed at such a task... let alone find the Amulet. I recommend you give up on your quest and find another, more reasonable way to symbolize your union."
You discuss with the professor for a while longer, gently rebuffing his attempts at changing your mind about this foolish endeavor. Finally, he regretfully says goodbye again, wishes you good luck, and returns to the real world. You gently float towards the other bubbles. [[Continue->29]]]
]Touching the membrane of the bubble, you find it surprisingly porous, and after some resistance your hand goes right through. You push with your whole body and emerge inside the bubble with a wet plop. Hovering in the center of the bubble is a fascinating sight: a gigantic cogged wheel, inside which are nested progressively smaller cogged wheels, all moving in different directions and at different speeds.
Although you don't know it, this is a soul trap designed to harvest slaves by stimulating the frontal lobes of the astral body with asynchronous theta-omega waves in such a way that the person ends up fascinated endlessly by the trap, stuck in place, and thus easily subdued and kidnapped at any time.
You stand transfixed in front of the assemblage. Your brain is slowing down, you feel a great calmness wash over you, and a feeling of incredible significance. Soon you will shut down entirely.
You fight for your freedom. <i>Test your AURA at difficulty 4.</i> This will determine whether your mental shield can hold against the baleful influence of the wheels. (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$aura)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+4)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) [[Continue->52]]]\
(else:)[(You won the test) Your mental shield relieves some of the pressure on your mind, and you psychologically shake yourself awake. What an amazing phenomenon! You wish you could go back to this state of bliss, but at some subconscious level you realize that this could only hinder your quest. The meditative state had one good side-effect: by introverting you, it boosted your confidence in your astral form. You gain 10 SUBSTANCE points.
[[You decide to close your eyes and use your psychic abilities to study the trap->39b]]
[[You decide to leave immediately->39c]]
]You begin to form a magical extension of yourself and prod the bubble, and find to your surprise that it gives way, although not without some difficulty. You kick the bubble and find that your foot is sucked in. You finally press your whole body on the bubble and emerge on the other side of the membrane with a wet pop.
In front of you floats a statue. three meters tall, of a man in a full suit of armor. The man portrayed by the statue has a magnificent beard, but you do not recognize the beard or the man. There seems to be nothing particularly unusual about the statue, so why is it floating in a bubble? You reason that there must be something special about the statue, so you decide to blow it up.
You channel a great amount of magical energies into the core of the statue, and then release it. The statue explodes in a concentric shower of fragments, but your magic shield deflects them. Suddenly you hear a loud pop: the entire bubble blew up because of all the shards hitting it. You are now floating in space. You search around the area of the explosion and find nothing. It seems your attempt was entirely pointless. [[Continue->41]]You leave the field of bubbles behind you (metaphorically, since you're still in it) and reach out to the four corners of Moondream for help. Images flash in your mind again: one of them is familiar, the other is... new and yet very familiar. You see yourself in a class at the Académie! But surely this can't be related to the Amulet, nor can it be a place in this realm. No matter how much magic is used, time travel is not possible! Or is it?
Either way, which image do you pursue?
[[The class at the Académie->30]]
[[The room filled with gold->17]]Vaguely remembering that Behemoths are afraid of weasels, you transmogrify into one. At this height, the Behemoth looks as big as an apartment building, but you forbid yourself from looking up and rush it like a weasel would. The Behemoth roars and backs away from you.
"Excellent!" chimes Professor Wuzcafé, dispelling the Behemoth. You feel a little pang of anger at the professor for tricking you into believing it was a real Behemoth instead of the illusion it actually was. "This technique can be used against live Behemoths with equal effectiveness. Quick thinking is the essence of combat." You dispel your own transmogrification and wait expectantly for the professor to tell you to sit back down. You see Wuzcafé open her mouth, but you hear no sound. She looks at you expectantly. What is going on? You turn around and your former colleagues have been replaced by a tidal wave. You raise the strongest magical shield you can muster and brace yourself, expecting the impact at any moment, but instead you feel a gel-like substance envelop you. You are trapped inside a Gelatinous Cube! You struggle for air in vain. You prepare a spell...
You are back in the ether. What a strange sequence of events. For the rest of your life you will ponder what exactly happened, but you do feel that your mental shield is much stronger than usual. Add 2 to your AURA skill.(set: $aura to it + 2) [[Continue->53]]You frantically try to remember anything you can about how to fight Behemoths, but nothing comes up, so you decide to transmogrify into a chickadee out of habit. You have done this before to spy on other people (legally, of course). You start to fly away from the Behemoth, which takes a big swipe at you but misses.
“I see someone has failed to retain the content of his lessons,” says Professor Wuzcafé sternly, dispelling the Behemoth. You feel a little pang of anger at the professor for tricking you into believing it was a real Behemoth instead of the illusion it actually was, although you are also relieved that the fight will not continue. “This is not at all the proper technique for repelling a Behemoth. Everyone knows Behemoths are afraid of weasels, not birds. Mister Tor, we will now be justified in calling you a birdbrain!” You dispel your own transmogrification and look towards your fellow students. They appear to be laughing, but you hear no sound. You turn back at the professor, who has turned into a gigantic snake and is curling around you, choking you and breaking every bone in your body. With the last of your energies, you prepare a spell...
You are back in the ether. This must have all been some kind of distorted memory. You will ponder these events for years to come. [[Continue->53]]Panicked, you transmogrify into a sentient mist. The Behemoth takes a swipe at you, scattering your substance all over the room. Some of it splashes on the students in the front row, who let out a cry of disgust. They wipe you off their faces and clothes. In addition to the humiliation, you lose 6 SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to it - 6)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead)[[Continue->13]]](else:)[Professor Wuzcafé dispels the Behemoth. and casts a containment spell in order to prevent you from losing any more substance. She laughs, politely at first, then uncontrollably. “Mister Tor,” she says, catching her breath, “that has to be the stupidest... most ill-advised... most imbecilic...” As her voice rises in volume, paradoxically, you hear it less and less. Finally she looks like she is screaming at you, but you hear nothing at all. You dispel your own transformation and turn around: to your horror, your fellow students have all been replaced by piles of burnt flesh and salt that hover above their seats! The smell of the charred bodies overwhelm you, and you recoil in horror. You see the bodies converge in the center of the room and form a horrific, floating, burnt flesh golem, which raises an arm and shoots a stream of unbelievably foul air at you. You are about to pass out when you summon the last of your energy to prepare a spell...
You are back in the ether. This must have all been some kind of distorted memory. You will ponder this question for years to come. [[Continue->53]]]You concentrate on moving the jewel by telekinesis, focusing your energies through the wand, but the mouth's screaming is too distracting. You are unable to muster the energies necessary to pry the jewel out. [[Go back and make a new choice->32]]Free from the mouth's constant screaming, you point your wand at the jewel and concentrate, forcing it out of its socket and into your hand. You now realize that this jewel is an artefact of incredible power containing something called an elemental circuit, which consists of a feedback loop of magical energies extracted from the environment, constantly magnified until it is released by an interfero-metric circuit breaker through a silver projection isolated by a crystal lattice, ejaculating all the circulating energy at once and damaging the apparatus.
In case you fell asleep during Advanced Energy Manipulation class, what this means, in short, is that you have found a <i>Capacitor Jewel</i>(set: $inventory9 to 1). If you wish to use it before combat, you may then substract 20 points of SUBSTANCE from your opponent. You must then discard the item. If your opponent is still “alive,” the combat continues as normal.
There is only one obvious thing of interest left here, the throne.
[[You sit on the throne->11]]
[[You decide you've had enough of this place and leave->12]]“Er... um.. your eminence...“ you reply, scared for your life, “I merely came here to give you a small but worthy addition to your hoard, but not seeing you here, I... I was trying to leave and...”
“DO YOU HAVE TREASURE, YOU MISERABLE WORM? WHAT IS IT? SHOW IT TO ME!”
The dragon is screaming so loud that your hair is fairly tousled. You are amazed that you haven't been fried to a crisp yet. Fumbling and shaking, you retrieve the Capacitor Jewel and hold it towards the dragon's face, who grasps it between two claws and brings it close to its left eye.
“HMMM... THIS IS INDEED A TREASURE OF GREAT VALUE.” The dragon yawns and nonchalantly throws it on a pile of shining gems. “I SHALL REWARD YOU IN A WAY BEFITTING THE SCOPE OF YOUR CONTRIBUTION.”
The dragon stretches its legs, leaps into the air, and then karate kicks you into the wall! You break right through it, feeling as if your body has become a cannonball. The dragon does not pursue you, as dragons are generally too keen to defend their hoard from thieves to leave it unguarded. You are free to travel again. [[Continue->50]](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "White Dragon")(set: $substancee to 50)(set: $aurae to 9)(set: $hite to 2)\
Whatever possessed you to want to fight a dragon? Are you suicidal? I should send you straight to the death paragraph, but since you have a non-zero chance of winning, I guess we'll keep going... you brandish your puny wand against the dragon's eldritch magics, which it has honed for centuries. Good luck!
WHITE DRAGON 50 SUBSTANCE points AURA 9
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "48")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "48")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "48")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "48")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) [[Continue->54]] \
]\
]\
“BY THE BY, YOUR POCKETS LOOK RATHER LUMPY,” says the dragon, her left eye fixed on your pants.
“Well now, it's hardly my fault that my parentage has endowed me with a rather big-”
“DON'T BE FUNNY, LITTLE HUMAN. I SAID YOUR POCKETS.”
“Ah well, you know, I've been going around the Astral Plane for a while now, I've gotten a lot of treasure and-”
This was the wrong word to say.
“TREASURE? SHOW ME WHAT'S IN YOUR POCKETSES. YES WE WANT TO SEE WHAT'S IN YOUR LITTLE POCKETSES.” The dragon inches towards you, as much as it can be said that a dragon inches at all.
“Um, I... I'm uncomfortable right now.”
“SHOW US WHAT'S IN YOUR LITTLE POCKETSES!” she screams even louder than before. Then the dragon raises one of its hands and viciously claws at your pants, making some gold coins fall out. She lowers her head to look at the coins on the floor, angling her head. “OH, AND YOU JUST HAPPEN TO HAVE ARSLYCIAN COINAGE FROM THE YEAR 516. I WONDER WHERE YOU GOT THAT.”
“A fair question. You see-” you start, a finger in the air, but the dragon wants none of it. She opens her jaw and lowers her head over you, swallowing you whole.
You spend what feels like the next five months being showered by all sorts of noxious fluids in the dragon's digestive system, until she finally gets tired of you and poops you out into the ether.
[[Continue->50]]Feeling lucky to be alive after encountering a dragon in its element, you get ready to escape somewhere, anywhere. You concentrate on the Amulet and find that your apparating powers are increasing. You are able to see more substantial locations in the ether. Hopefully these new locations will lead you closer to your objective.
The first image you see is that of an oval arena, filled with people, with colored chariots moving on an inner track at breakneck speed. The second image shows an endless cliff broken up by a high mountain. The third image shows a glowing blue cube, where light seems to shift constantly.
Which image do you focus on?
[[The oval arena->55]]
[[The cliff->56]]
[[The blue cube->57]]In a panic, you realize that this battle is virtually unwinnable, unless you come up with something fast. You automatically think of using an illusion, since that is where your talent lies. The dragon did not fall for the wand's simple enchantment, but it might fall for a better illusion while in the middle of battle. As the dragon winds up, you crouch and make yourself look like a pile of gold, while projecting a double of yourself in front of the far wall. It sees the immobile double and crashes its tail on it, thinking it has inflicted a killing blow. Instead, it has made an opening for you, which you quickly plunge into, bringing you back into the ether. The dragon screams in impotent rage, unwilling to pursue you and leave its hoard unprotected. [[Continue->50]]For a while, you are no longer conscious of time passing, only of the wheels whirling and slowly revolving in all directions. After that, you are no longer conscious of anything. Your sense of sight goes blank.
You open your eyes again. Xaahel's round face, jeweled charm hanging from her forehead, is staring down at you angrily.
“The fuck are you doing in there? You fell into some kind of fucking deep trance! It took everything I had to fish you out of there, you numbnuts.”
“Urrrr...” is about all you can muster, still groggy.
“If you can't take care of yourself in the astral realm, then I'm not gonna keep helping you!”
“Then why don't you... why don't you do it then,” you slurred.
“The fuck I care about some fucking stupid amulet of shit that probably doesn't even exist!” she screams at you. “I don't have time to go on astral joy rides. Go to [[the death paragraph->13]], you numbnuts, before I kill you myself, and I'm not putting any quotes around that word, believe me!”You close your eyes in order to prevent you from getting entrapped again, and extend your psychic abilities towards the underlying energy flows. They fascinate you almost as much as the wheels themselves. It is quite a clever little system, and you have to wonder who set this up, and if it's still being used. You slowly trace the flows until you figure out the whole thing: it's actually a “shutdown” noetic feedback loop based on reverse-tracing mathematical signals encoded in an IXI-type spiral with n-2 integration. It sound really simple, but the devil is in the details, so to speak.
After a while, you think you have a hang of it and can roughly replicate this process. You have acquired the <i>shutdown spell</i>(set: $inventory8 to 1). You ponder possible uses for this spell and the thought comes to you that it might come in handy against the final boss, which is a weird thought since you don't even know whether there is a final boss in this story yet, and no boss of any kind has even been introduced.
You then try to find if there are any weak points, in order to break the system. Where there's moving parts, there must be some kind of actuator moving them. By redirecting the output of the actuator into itself, you build up more and more current until the entire machine overloads and explodes in a shower of gears and sparks.
You pop out of the bubble backwards, open your eyes, and get ready to leave this place for good. [[Continue->41]]You have had enough brainwashing for today. You pop out of the bubble and get ready to leave this place for good. [[Continue->41]]
You take a deep breathe and clear your mind. You feel more confident in your apparating powers, and the images you get in your mind are more detailed and substantial. The first image you see is that of a cliff with a mountain in the middle of it, but they are upside-down. The second image you see is a glowing blue cube, where light seems to shift constantly. The third image you see is a big rock formation floating in the ether, with a small opening in a cave-looking structure at the top. Which do you focus on?
[[The cliff->56]]
[[The blue cube->57]]
[[The rock formation->58]]Now that you've somehow defeated a being of legend that lives for thousands of years, you are free to loot its lair without being interrupted. You do not have the time or inclination to dig through every pile of junk, as you are on a deadline, but you do manage to find, if you haven't already, an <i>infrasonic bell imbued with musical magic, 15 gold pieces, and a small bag of peanut shells</i>(set: $inventory2 to 1)(set: $inventory6 to 1)(set: $inventory10 to 1).
You leave the dragon's lair. [[Continue->50]]You now stand in the middle of a strange arena, with colored chariots racing around a track, and an audience seated all around the track. The first thing that strikes you is how loud the chariots are: despite having no animals moving them, they roar about on wheels, making an incredible din while doing so. This sound lowers in pitch as they roar away from you. These are strange chariots: they are sleek and made of all round edges, very low on the ground, and look like long tubes with a cavity at the front. Four giant wheels hang from them, like spider legs. The more you look at them, the more you realize how utterly alien they look.
The second thing you notice is the audience: they look at the event dutifully, not making any noise and barely moving at all. You then notice the speakers lining the track which are pointed towards the audience, and from which you hear the sound of some kind of announcement, a list of names followed by numbers.
Just as you take this all in, a man wearing a strange red uniform, holding your arm and screaming at you to be heard:
“I'M YOUR PIT MASTER. WHITE WINGMAN JUST CRASHED INTO THE STANDS ON THE HAIRPIN AFTER THE PRIMARY FAST STRAIGHT. IT'S YOUR TURN.”
You're still trying to understand what a “fast straight” is or whose hairpin he's talking about, when the man stuffs you into a red chariot marked “Crimson Charger” and a black horse on a yellow background. You reflexively sit in the chair, which is cushioned and comfortable. In front of you is some kind of angled glass window and a flat surface full of buttons and lights. Only inches in front of you, you see a circle with more buttons and bright writing at its center.
“WELL, WHACHU WAITING FOR? GO, GO, GO!”
“I... don't know what any of this is. What matter of sorcery moves it?”
“Oh my god, they gave me a newbie,” he mumbles. “WELL THERE'S NOT MUCH POINT IN TEACHING YOU SINCE YOU WON'T LAST LONG HERE, BUT THE CAR STARTS WITH THAT GREEN BUTTON ON THE STEERING WHEEL. YOU CHANGE SPEEDS HERE...” he points to various buttons, explaining their meaning, but most of it eludes you, and the noises do not help. You guess that these chariots are called “cars,” how to move them, and that they have something called “steering,” but not much else. As far as you can tell, there were a lot of meaningful words smashed together into only very vaguely meaningful sentences.
“What is this part over here?” you say, pointing to a vertical hole on the side.
“OH, THAT'S FOR AN OLD IGNITION KEY. WE DON'T USE THOSE ANY MORE.”
“Ah.”
“YOU GOT IT? OKAY, START THE CAR AND GET A MOVE ON! THIS RACE IS NOT GONNA WIN ITSELF!”
Stuck in this arena, you seem to have no choice but to do what the man says, but perhaps you can think of some other option as well.
(if: $inventory28 is 1)[[[You have a small horse key and wish to try it on the keyhole->59]]](else:)[(You do not have a small horse key)]
[[You take the time to look around some more->60]]
[[You get the car started and enter the track->61]]
You apparate in what looks like a normal sky above a normal ground... but you're falling upwards! You have a horrible feeling that you're about to die... but then you remember you are in the astral realm and cannot actually die. In a flash you collide with something. Looking around you, you get vertigo. You are actually on the ground, but upside-down! Yet you are still able to walk... somehow.
Not questioning it too hard, you try to pay more attention to your surroundings. You are standing (?) on a narrow cliff, with both sides bordered by total blackness. You look down and there is nothing but a sheer rock face as far as you can see. You turn your head to the right, and you see, a long distance away, what appears to be an upside-down mountain: its flat bottom extends in front of you and its summit is far, far below you, cloaked in darkness. Behind you, you see an upside-down pine tree, with the top of the tree rooted to the ground and extremely long wood-colored needles “hanging” upwards. You see no other features on or around this cliff.
You are surrounded by an atmosphere and have no obvious way of returning to the ether, so leaving is not an option for now. Which feature will you approach first?
[[The mountain->62]]
[[The tree->63]]
[[You want to jump off the cliff->64]]You apparate in front of the blue cube. It is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, which you do. At that very moment, your sight zooms onto a ship on an endless ocean. It is a frigate, its sails filled, going at a good clip. There are many sailors on it... and you also see yourself! You now enter the point of view of your alter ego on the ship, but you will be able to leave at any time.
You are now on the deck of a frigate, surrounded by crewmembers who are looking at you: they all look tired and dejected. One of them approaches you, a short, rotund man whose depressed appearance contrasts with his bright red overcoat and bizarrely colorful hat.
“This is the voyage of the damned. We are condemned to die. But until someone comes in from the outside and decides on the way we will die, we sail endless seas, with no distractions, nothing to do, nowhere to go. Sir, we have been sailing for what seems like an eternity. This is not a life! Please end our torments.”
The sailors step aside, forming a corridor between you and a strange panel. You walk up to it and you see three buttons on this panel: one has the symbol of a whale, one has the symbol of a skull head with two bones crossed under it, and one has the symbol of a hurricane on a sea.
“What does the skull head do?” you ask the nearest sailor.
“I can't say. Never seen that symbol before. But whatever it is, it ain't jolly. All these choices lead to our death.”
“You people haven't tried pressing the buttons yourselves?”
“We tried, oh believe me we tried. It has never done anything. Only an outsider can press the buttons. Or so they say. Maybe nothing will happen if you do it too. But in that case we are all doomed. Well, even more doomed.” He looks exhausted and on the verge of crying.
“And I assume you've also tried... well... suicide?”
“Yes. Nothing works.” He sighs. “Nothing ever works. All we do is sail the seas forever. Even buggery has become unbelievably boring.”
“I didn't need to know THAT,” you point out.
The sailor just shrugs at you. “It's actually pretty common on sea-faring vessels for-” You turn your back and ignore him, concentrating on the buttons and their possible meanings. “Real mature,” he mumbles.
What to do now?
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Press the whale button->66]]
[[Press the skull button->67]]
[[Press the hurricane button->68]]
You enter inside the rock formation. The first area is a very small antechamber with a hole leading downwards. Once you are entirely in the room, a trap door behind you slams shut in a resonating crash. You turn back and examine the trap door: it seems as solid as the rock itself, and you can find no obvious way to open it or destroy it. It seems like you are stuck here for now.
Shrugging, you make your way down the hole and emerge into a larger area. About ten meters in front of you lies the beginning of what looks like a maze. You walk a few meters in and look around at the first intersection. Walking through each of the branches in turn, you conclude that you have found yourself in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. The walls are all rock, with no distinguishing features, and you have no idea where the exit might be. This could get confusing, fast.
The walls are, however, very much thinner than the exterior wall, and you could break through them. This will expand a lot of your energy, as there are probably many walls. On the other hand, you could follow the left hand rule (keep your right hand touching a wall at all times). As long as all the walls are connected together, it will always work. Or you could try flipping a lucky coin at each intersection to determine where to go, if you have one.
What will you decide?
[[You break your way through the walls->69]]
[[You follow the left hand rule->70]]
[[You have a lucky coin and wish to use it->71]]You keep looking around and see nothing more of import, but the words of the announcer, loud even with the din of the cars, attract your attention. This voice keeps repeating series of names and numbers:
“Silver Streak, one minute thirty six seconds; Red Comet, one minute thirty nine seconds; Green Rocket, one minute forty three seconds; Gold Bomb, one minute forty three seconds...”
You concentrate and try to find where this announcer might be. You look up, down, and all around the stands. You finally identify a walled space looming over the stands, with only one person in it, talking into some kind of long metallic device. This must be the announcer.
You look at the track and you formulate another plan in your head. The walls that separate the track from the outside are not very high. You could create an illusion which would make the drivers believe that the track continues when it actually doesn't, and fling them off.
What do you do?
[[You get the car started and enter the track->61]]
[[You take the announcer out with a spell->78]]
[[You use illusions on the track walls->79]]You struggle to remember all the instructions of your pit master. This button... that button... Finally you get the car to lurch forward. Using the wheel in front of you, you steer the car towards the track and gather speed. Cars are passing you at great speed as you try to stay on the track and negotiate your first curve. You are not used to such bizarre chariots: this is much more difficult than riding a horse!
You proudly realize you're almost out of the curve, when suddenly a mushroom cloud erupts from the track and blows your car to smithereens. You have been “killed” by a nuclear trap. [[Continue->13]](set: $hist59 to 1)You insert the small horse key in the keyhole, but nothing happens. In frustration, you twist it, and suddenly the car lifts in the air! You are now floating twenty meters above the track. While you are pretty sure this is not the regular mode of operation of this vehicle, you take it all in stride, while trying hard to remember how to make the car go forward. Finally you press the right button and the car begins to zoom forward, out of the arena and into the ether. You try to apparate somewhere else, but fail. You seem to be stuck in this car, which is going faster and faster! Soon all sorts of bizarre landscape whizzes past you. As much as you try to guide the car in one direction or the other, it seems to be taking you somewhere on its own volition, but you have no idea where.
It finally starts to slow down when you espy a massive golden complex in the distance. Getting closer, you notice there are hundreds of people all over this complex. Getting even closer, you can now see the architecture: brutalist, with very simple lines, meant to convey a sense of domination over anyone looking at it. The main body of it is a broad base (with two large front doors), which extends at a bizarre angle, culminating into a tower. There are also weird “wings” of gold jutting out at impossible angles, as well as side buildings reaching for the sky in improbable spiral shapes.
Unwittingly, you have arrived at the slave state of Arslycus. But you have no more time to examine the architecture, as your car is darting towards the tower and it will not break in time! You wrench the wheel in front of you left and right, but the car still refuses to relinquish control. You can do nothing as the car crashed right into a dish-shaped protuberance: you crash out of the window and drop all the way to the golden ground of Arslycus.
Once you regain your bearings, you get a good look at the inhabitants and recognize their form immediately. They are doll bodies: a crude replica of a human body, with the limbs connected by strong wires, implanted with the soul of a dead person. This implantation is done for the purpose of having slaves intelligent enough to follow complex orders while being totally under psychic control. These doll bodies are a little less than one meter high, and a dull grey color all over. Most of them seem to be busy either installing bricks or polishing bricks, some of them from a dizzying height.
There seems to be something wrong, however: the doll bodies are all looking around, as if they are dazed and confused. You look up at the tower, and see the flaming wreckage of the car that brought you here. Was that saucer-shaped object perhaps what was projecting psychic control over them?
What do you do?
(if: $inventory24 is 1)[If you have a paper cutout, immediately go [[here->72]]](else:)[(You do not have a paper cutout)]
(if: $hist20 is 1)[Otherwise, if you have heard about Mirsu Agek from the rebels, immediately go [[here->73]]](else:)[(You have not heard about Mirsu Agek from the rebels)]
If you cannot do either, then choose amongst these options:
[[You shout to all the doll bodies to leave->75]]
[[You shout to all the doll bodies to storm the tower->76]]
[[You walk to the front doors->77]]
(set: $hist62 to 1)You walk towards the strange upside-down mountain. Its flat bottom extends over the cliff. You do something you thought was impossible: walking on the underside of a mountain. It is unnaturally flat, and you find nothing worth noticing on it except for stray rocks, so you walk carefully to the edge. Kneeling and peering over the side very slowly, you cannot see the top of the mountain. At least it's a drop instead of a climb, which in this realm is much easier on you. But are you willing to risk jumping down a possibly empty mountain? Perhaps you have an object that could help.
(if: $inventory29 is 1)[[[You have a Wand of Slow Fall and wish to jump while using it->62b]]](else:)[(You do not have a Wand of Slow Fall)]
[[You wish to climb down the mountain->143]]
[[You want to forget about the mountain and jump off the cliff->64]]
(if: $hist63 is 1)[(You have already examined the tree](else:)[[[You want to examine the tree instead (and have not yet done so)->63]]]
(set: $hist63 to 1)
You walk towards the tree, trying to understand it. It's not every day you see a tree that stands upside-down, with its trunk high in the sky. As you get close, however, you realize that the long needles are not actually needles, but magic wands. Now fascinated, you get close to a branch and look at the wands. They all look exactly the same. You take the wand in your hand and recognize this as a Wand of Slow Fall, a wand which lets a wizard fall slowly and in a controlled manner. However, you feel that the energies in the wand don't seem quite right, like it's unfinished. You know very little about how wands are made, so you can't vouch for the whole thing, but it does seem strange.(set: $inventory29 to 1)
Whether you trust the wand or not, you must decide on what to do now. There aren't many other possibilities.
(if: $hist62 is 1)[(You have already examined the mountain)](else:)[[[You want to examine the mountain (and haven't yet done so)->62]]]
[[You want to jump off the cliff->64]]You walk up to the cliff side and look down. It's dark down there, but, as all areas of Moondreams are connected to the ether, there must be a way back to continue your quest. The question though is, how will you jump?
[[You take a running jump->81]]
[[You jump straight down->82]]You mentally disconnect from what you're seeing. Immediately your sight zooms out of your (?) body and floats back to your actual body holding the blue cube. A projection of yourself (your astral body) was itself creating a projection onto the blue cube. What a disconcerting experience! At least this was not the inception of something even worse.
You concentrate on the Amulet again, and get two images. One is of a big rock formation floating in the ether, with a small opening in a cave-looking structure at the top. The other is of a sheet of paper, going as far as your eye can see, with blue lines across it and markings in pencil. Which will you settle on?
[[The rock formation->58]]
[[The land of paper->158]]You press hard on the whale button, which gives a satisfying click as it depresses. The console then lowers into the floor until it disappears from view. You look around at the sailors, who are in a much cheerier mood. Their death is finally coming, they tell you.
It does not come immediately, but after a few minutes there are cries of a sighting: the back of a gigantic whale slowly rises from the endless ocean. It's almost as long as the ship! The sailors cheer the whale as it makes a beeline for the ship and starts smashing into it with its enormous, powerful tail. The ship breaks up and timbers fly all around you. Sailors are dying all around you with a smile on their face. In an instant, you are swallowed by the whale and thrown into its mouth! What do you do?
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[See how this plays out->83]]
You press the mysterious skull button, hoping that it will bring some kind of instant death that will shut these sailors up, as they keep prattling about how much they want to die and it's getting on your nerves.
At first, nothing happens. But after a few minutes, the lookout in the crow's nest gives a shout: another ship has been sighted! The captain gets out an ornate spyglass.
“They are flying a black flag with the same symbol as the button. That means they are our salvation!”
The crew cheers. You, however, are starting to feel worried: if the people on this new ship kill the crew, you'll just be stuck with them instead. And they might be just as annoying as this bunch! You need to find a way for both crews to end up killing each other somehow. In a fit of inspiration, you stand up on a box and address the sailors.
“Men! Now, I know this is the moment you've been waiting for, when you'll finally be delivered from this horrible realm,” and at this they all cheer so loudly that you have to wait two whole minutes before continuing, “but why not give them a good show before you go? You want novelty, here's something novel for you: let's fight them. Of course you're going to lose, because that's how it is, but at least you can be good sports and show them what you've got. You can die being proud of who you are and what you've done here. What do you say?” you end, raising a fist.
You think your speech was incredibly lame (probably due to lack of preparation), but they are so happy that you saved them from life that they cheer you for three more minutes (by which time the other ship has entered firing range) and man the cannons for a first barrage. The targeted ship veers hard to port and opens fire in turn. The battle is joined!
While the cannonade takes place, you get a good look at your opponents, which look like a right group of scum and armed to the teeth. On the other hand, many of them seem to be missing eyes and limbs, brandishing completely non-magical curved swords, all of which leads you to wonder why whatever mechanism responsible for this realm couldn't at least send healthy agents of death.
At length, your ship is severely damaged, and the skull ship swoops right next to yours and lays down a weighted-down plank. Opponent after opponent thunders onto the deck, and the sailors engage each other in hand-to-hand combat. You shoot spells whenever you have a clear opening, which makes the fight more even, but these sadly handicapped people are fighting with a ferocity you did not predict.
A tall sailor from the skull ship, dressed in a red jacket with delicate gold embroidery, descends and fixes his eyes on you. This must be the captain. He walks towards you with the intent to kill. What is your move?
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Use a Flame spell to inflict damage->84]]
[[Use a Telekinesis spell to deprive him of his sword->85]]
[[Pretend to be a necromancer and use an illusion->86]]
You press the hurricane button, which depresses with a satisfying click. The sailors are overjoyed that you've finally brought about their impending doom. Their constant prattle does not impress you, and you share their sense of anticipation, although for rather different reasons.
Finally, you hear someone in the crow's nest shout: “tempest ahoy!” But no great height is required to see it: the turmoil that the hurricane causes on the ocean's surface kicks off prodigious quantities of mist and great waves. It makes a direct beeline for the ship. The crew cheers and hoots as the hurricane slams into the ship, spitting out planks of wood and dead bodies. What do you do?
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[See how this plays out->87]]Assuming that the exit will be somewhere at the opposite end, you face forward from the entrance and break down every wall in your way. This is taking you quite a bit of time, and also makes a great deal of noise. You break down yet another wall, and you find, to your great surprise, that a creature was waiting for you on the other side: a minotaur, armed with a double-headed axe, wearing nothing but a loincloth! You must react fast. What do you do?
[[Attack the minotaur->88]]
[[Try to talk to the minotaur->89]]
[[Run away->90]]You proceed in a systematic fashion, always touching a wall with your right hand no matter what. While you get very dizzy, and your path is probably longer than it would have been otherwise, you finally emerge into another large space with a hole leading to the next level. You drop down. [[Continue->100]]You walk to the first intersection, fish the lucky coin out of your pocket, and whisper “right face or left tails?” The coin lands on face. You whisper again, “forward face or left tails?” The coin lands on tail. You walk to the next intersection and repeat this process, over and over. Eventually you get the whole thing down so fast that you can figure out which way to go next before reaching the intersection. You have walked around for about five minutes, and are making good headway, when you suddenly hear a scraping noise. You quiet down and peek over a corner. There, dragging a double-headed axe and only wearing a loincloth, is a muscle-bound minotaur! What will you do?
[[Wait until the minotaur leaves->92b]]
[[Attack the minotaur->92]]
[[Try to talk to the minotaur->89]]One of the doll bodies quickly snaps its head around, looks around until it rests its gaze on you, and then walks towards you. Doll bodies have no facial expressions, but it seems to you like it's walking in a manner showing... curiosity?
“I am Mirsu Agek. I believe you have something that led you back to me. It has jolted my memories back... and I remember that I have been here for a very long time, working for the evil Lord Vadron. If you are an assassin, then feel free to kill me, for I am already dead. The worst you can do is free my soul from this realm. Just make it quick.”
What do you do in response?
[[You execute Mirsu Agek->91]]
[[You tell Mirsu Agek about your mission->73z]]
If you leave Mirsu Agek to his fate and decide to do something else, choose one of these remaining options:
[[You shout to all the doll bodies to leave->76]]
[[You shout to all the doll bodies to storm the tower->75]]
[[You walk to the front doors->77]]You know Mirsu Agek is somewhere in this golden city, so you go around, shouting his name, like someone looking for a lost dog. Most of the doll bodies either do not acknowledge your existence, or turn around to look at you for a second or two, their faces blank (as doll bodies do not have facial expressions). As you walk by the third row of bricks of the stairs leading to the front doors, a doll body polishing a brick stands up and looks at you.
“That name... it reminds me of something I knew long ago. I believe that may have been my name. Do you recognize me? I suppose you wouldn't, since... since I'm in this thing now. Who are you and who do you serve?” [[Continue->73z]]
You walk up to a doll body polishing a brick on the third row of bricks forming the steps to the front doors, and clear your throat.
“Hello there. That's a nice place you've got there.”
The doll body looks up to you. Due to their faces being expressionless, you cannot tell what its reaction might be, but you continue.
“You wanna know what really fascinates me? How utterly gigantic it is. I mean, all these bricks... it's gotta be heavy.”
“Heavy?”
“Yes, heavy. All of these bricks have mass. And mass wants to go down. That makes it heavy.”
“Bricks have mass... and mass wants to go down?” The doll body sounded like it was having an epiphany.
“Yes, that's right.”
The doll body looked up at the massive edifice, then back at the brick it was polishing. “Mass wants to go down...” He looked around and started shouting. “Mass wants to go down! Hey, everybody! Bricks have mass, and mass wants to go down!”
The doll bodies around it were also looking around, as if they were puzzled. “Every brick?” “Mass wants to go down?” Questions to which the original doll body answers with a feverish “yes!”
As the new-found watchword spreads like wildfire amongst the doll bodies, something amazing happens. First, there is a very deep groaning across the entire structure, as if there was a monster hiding in its depths. That groaning grows louder and louder, until it becomes a rumbling which you can feel throughout your entire body. Bricks crack and warp. Then, some small parts of the tower tumble to the ground. Then entire sections crumble. Then the entirety of Arslycus comes apart!
With no means of permanent escape, you run away from the main body, hoping that nothing major falls on you, but the ground itself, also made of golden bricks, has become treacherous terrain.
In what is possible the loudest noise you'll ever hear in your life, Arslycus collapses in a pile of gold bricks. You see souls rising off from the broken, mangled doll bodies. Turning to where the tower used to be, you see, on top of a gigantic pile of bricks, a wizard protected by a strong spherical shield looking at you with a hateful look and then floating into some kind of shimmering mirror.
“Thank you for freeing us,” you hear in your mind. One of the soul, or perhaps all the souls, is or are talking to you psychically. “That man you just saw was Vadron, previously the Lord of this domain. You'd be nice if you could kill him for us, as revenge for the centuries of oppression he's inflicted on us, but either way we're finally free so we don't really care. Goodbye forever!”
The souls rise until they reach the ether, then vanish. You have no such ability, so you must enter the portal taken by Vadron. You float into it just as it's about to tumble into oblivion. [[Continue->181]]
When you shouted to the doll bodies that they should take over the tower, you saw yourself as a general leading his army into battle. But rather the opposite happens: this is not an army, but an angry mob! These doll bodies have been enslaved for so long that the hope of freedom is enough to galvanize them to a degree beyond all reason or willingness to listen.
You are carried with the flow of the doll bodies as they rush the doors to the tower. The ones closest to the doors batter them down, and hundreds after hundreds of them run inside. You are hoisted on the shoulders of a few doll bodies, who scream “make way for our savior!” and “kill Vadron!” The mob runs through a long golden corridor, jumping steps two by two, until they arrive at a gate guarded by two rock golems.
Screaming garbled war cries, the doll bodies hurl themselves at the golems en masse. At first, the golems splat body after body against the walls, but for each doll body that gets splatted, three more take their place. Although the individual doll bodies have only a fraction of the power of the golems, they are able to overwhelm them through the sheer violence of their unrelenting assault.
By the time you reach the gate (still being carried), the golems lie broken on the floor, surrounded by about twenty dead doll bodies, and the gate is opened. Doll bodies are pouring into right and left corridors to secure them (probably not, you think, out of strategy, but rather because they're hoping to kill something), but most of them continue forward, along with you and your (literal) supporters. They face a magical barrier, towards which they all send thin streams of energy until the barrier overloads and explodes.
As they go, the doll bodies continue to destroy golems, some of them with various implements they find along the way, and their fighting is becoming more and more disciplined. One of them hands you a sword covered in fine silver lines: you hold it up and recognize it as an <i>Amplifier Sword</i>(set: $inventory25 to 1)(set: $aura to it + 2). This is not a sword for physical fighting, but for magic amplification: as long as you possess it, your AURA is raised by 2. What an amazing find! By the time the main group reaches the stairs to Vadron's chambers, they have become somewhat more of an army than a mob.
You are let down onto the floor, and you start climbing the stairs, surrounded by doll bodies. As you climb, you face scores of monsters, no doubt sent by Vadron to stop the uprising. You are attacked by slimes, which attack you by expanding their bulbous bodies, vipires, teleporting flying snakes with the ability to summon fire, semi-alive vortexes of light and darkness which, together, can rip a body apart, as well as numerous traps. Many doll bodies shield you from harm while you throw spell after spell at the creatures, with the help of your Amplifier Sword magnifying your power, and they also get hits in with golden bricks, swords, and former golem parts.
As you approach the top of the tower, you suddenly hear a loud explosion above you, and you run up... until you stop yourself from falling: the last stairs before the opening to Vadron's chambers have blown up! You take a giant leap, assisted by your magic: the doll bodies cannot follow you here. You look back at them.
“Thank you for taking me this far. I couldn't have done it without all of you.”
“Thank you for saving us! Kill Vadron for us, will ya?” says one of the doll bodies. You give it a salute with your hand and enter the room. The main room is a circular area with a number of doors leading out of it and strewn about with various magical apparatus, some of which you recognize (vials and potions, a Sephiroth chart, transmutation chambers) and some of which you don't. To the side, Vadron himself looks at you with an air of hatred, and then throws himself into a portal. You barely have time to see anything about him except his face: short brown hair, wrinkles, shaven, almost as small as a gnome's head. You run after him and plunge headlong into the portal. [[Continue->181]]
You tell the doll bodies that they are free to leave. They wordlessly walk to the golden walls at the edge of Arslycus. Those who were already near the edge climb up the walls and drop to the other side. You are unable to see where the jump will lead them. Then, a head pokes out of the very top of the tower. You cannot see it distinctly, apart that it seems to have short hair and is waving a wand around. You hear a loud scream of frustration and the wizard seems to be casting some spells, no doubt trying to regain control over the situation. You use this opportunity to run to the front doors and begin your infiltration. [[Continue->77]]You walk up to the front doors of the main building of Arslycus, unopposed, but the doors will not budge. They appear to be locked from the inside. You apply a strong amount of force on the central part until the lock is broken and the doors can be opened. Once inside, you see a long golden corridor in a gentle upwards slope, occasionally broken up by stairs as wide as the corridor itself. The more you walk, the more the sides of the corridor are decorated by various motifs, starting with simple lines to more complex runes. After a good bout of walking, you see a gate guarded by two rock golems. The golems had plenty of time to see you, but they have yet to make a move. What will you do?
[[Keep walking in order to engage the golems in close combat->93]]
[[Shoot one of them from a distance to inflict damage->94]]
[[Shoot one of them from a distance to destroy it->95]]You take careful aim at the announcer and attempt to dispel him. To your surprise, the announcer does not disappear, but the speakers go quiet even though he continues to talk into the microphone without interruption. You conclude that there was some kind of magical system responsible for the voice, and that the announcer is probably just an illusion, which explains why it was not dispelled. You shoot a dispel effect over a random section of the crowd: nothing happens.
All the cars have stopped, the spectators are no longer moving, and a hush has fallen over the arena. The drivers are leaving their cars, confused. You take a look at the pit master from your open door: he is still moving, although he seems to be subdued. He comes up to you.
“Why did you do that?” he says in a quiet tone.
“This was all a mechanism. The spectators were not real, the announcers were not real, and the race wasn't real. The drivers, and you, are the only real people here.”
He remained silent until the drivers were congregated around the both of you. “What do we do now?”
“Is there any way out of here?”
He points to an trapdoor at the very center of the arena.
“This is where they put the bodies.” he whispers. “After they crash.”
You walk to the trapdoor. It has a circular handle and opens easily, and there is a slide, but you see nothing beyond that but darkness. You turn back to the pit master and the drivers, but they have disappeared. Where did they go? You wonder whether there was some kind of automatic system to kick living beings out once the illusion broke down, but then why are you still here?
Shrugging, you get on the slide and let go. You slide all the way down to ground level of whatever low-ceiling room or corridor is in the darkness, but your feet are stopped by something hard, which seems to be moving. You cast a spell of illumination, which reveals a white turtle-like creature, large enough to occupy the entire width, which looks at you with tiny, baleful eyes. Its long bony tail coils around you, restraining you and pulling you closer to the creature, while its psychic powers batter your awareness, making you weaker and slower. This is an Ooyugah, a soul eater.
Do you have a patchwork soul?
(if: $inventory20 is 1)[[[Yes->78a]]](else:)[[[No->78b]]]
You concentrate on an area of the track where there are no stands, and create the illusion that a straight portion of track extends further than it actually does. The first drivers to reach the illusion crash into the wall, but the next ones fly off the wall by inadvertently ramping over the first car. You see this as your opportunity to get out of here. You get in your own car and try to remember how to start it and accelerate. After trying a few buttons, you think you've got a hang of it, and go at full speed towards the crash site. You successfully ramp off and fly into the ether.
You wonder what kind of grand pricks would set up such an pointless trap.
You concentrate on the Subgenial Amulet and let images come to your mind. Two of them finally do. One is of a sheet of paper, going as far as your eye can see, with blue lines across it and markings in pencil. The other is of what looks like a small city made entirely of gold. Which will you go for?
[[The land of paper->158]]
[[The golden city->148]]You wield the Wand of Slow Fall and jump down. You cast the spell and... nothing happens. This is a bum wand! [[Continue->82]]The reverse climb (descent?) down the mountain is even slower and more arduous than a normal climb, because you are doing it upside-down. You are clambering more or less blindly, with the constant fear of falling, for what seems like days and days. You are mentally exhausted, but in the haze of your consciousness you notice that the mountain is getting thinner and thinner, and so is the air. You are getting close to the summit at the bottom of the mountain. You look under you and see an upside-down cabin sitting at the very bottom.
With your last reserve of effort, you hoist yourself down the cabin and turn yourself upside-down to look through a window. You see a woman writing at a desk, surrounded by books and magical artefacts, in star and moon pajamas and matching cap. You knock at the window and she looks up, first startled, then annoyed. She walks up to the window and opens it.
“Who are you and what in the blazes do you think you're doing?”
What are you going to answer?
[[“Let me in, or else there'll be Hell to pay!”->144]]
[[“Please, can I come in? I've come a long way to see you.”->145]]You jump straight down, thinking that you will eventually reach the ether and return to your quest. You fall... and fall... and fall... but the ether never comes. Instead, the air seems to rapidly become thinner and thinner. Eventually, you begin to suffocate. I will spare you the gruesome details, but suffice it to say that you “die” of asphyxiation. [[Continue->13]]You make a running jump and fall away from the cliff. After a much longer period of time than you anticipated, you reach the ether.
You concentrate on the Amulet and get two images. One is a big rock formation floating in the ether, with a small opening in a cave-looking structure at the top. The other is an oval arena, filled with people, with colored chariots moving on an inner track at breakneck speed. Which will you focus on?
[[The oval arena->55]]
[[The rock formation->58]]You apparate and are immediately confused by what you see: a mess of black and blue lines. It takes a while for your sense of sight to adjust to this strange new environment, but by moving around and noting how shapes change, you finally realize what is going on: you are a two-dimensional shape in a two-dimensional world! Looking at your own hands, you realize you are made of pencil marks. About two and a half meters above your head, you see a semi-transparent blue line, the significance of which escapes you. Above, you see more blue lines, and, very far away, a circle with lines coming out of it (the sun, you assume), oval bulging shapes lined with small protuberances, and two lines moving up and down with an unmoving “v” in the center.
You turn around in order to see the other way, and your vision blanks out while you do so. What you see the other way is pretty much the same, so you turn back again, with the same blanking of your vision.
You see some shapes closer to you in the original direction, so you begin to walk that way. One shape in particular is at your level, and is coming towards you rapidly. Once you are close enough to tell what it is, you recognize it as a triangle, slightly shorter than you, with one eye, a mouth, tiny arms and tiny legs. How peculiar. When you get within reach, the triangle speaks:
“Hey, you bumpkin. I got priority, so get kneeling already!”
“Excuse me?”
“What? How do you think I'm gonna pass you, you dunderhead? You gotta kneel so I can walk over you! Come on now, I don't have all day, you know!”
How rude. What will you do?
[[Attack this ruffian->159]]
[[Kneel and let it walk over you->160]]You begin a slow trip through the whale's digestive system. You have entered the forestomach, where you are being vigorously ground up. You lose 2 SUBSTANCE point. (set: $substance to it - 2)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead)[[Continue->13]]](else:)[
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Continue to stay put->83b]]]
As the hurricane tears through the ship, planks fly at you. You lose 2 SUBSTANCE points.(set: $substance to it - 2)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Continue->87a]]
]You cast a Flame spell on the captain. Due to their constant imbibing of alcohol, sailors are surprisingly flammable. He goes up in flames and runs around like a headless chicken, setting some of his crew on fire. Soon everyone on both ships is dead, having either killed each other in combat or burned alive. You have the opportunity to search the other ship.
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Search the ship->84a]](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Ship Captain")(set: $substancee to 8)(set: $aurae to 0)(set: $hite to 2)
You use telekinesis to whip the sword out of the captain's hand. It slides all the way to the end of the deck. You face the captain without his sword.
SHIP CAPTAIN 8 SUBSTANCE points 0 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "85")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "85")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "85")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "85")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) Once you deal the fatal blow, you realize that the battle is winding down and that everyone is either dead or about to die. On the good side, that means you are finally free of those prattling sailors. On another possibly good side as well, it means you are free to explore the other ship.
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Search the ship->84a]]
]\
]\
You try to look as threatening as possible and adopt a theatrical voice. “Puny mortal, you dare challenge me? I am the great necromancer Lord Gogo! Forward, my minions!” You then raise your hands dramatically, as if you were raising the dead, and create the illusion of two skeletons, one on each side of you, emerging from the deck. In the heat of the battle, without a cool head, the captain should be easy to fool. <i>Test your ILLUSION magic at difficulty 1.</i> (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$illusion)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+1)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) [[Continue->86f]]]\
(else:)[(You won the test) The captain is distracted by the fake skeletons long enough for you to take him down from a distance.
Now that the captain is dead, you look around you and realize that the battle is pretty much over. Everyone has been killed in some gruesome fashion. This is a good ending, because the sailors got to die as they wanted, and you don't have to listen to them any more. Also, you are free to explore the other ship.
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Search the ship->84a]]
](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Minotaur")(set: $substancee to 10)(set: $aurae to 5)(set: $hite to 2)
You raise your wand and prepare a spell, but the minotaur has the drop on you. You must fight to the death.
MINOTAUR 10 SUBSTANCE points 5 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "88")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "88")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "88")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "88")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) You search his pants but find nothing. You leave the corpse behind and continue your demolition work until you find a large space with another hole leading downwards. You slide down. [[Continue->100]]\
]\
]\
“Um, hello there,” you say tentatively.
The minotaur frowns and snorts. “Hullo! Hoo are ye? Are you... an adventurer?”
“I wouldn't call myself that in the strict sense of the word, no.”
Your answer seems to please him: he stops frowning and snorting. You now notice he is wearing a tartan kilt. “That's good. Ma name's Steve. What's yours?”
“Suvad.” You shake hands. “So what's up with this place?” you add.
“Well, I rightly don't know myself. I was hired strictly to guard the maze against adventurers. Little blighters they are, a sorry lot. All they do is attack and loot, preferably both. Which is why I keep my valuables in a safe place, where no adventurer would ever get to lookin', 'f ye get my meanin'.” He leads you, through a rather tortuous route, to a dead-end with a sign in front of it marked “13.”
“I don't get it,” you declare. But Steve is not listening. He's rummaging through a hidden trapdoor, and finally get out a bag of baby carrots.
“This is all I eat nowadays. I used to eat people, but I had to quit cold turkey. Bulls eat grass, but there's never any grass around mazes, so I had to compromise. 'Baby carrots' has the word baby in it, so it's a little like old times.” He holds out the bag for you. “Here, have some. They're good for ye.”
“Well, thank you,” you say, a little bewildered. You add the <i>bag of baby carrots</i> to your inventory.(set: $inventory16 to 1) While the minotaur shows you out of the labyrinth, you chat with him, learning about his past jobs and his astrological hobby while you tell him about your schooling and your fiancée. You suspect that he's following a longer way out than would be required, but you can't fault him for that.
“Not many people pass through here. There is a bird, but it's quite mean. Here we are, then,” he says as you end up in an area similar to the entrance of the maze, with another hole leading downwards. “I suppose it's time for ye to leave. Best of luck to ye and your quest. And try not to kill anything.”
“So I don't suppose you know anything about the Amulet I'm looking for?”
“Naw, I don't know nothing about it. I kin tell ye about the next floor, it's a nasty one. A series of levers, and if you set them wrong, you're gonna die. Turns out ye gotta lower them all. I have no idea how: maybe a really big stick. I don't suppose ye got one of those?” You shake your head in the negative. “Then ye'll have to do it by hand. And if it doesn't work out, come back and talk to me some more all right?”
You're about to slide down when you turn around to look at Steve. “Bye for noo,” he says, waving. You think you see a tear in the corner of his right eye, but you can't say for sure.
[[Continue->100]]
You flee the minotaur, which snorts as you do so. Not wanting for him to track you down easily, you take to the side branches instead of the straight path you created. After stopping to catch your breath, you hear nothing more of the minotaur... but you are now thoroughly lost. Not wanting to make more noise, you silently walk around, lost, until you find a sign, with an arrow pointing to a dead-end, with “THIS WAY TO THE EGRET” written on it. Curious, you walk towards the dead-end, when a big white bird with a very long S-curved neck, elongated body, and small beady eyes, appears from a puff of smoke.
“Hey, where you going?”
“I thought this was the way out.”
“That's an egress, you dumbass, not an egret. I'm an egret. A bird. Not an exit.”
“So how do I get out of here?” you ask, flustered.
“Go left, right, left, right, up, up, and you're there.”
“Thank you.”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah shut up!” The bird screams before disappearing in smoke again as you walk away. At least it didn't fight me, you think. You follow the directions and end up in an area similar to the entrance, with a hole at the end. You slip down the hole and go to the next floor.
[[Continue->100]]You apply a directed pulse of energy to Agek's torso-head link. In a short moment it/he is dead (again). You are still stuck with deciding what to do.
[[You shout to all the doll bodies to leave->76]]
[[You shout to all the doll bodies to storm the tower->75]]
[[You walk to the front doors->77]]You continue using your lucky coin until you finally arrive at a large space with another hole leading downwards. That coin worked amazingly well. You slide down. [[Continue->100]]You strike against the minotaur by surprise with a pressure spell against its neck. You slowly choke the minotaur to death, until its brown bull head turns blue and its eyes look like they're going to pop out. Its limp body falls to the ground. You search its pants but find nothing. [[Continue->92b]]“My name is Suvad Tor and I am looking for the Subgenial Amulet, in order to destroy it. I was told you might know something about it.”
The doll body sighs. “Ah yes, this is what caused all my troubles. The evil Vadron... well, he is now the sole Lord of Arslycus, but back then he had lieutenants and thugs. Now he trusts nothing but his own constructs. But back then, he had his lieutenants kidnap me and steal my link to the City of Glass, and brought us here. He put the link in his personal room, at the top of the tower,” he pointed to the high tower dominating Arslycus, “and killed me and put my soul in a doll body once he realized I wouldn't open the way through the City of Glass for him. Incidentally...” and here he starts to whisper, “do you have an infrasonic bell?”
A good question.
(if: $inventory2 is 1)[(You have an infrasonic bell) [[Continue->73b]]](else:)[(You do not have an infrasonic bell) [[Continue->73c]]]
You land on your feet and look around. You are in a long room, one side of which is lined with levers, the other side is completely blank. You walk along the room until you get to the end, which is closed by a gate with bars. You see a hole on the other side which must lead to the next level, as well as a button right next to the gate, but pressing the button does nothing. As you walk back, you count the levers: there are 99 of them, all of which have different handles and lengths. What a strange collection.
You pull the first lever, and nothing happens. You restore it back to its original position, and nothing happens again. You probably need to push the button once you have moved the correct set of levers. But what is the correct solution?
[[Not pull any lever and push the button->111]]
[[Pull every lever and push the button->112]]
[[Pull every other lever and push the button->113]]“Yes, I do.”
“You'll need that to get through the City of Glass. This is what Vadron does not have, and he hasn't guessed yet, hasn't found it, or just hasn't tried. Now, all you have to do is go through the portal in Vadron's chambers and use the bell to open the path to the Amulet.”
“But what about...”
“I have full confidence in your abilities. If you could get here, then you can do it. Now there's one favor I ask of you in return: kill me. I am already dead, and there is no reason to prolong my existence in this lowly state.”
(if: $hist59 is 1)[[[Continue->91]]](else:)[[[Continue->91b]]]
“That is a problem. You absolutely need some kind of directed infrasonic resonator in order to create a passage through the City of Glass. Without it, you simply cannot get to the Amulet. Fortunately for you, I know where one can be found. It's in an isolated temple. With the last of my power, I can send you there.”
“Why don't you just send me to the Amulet?”
“Because I have no idea where it is. Trem kept it a secret from everyone, including me.”
It suddenly begins an incantation that you recognize as a teleportation spell.
“Wait! How-” you start.
The doll body/wizard fades away rapidly. “Find it, or your quest is doomed.”
You blink, and you find yourself in a strange new world. [[Continue->104]]“Now, you may find it useful to do something about this mind control business. I have had plenty of time to investigate it, although I can't actually do anything about it. These people are being held under psychic control by a wide-band pulse. One of the features on the main building must be sending that pulse, but I haven't gotten close enough to determine which one, because the building is guarded” He points to a saucer in the middle of the building, as well as an antenna at the very top. “I believe the pulse is coming from one of these two features. Destroy the right one and all these people can be freed.”
If you take Mirsu Agek's suggestion, which feature do you shoot at?
[[The saucer->156]]
[[The antenna->157]]
Otherwise, you may do one of the following:
[[You talk to a doll body->74]]
[[You walk to the front doors->150]](set: $hist104 to 1)The second you apparate, you start getting dizzy. This is a hollow world and you are on the inside of it! You look up and see a giant, hazy red sun with black spots whirling around it, and beyond its edges, more land: forests of blue, lakes of red, and what looks like villages (but you are too far to tell). It is an absolutely breathtaking sight. You turn your gaze back to your immediate surroundings and see that you are on the side of a narrow dirt road bordered by a dense blue forest.
No sooner do you get your bearings that you hear a humming sound coming from your right. Between trees, you see a glimpse of what is coming. At first you think you must be hallucinating, but you have definitely seen a group of Mukamuks: a creature of legend, with a human face and the hairy body of an animal, larger than a human and walking on four arms and hands, with giant eyes and mouths. They perfectly fit the illustrations you've seen when you were a child. These Mukamuks appear to be humming a mournful melody. There is no time to flee: they are about to turn the corner and see you. What do you do?
[[Use the Wand of Draconic Image, if you have one->117]]
[[Use illusion magic to pass as a Mukamuk->118]]
[[Speak to the Mukamuks->119]]
[[Fight the Mukamuks->120]]You emerge from the portal and are located on the surface of a gigantic sphere made of glass. Looking around, you see no trace of Vadron. You immediately use a Detect Illusion spell, but you don't find anything. You peer down at the center of the sphere, but can distinguish nothing. Do you have some magical item that can affect the glass?
(if: $inventory2 is 1)[[[You have an infrasonic bell->182]]](else:)[(You do not have an infrasonic bell)]
(if: $inventory19 is 1)[[[You have a diamond hammer->183]]](else:)[(You do not have a diamond hammer)]
(if: ($inventory2 is 0) and ($inventory19 is 0))[[[You have neither of those things->184]]](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "2 Rock Golems")(set: $substancee to 12)(set: $aurae to 5)(set: $hite to 2)\
You decide to get up close with the golems. As you get closer, they activate and take fighting positions. Since the golems are attacking you simultaneously, you must fight them as one enemy with higher statistics.
2 ROCK GOLEMS 12 SUBSTANCE points 5 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "93")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "93")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "93")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "93")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) Each golem guarded a switch to open the gate. You flip them and the gate opens. You continue walking down the corridor, up wide flights of stairs. Finally you arrive at an intersection. There are corridors branching off to the left and right, but nothing differentiates them, at least from where you stand.
[[You take the corridor on the left->101]]
[[You take the corridor on the right->102]]
[[You continue forward->103]]\
]\
]\
(unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "2 Rock Golems")(set: $substancee to 8)(set: $aurae to 5)(set: $hite to 2)\
You have the time to shoot a rock golem with two charges of a small Detonation spell before they charge. As they attack you simultaneously, you must fight the two golems as one enemy (but with less SUBSTANCE, as you've already taken some off).
2 ROCK GOLEMS 8 SUBSTANCE points 5 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "94")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "94")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "94")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "94")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) Each golem guarded a switch to open the gate. You flip them on and the gate opens. You continue walking down the corridor, up wide flights of stairs. Finally you arrive at an intersection. There are corridors branching off to the left and right, but nothing differentiates them, at least from where you stand.
[[You take the corridor on the left->101]]
[[You take the corridor on the right->102]]
[[You continue forward->103]]\
]\
]\
(unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Rock Golem")(set: $substancee to 6)(set: $aurae to 3)(set: $hite to 2)\
You are trying to aim a Tonnerre de Brest spell at one of the rock golems. This is a high precision spell, so even though the target is currently immobile, <i>you must test your AURA at difficulty 3.</i> (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$aura)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+3)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) [[Continue->95f]]]\
(else:)[(You won the test)
If you pass the test, you have only one rock golem left to destroy.
ROCK GOLEM 6 SUBSTANCE points 3 AURA
]
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "95")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "95")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "95")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "95")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) If you win the fight, you find that two switches set on the walls on each side are sufficient to open the gate. You continue walking down the corridor, up wide flights of stairs. Finally you arrive at an intersection. There are corridors branching off to the left and right, but nothing differentiates them, at least from where you stand.
[[You take the corridor on the left->101]]
[[You take the corridor on the right->102]]
[[You continue forward->103]]\
]\
]\
You hold out the patchwork soul to the Ooyugah, as close to what you believe is its mouth as you can.(set: $inventory20 to 0) It takes one long breath, and then releases its grip on you, wrapping its tail around the small patchwork soul instead, pulling it towards its mouth. You don't really want to stick around, so you crawl past it and find a portal. You poke your head into it: it leads to another low-ceiling corridor.
You go through the portal and continue crawling. It feels like you've been crawling forever, and your limbs begin to ache, but you finally end up at an intersection with many other low corridors branching off, as well as a metal door. Where do you go?
[[You look at some other portals->96]]
[[You go through the door->97]](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Ooyugah")(set: $substancee to 8)(set: $aurae to 6)(set: $hite to 2)\
You have no choice but to fight to the death.
OOYUGAH 8 SUBSTANCE points AURA 6
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "78b")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "78b")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "78b")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "78b")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) If you succeed, you crawl forward until you find a portal. You poke your head into it: it leads to another low-ceiling corridor.
You go through the portal and continue crawling. It feels like you've been crawling forever, and your limbs begin to ache, but you finally end up at an intersection with many other corridors branching off, as well as a metal door. Where do you go?
[[You look at some other portals->96]]
[[You go through the door->97]]\
]\
]\
You crawl your way through another random access corridor and poke your head into its portal: you are exposed to scorching heat and eye-busting brightness, faced by a wall of flames. Quickly you withdraw your head and crawl back to the center. You choose another access corridor, crawl through it, and poke your head in: you see a cubical room with white walls and round metallic doors. Examining the magic in the room, you perceive that the walls have a dispelling spell on them. Going inside would be a nasty trap which would kick you right back to the real world. You crawl back and choose another random corridor. You get to the portal and look inside: it leads directly into the ether. Well that's boring, but at least it's usable. Will you go through?
[[You go through and move on->105]]
[[You change your mind and go through the door instead->97]]You open the door into a large corridor. There are doors on both sides of it, with signs on them written in a strange curved script with a lot of dots, which you cannot read. You open one door tentatively and see an amazing sight: a never-ending stream of souls going through a gigantic transparent tube. The tube is ringed by small blinking machines you have never seen before. You close the door and continue on. Another door: the tube ends in a giant metallic spinning vat. There are meat bodies lined up on the far wall. You goggle at this sight until someone taps you on the shoulder.
“Pretty amazing stuff huh?”
You turn around and see a witch with short cropped brown hair, a buttoned beige shirt, and deep blue tie, holding a wand.
“Who are you?” you say, a bit on edge.
She gives you a big smile. “I'm Fortune LaChance! AMC graduate '28!”
“No way! I'm an AMC graduate too. Just this year.”
“What a funny coincidence! But then again, I'm used to it. I'm a Luckomancer, as you probably guessed from my pseudonym.”
Luckomancers are wizards and witches who manipulate chance events in order to bring about a desired outcome. Most magic-users dabble with it on the side (one can never be too careful with one's luck, after all), but sneer at it publicly. It is very rare to meet an actual luckomancer.
“Have you gotten very far with it?”
“Oh yeah, definitely! For instance, on any ability test or battle round, I can roll twice and keep the highest result.”
You give a long, loud whistle. “That's amazing!”
“Come on, let me show you around this place. It's quite something.”
What do you do?
[[You follow her->106]]
[[You ask her to show you how to leave->107]]You apparate on the ground of a massive area entirely made of golden bricks, full of people, dominated by a gigantic broad building built at a sickeningly low angle and culminating into a tower. The gleam of all the gold gives you a headache. The architecture is brutalist, with very simple lines, meant to convey a sense of domination over anyone looking at it. There are also weird “wings” of gold jutting out at impossible angles, as well as side buildings reaching for the sky in improbable spiral shapes.
Once you regain your bearings, you get a good look at the inhabitants and recognize their form immediately. They are doll bodies: a crude replica of a human body, with the limbs connected by strong wires, implanted with the soul of a dead person. This implantation is done for the purpose of having slaves intelligent enough to follow complex orders, while being totally under psychic control. These doll bodies are a little less than one meter high, and a dull grey color all over. Most of them seem to be busy either installing bricks or polishing bricks, some of them from a dizzying height.
(if: $inventory24 is 1)[If you have a paper cutout, immediately go [[here->149]]](else:)[(You do not have a paper cutout)]
(if: $hist20 is 1)[Otherwise, if you have heard about Mirsu Agek from the rebels, immediately go [[here->73]]](else:)[(You have not heard about Mirsu Agek from the rebels)]
If not, then choose amongst these options:
[[You talk to a doll body->74]]
[[You walk to the front doors->150]]You hear the guards cry out as you quickly approach the giant's ear, which is as tall as you are and, on the inside, looks like a long, dark tunnel. What will you do?
[[You scream as loud as possible to wake them up->108]]
[[You whisper “Give me the Subgenial Amulet”->109]]
[[You whisper “Give me something that will help me in my quest”->110]]You holster your wand and signal to the guards that you surrender peacefully. They cry out in surprise at seeing you on top of the giant and run towards you. They have to get you off the giant with a ladder! Magical spears at their side, they escort you out of the room and down the main corridor of a complex made of cloud-stuff decorated with symbols and blue-skinned figures you do not recognize, some of them wearing red caps. They ask you where you came from and you tell them.
“It's awful lucky you didn't try anything. We will be working on closing down that portal right away. We're here to protect the Dreamer, for we are the dream. If the Dreamer were to be awakened, all of this, the entire Moondreams, would vanish in an instant. All of us are here solely at the Dreamer's pleasure.”
Are these people telling the truth? You may never know, and it's probably for the best that you don't find out. They bring you to a hidden door and kick you out. You are now floating in the ether. You concentrate on the idea of the Amulet, but nothing comes to your mind at first. You get frustrated, but you calm down, empty your mind, and concentrate as completely as you can. You get three images flashing in your head: the first is of an island floating on top of a gigantic sphere of sand, the second is of a room filled with gold pieces and baubles, and the third is of giant bubbles floating in the ether. Which lead do you follow?
[[The island on a sand sphere->19]]
[[The room filled with gold->17]]
[[The giant bubbles->18]]You have now entered the fundic stomach, where you are being digested with hyperchloric acid. You lose 4 SUBSTANCE points.(set: $substance to it - 4)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead)[[Continue->13]]](else:)[
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Continue to stay put->83c]]
]
You have now entered the pyloric stomach. At first, nothing happens, so you have a moment of rest. While stumbling in the dark, your hand hits something metallic. You grab it and realize you have found some kind of circlet. Will you put it on?
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Put the circlet on->83d]]
[[Leave the circlet alone->83e]]You fight your disgust and place the slimy, corroded circlet on your head. You find that this object is magical and actually strengthens your illusions. As long as you have the <i>circlet of illusion</i>(set: $inventory11 to 1)(set: $illusion to it + 2), add 2 to your ILLUSION rating. What a great find!
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Continue to stay put->83e]]You hit against the bottom of the stomach, and then are thrown back up. You pass through all the previous stages, losing 2 SUBSTANCE points.(set: $substance to it - 2)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead)[[Continue->13]]](else:)[
You are expelled from the whale and are now floating on the endless ocean. You wait for a while, but nothing more happens. You decide to leave this place. [[Continue->65]]
] You go below deck to see what you can find. Amongst the useless ballast, cannonballs, and other junk, you find some pieces of gold. You add <i>15 pieces of gold</i>(set: $inventory7 to 1) to your inventory. This is all you can find here.
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Go back to the deck and keep searching->84b]]You go back to the deck, hoping to find some stray item. Suddenly, there is a loud cracking sound: a mast is falling in your direction! Are you feeling lucky?
(if: $inventory4 is 1)[(You have a lucky coin) [[Continue->84c]]](else:)[(You do not have a lucky coin) Roll one d6. (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)) (You rolled a (print: $random1)) (if: $random1<5)[[[Continue->84c]]](else:)[[[Continue->84d]]]
]The mast sails by you, so close that you feel the wind as it comes down and crashes on the deck, bringing up pieces of wood everywhere. You were saved from the indignity of dying from a falling mast with no recourse. You wipe non-existent sweat from your forehead.
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Keep searching->84e]]Despite your last-ditch attempt to evade it, the mast falls squarely on you. You lose 20 SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to it - 20)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead)[[Continue->13]]](else:)[
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Keep searching->84e]]
]
You look at every area of the deck in turn, until you get to the forecastle, where you find a piece of paper which states the following:
=><==
<font size="4"><u>PLOT COUPON</u>
If anything happens that makes sense in this gamebook,
you may hand over this coupon to cancel it out.
(no refunds, returns, takebacks, exchanges, or substitutions)</font>
<==
Curious.(set: $inventory12 to 1) You have nowhere left to search, so you return to your own body. [[Continue->65]]
=><==
<font size="4"><u>PLOT COUPON</u>
If anything happens that makes sense in this gamebook,
you may hand over this coupon to cancel it out.
(no refunds, returns, takebacks, exchanges, or substitutions)</font>
<==
(unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Ship Captain")(set: $substancee to 8)(set: $aurae to 3)(set: $hite to 2)\
You must face the captain:
SHIP CAPTAIN 8 SUBSTANCE points 3 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "86f")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "86f")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "86f")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "86f")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) Now that the captain is dead, you look around you and realize that the battle is pretty much over. Everyone has been killed in some gruesome fashion. This is a good ending, because the sailors got to die as they wanted, and you don't have to listen to them any more. Also, you are free to explore the other ship.
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Search the ship->84a]] \
]\
]\
In a magnificent show of precision, the hurricane has hurled every sailor on board to their death. It now takes you into its deadly winds. You hurl straight into a wall. You lose 4 SUBSTANCE points.(set: $substance to it - 4)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Continue->87b]]
]The winds carry you around the ship and slam you against the hull repeatedly. You lose 8 SUBSTANCE points.(set: $substance to it - 8)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[
[[Leave immediately->65]]
[[Continue->87c]]
]You are thrown into the waters. The hurricane has fulfilled its purpose, and it dissipates slowly. Unless you're eager to drown, there is nothing left for you to do here. [[Continue->65]]You shoot a powerful Lightning spell at the saucer. It falls straight down, broken in pieces. At that moment, an unexpected change comes over the doll bodies. They stop in their tracks and look around, confused. It seems like you have an opportunity to act freely.
[[You talk to a doll body->74]]
[[You shout to all the doll bodies to leave->76]]
[[You shout to all the doll bodies to storm the tower->75]]
[[You walk to the front doors->77]]You shoot a powerful Lightning spell at the antenna, which blows up in a shower of sparks. There is no reaction from the doll bodies, but a head sticks out of the very topmost window of the tower. It is a head with short, flat brown hair and a hateful look. This must be Vadron! He shoots a fireball at you, which homes in and subtracts 4 SUBSTANCE points from your total.(set: $substance to it - 4)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[Screaming a long string of invective, which you cannot hear distinctly, he ducks back into the tower. What will you do?
[[You shoot at the saucer->156]]
[[You talk to a doll body->74]]
[[You walk to the front doors->150]]
]You walk resolutely to the front door. As you go up the few wide stairs leading to the doors, about thirty meters away, the doll bodies all raise their heads in alarm and run to position themselves in front of you. You are too taken aback to react.
“You cannot enter without authorization.” intones one doll body standing in your way.
“And how would I get authorization?”
“None can get authorization.”
They move to subdue you. What will you do? You do not want to harm these people, for they are wholly innocent. It seems that your choices are few.
(if: $inventory5 is 1)[[[You use your Wand of Draconic Image->154]]](else:)[(You do not have a Wand of Draconic Image)]
[[You let yourself be captured->155]](set: $hist101 to 1)You take a left and go down this new corridor. At first it doesn't look like anything new, but soon you run into a dead-end, with two golden doors on the right and left side.
(if: $hist101a is 1)[[[Open the left-hand door, if you haven't yet->101a]]](else:)[(You have already opened the left-hand door)]
(if: $hist101b is 1)[[[Open the right-hand door, if you haven't yet->101b]]](else:)[(You have already opened the right-hand door)]
(if: $hist102 is 1)[[[Go back and take the right corridor, if you haven't yet->102]]](else:)[(You have already taken the right corridor)]
[[Go back and continue forward->103]](set: $hist102 to 1)You take the right corridor and walk all the way to a dead-end. There are two golden doors, one on the right and one of the left.
(if: $hist102a is 1)[[[Open the left-hand door, if you haven't yet->102a]]](else:)[(You have already opened the left-hand door)]
(if: $hist102b is 1)[[[Open the right-hand door, if you haven't yet->102b]]](else:)[(You have already opened the right-hand door)]
(if: $hist101 is 1)[[[Go back and take the left corridor, if you haven't yet->101]]](else:)[(You have already taken the left corridor)]
[[Go back and continue forward->103]](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Rock Golem")(set: $substancee to 6)(set: $aurae to 3)(set: $hite to 2)\
You continue your slow ascent up the main building. The designs on the walls are getting more and more sophisticated, now showing various figures, which seem to be previous overseers of this place. After another flight of stairs, you encounter a rock golem. You must fight.
ROCK GOLEM 6 SUBSTANCE points 3 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "103")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "103")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "103")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "103")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) You kick the golem and immediately regret it: your legs are starting to hurt. It feels like you've been walking for an hour. Finally you arrive at a narrow set of circular stairs going straight up. You are at the tower and there is nowhere to go but up, even though your legs are burning at this point.
While going up the stairs, you see something coming: two vortexes, one white and one black, are flying close together and making a beeline for you. What do you do?
[[Wait until they get close->114]]
[[Attack them preemptively->115]]
[[Put up a large magical shield to stop them->116]]\
]\
]\
(unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "2 Rock Golems")(set: $substancee to 12)(set: $aurae to 5)(set: $hite to 2)\
You must face both rock golems at once. Since the golems are attacking you simultaneously, you must fight them as one enemy with higher statistics.
2 ROCK GOLEMS 12 SUBSTANCE points 5 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "95f")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "95f")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "95f")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "95f")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) If you win the fight, you find that two switches set on the walls on each side are sufficient to open the gate. You continue walking down the corridor, up wide flights of stairs. Finally you arrive at an intersection. There are corridors branching off to the left and right, but nothing differentiates them, at least from where you stand.
[[You take the corridor on the left->101]]
[[You take the corridor on the right->102]]
[[You continue forward->103]]\
]\
]\
You go through the portal. You are now back in the ether.
You concentrate on the thought of the Subgenial Amulet and let images come to your mind. Two of them finally do. One is of a sheet of paper, going as far as your eye can see, with blue lines across it and markings in pencil. The other is of what looks like a small city made entirely of gold. Which will you go for?
[[The land of paper->158]]
[[The golden city->148]]Fortune leads you around what turns out to be a sprawling complex of gigantic rooms, pipes, conveyor belts, and other apparatus, all hidden behind various doors labeled with the unknown language. While you tell her about your quest, she stops at certain doors, opening them to show you some particular feature she's discovered.
“As far as I've figured out, this place is a gigantic factory. I have no idea what it's producing, though. All I know is that a lot of souls, meat bodies, and moving pictures are involved.”
“How do you even find your way through here?” you ask, bewildered.
“By luck, of course,” she replies, smiling. “Talking about luck, there is one particular room I can never find except by being lucky. It seems like it moves all the time. But I think it should be somewhere around... here.” She opens a door and looks in. “That's the one!”
At first, you think your eyes are tricking you. This “room” seems to extend in all directions as far as the eye can see! It is entirely filled with rows after rows of shelves, holding boxes of all sizes, from small enough to fit in your hand to big enough to hold a standing human being.
“Is this a pocket dimension?”
“I don't know. I just know that you can find pretty much everything in here. It's like a storage room for a planet. Most of them are filled with stuff like dirt or soil. But if I'm lucky enough, I can find a good one sometimes. It's the darndest thing, almost like someone is building a planet or something, but there's no numbers anywhere so how can they know what goes where? Anyway, let me see if I can find something for you.”
She starts walking in one direction, then the other... when you look back, you realize the door is gone, even though you've only been walking for twenty seconds. You follow her dutifully until she stops and pokes at a small box on a higher shelf. She picks it up and hands it to you. You open it: there's a rotten apple inside.
“Oops. I must have failed a throw somewhere. Let's try again.”
She leads you in another tortuous path through the storage room until she stops and bends down, grabbing another small box from the bottom shelf. You open it and find a potion of healing. In the real world, a potion like this would restore your ENDURANCE completely, but you are not in the real world and you have no ENDURANCE here, only mere SUBSTANCE. However, the placebo effect still causes you to <i>regain 8 SUBSTANCE points</i>.(set: $substance to it + 8)
Fortune is already setting off in another direction. What will you do?
[[Follow her->106b]]
[[Tell her you both need to go back->106c]]
“I would love that,” you reply, “but I'm on a quest. I'm trying to find the Subgenial Amulet. I don't suppose you could help me find it?”
She shakes her head. “I can't say I've ever heard of it. It's not luckamancy is it?”
“I have no idea.”
“I can show you where the exit is, anyway. Otherwise you could get lost in this place forever! I can only get around because of my incredible luck in finding where I want to go. It seems like the rooms behind these doors keep changing places. Whatever this place really is, it's quite temperamental.”
She leads you through endless corridors lined with doors, until you arrive at one door that's different from all the others: it's actually a round hatch about a meter off the floor.
“There's the way out. This will lead you straight to the ether.”
(if: $inventory4 is 1)[(You have a lucky coin) [[Continue->121]]](else:)[(You do not have a lucky coin) [[Continue->122]]]
You scream into the sleeping blue giant's ear. At first, nothing happens, and the guards tackle you to the ground. Then everything around you seems to be fading, including the guards and the giant. You look down at your own body: it's also fading! The giant's eyes begin to open. Everything else blinks out of existence. You have awakened the Dreamer, whose dream constitutes Moondreams itself. Now the entire plane is gone, and you are rudely awakened on Xaahel's couch. Your adventure is over. [[Continue->13]]You whisper your wish in the giant's ear. Suddenly, as if by magic, an amulet appears in your right hand. You have no time to take a look at it before the guards tackle you to the ground and drag you out of the room into a complex made of cloud-stuff. They drag you into a smaller room with a table and chairs, where they interrogate you. They are determined to find out how you landed on top of the Dreamer (as they call the giant), and, having no skin in the game, you give them all the information they ask for. Finally they combine their magical energies together and dispel you before you are able to raise a shield.
You wake up on Xaahel's couch, with the amulet in your hand. You both celebrate your victory with a round of drinks before you get back home, with Qualia still away in an outing with friends. Your plan has worked perfectly. But the next day, when you examine the amulet more carefully, you find out that it's a counterfeit. You've been had!
If you want to try again, first go to [[the death paragraph->13]]You whisper your wish in the giant's ear. Suddenly, as if by magic, a key appears in your hand. You take a quick look at it: it is stamped with the image of a horse. You add the <i>small horse key</i>(set: $inventory28 to 1) to your inventory. You turn around and see the guards about to tackle you, but a fraction of a second before they do, you apparate somewhere else. Did the giant send you away as a final gift, or as a curse? [[Continue->55]] to see where you ended up. You walk all the way back to the gate without pulling any of the levers. You press the button and get an electric shock: you lose 2 SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to it - 2)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[[[Go back->100]]]You walk slowly back to the gate, pulling every single lever on the way. You press the button and the gate opens. That was easy! You walk up to a hole leading to the next level down and jump. [[Continue->123]]You walk slowly back to the gate, pulling every other lever starting with the second one (for symmetry). Confident in having outsmarted the puzzle, you press the button. But instead of the gate opening, you get a shocking result: an electric shock, to be exact, which makes you lose 2 SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to it - 2)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[[[Go back->100]]](set: $hist101a to 1)You pull and pull on this door, but nothing happens. Seems like it's jammed. [[Go back->101]] and make another choice. (set: $hist101b to 1)You pull on the handle and enter the door. This small room is entirely empty except for an imposing house of cards on the floor. You barely have to lower yourself to examine it at all, and it seems to be made out of entirely ordinary cards, except that all of them seem to be Jokers. What do you do?
[[Take a card->101c]]
Otherwise, [[go back->101]] and make another choice. (unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Jester")(set: $substancee to 2)(set: $aurae to 6)(set: $hite to 2)\
You take a card out. As you do so, the cards fly off, as if they were under a strong breeze, and reform in the shape of a person. You feel powerful magics coming off of this construct: this must be some kind of automated magical defense designed to be triggered by curious adventurers. You must fight it to the “death.”
JESTER 2 SUBSTANCE points 6 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "101c")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "101c")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "101c")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "101c")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) The house of cards is now dispersed, and there is nothing else for you to do here. [[Go back->101]] and make another choice.\
]\
]\
(set: $hist102a to 1)You open the door and enter the room. This appears to be some kind of armory, with all sorts of weapons and armor, although most of them aren't magical. You finally set your sights on a sword which does appear as magical. You grab it and examine it with your powers: this is an <i>Amplifier Sword</i>, which raises your AURA by 2 as long as you're using it. What a great find!(set: $inventory25 to 1)(set: $aura to it + 2) You leave the rest of the armory behind. [[Go back->102]] and make a new choice. (set: $hist102b to 1)You open the door. There is a long table, chairs, and some shelves, all of which are made of gold. You try sitting on a chair: it's very uncomfortable. This must be some kind of rest or dining area for the guards, but there is no one here. There is nothing left for you to do but [[go back->102]] and make a new choice. The vortexes are now so close that they are within arms' reach. What will you do?
[[Continue to wait->124]]
[[Extend a small shield->125]]You try to zap the vortexes from a distance. You must test your AURA at difficulty 2 twice in order to see if you hit both of them.(set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$aura/illusion)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+DIFFICULTY)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) [[Continue->115f]]]\
(else:)[
(set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$aura/illusion)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+DIFFICULTY)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) [[Continue->115f]]]\
(else:)[(You passed both tests) If you pass both tests, then the vortexes are stopped temporarily and you climb the steps under them in large bounds in the hopes of reaching the top before they come after you again. [[Continue->126]]
]
]
You put up a shield to keep the vortexes away. They both converge onto the same point, and a link of energy flashes between them for a fraction of a second. They then overload your shield, causing you to feel intense psychic pain. [[Continue->114]]You use the wand to transform your appearance into one of a dragon. The Mukamuks see you and immediately start humming at a high pitch and a frantic pace, their eyes wide with fear. After a brief moment of confusion, they rush forward in the same direction they were walking, past you, emitting a high whine as they do so. You hear the whine get gradually fainter as they gallop away from your position.
Now that the Mukamuks are gone, where will you go?
[[Towards the north, where the Mukamuks came from->127]]
[[Towards the south, where the Mukamuks ran to->128]]You must act quickly and skillfully to bring about this complicated illusion in a fraction of a second. <i>Test your ILLUSION at difficulty 5.</i> (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$illusion)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+5)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) [[Continue->120]]]\
(else:)[(You won the test) If you succeed, you bend down on all fours and cloak yourself in a complex illusion. The lead Mukamuk sees you and narrows its eyes at your sudden appearance. While the others stop in their tracks and stomp uncertainly, it walks up to you and emits a sustained hum. Not knowing what to do, you copy the hum as best you can. This seems satisfactory to the Mukamuk, who turns back and continues to hand-walk in the same direction they were going before, along with the rest of the group.
You have taken the form of a Mukamuk for the duration of your current stay in the hollow world.(set: $mukamukspell to 1) Where will you go now?
[[Towards the north, where the Mukamuks came from->127]]
[[Towards the south, where the Mukamuks ran to->128]]
]
“Greetings, noble Mukamuks. My name-” You have no time to introduce yourself, as the Mukamuks start to emit a panicked, high-pitched humming. After a brief moment of confusion, they rush forward in the same direction they were walking, past you, emitting a high whine as they do so. You hear the whine get gradually fainter as they gallop away from your position.
Now that the Mukamuks are gone, where will you go?
[[Towards the north, where the Mukamuks came from->127]]
[[Towards the south, where the Mukamuks ran to->128]]The Mukamuks see you and immediately start humming at a high pitch and a frantic pace, their eyes wide with fear. After a brief moment of confusion, they rush forward in the same direction they were walking, past you, emitting a high whine as they do so. You hear the whine get gradually fainter as they gallop away from your position.
Now that the Mukamuks are gone, where will you go?
[[Towards the north, where the Mukamuks came from->127]]
[[Towards the south, where the Mukamuks ran to->128]]You trail Fortune as she navigates her way deeper and deeper into the lines of shelves. She points out various boxes to you, some of which are mildly useful, some of which are useless. Eventually she starts to try to make her way out, but cannot figure out how. Her luck has run out for now, and that means yours has too. You wander for hours, never getting in sight of the doors, until Xaahel awakens you from your trance. You have failed to find the Amulet. [[Continue->13]]“All right, all right, let's get out of here before I get totally lost.”
She starts walking back (although it's really impossible to confirm which way is back due to the absence of the door), until she stops at a box no bigger than a slice of bread.
“That is the smallest box I've seen in here... You should take it. It's probably nothing, but you never know.”
With the box in hand, you follow her until the door reappears, and you both go through it.
“We made it!” she says cheerfully but also somewhat ironically. “Last time I must have spent five hours in there just trying to find that door.” After a moment, she points at the box. “Well, aren't you going to look inside?”
You nod and open the box with difficulty, due to its small size. Inside, you find a <i>small bag of iron shavings</i>.(set: $inventory17 to 1) You walk along a few more doors.
“You know, I just thought of something. Too bad there wasn't more iron in there, or you could do a Location spell and find your dang Amulet! Although I am not sure how well directions apply in this plane.”
“Talking about the Amulet, I should probably get back to that. I have a time limit before my friend Xaahel gets me out of here.”
“Oh yeah, absolutely! Let's get you out of here. Follow me.”
She follows another path through some doors and corridors which leads both of you to a round hatch embedded in a wall.
“There's the way out. This will lead you straight to the ether. And yes, there are rooms on the other side, and it doesn't seem to be a portal, so it makes no sense geometrically.” You both laugh.
Do you have a lucky coin?
(if: $inventory4 is 1)[[[Yes->121]]](else:)[[[No->122]]]
“There's something I want to give you,” she says, and holds up a coin you recognize instantly as being the same as your lucky coin. You fish it from your pockets and show it to her.
“You already have one! Great! So you know what it is?” You shake your head negatively. “Well I can tell you that no luckamancer would be caught dead without one of those- actually you wouldn't catch them dead at all, since these are Save Me from Death coins. They'll save you if you're about to get instakilled. Believe me, this one has saved me a few times in Moondreams.” She flips the coin on her thumbnail. “Essential gear for the serious explorer in strange places such as this. Talking about strange places, if you ever run into a hollow world, be warned that magical beings there can banish you at will, even through you're not a demon. It's the strangest thing. I wish I could go back there and figure it out.”
You exchange some last words and leave through the hatch. You are back in the ether.
You concentrate on the thought of the Subgenial Amulet and let images come to your mind. Two of them finally do. One is of a sheet of paper, going as far as your eye can see, with blue lines across it and markings in pencil. The other is of what looks like a small city made entirely of gold. Which will you go for?
[[The land of paper->158]]
[[The golden city->148]]“There's something I want to give you,” she says, and holds up a coin you do not recognize. “It's called a Save Me from Death coin. All luckamancers have one somewhere on their body, sometimes many of them. Just one of these babies will save you from instadeath with no problems whatsoever. Take it!”
You grab the <i>lucky coin</i>(set: $inventory4 to 1) and put it in your pocket.
You exchange some last words and leave through the hatch. You are back in the ether.
You concentrate on the thought of the Subgenial Amulet and let images come to your mind. Two of them finally do. One is of a sheet of paper, going as far as your eye can see, with blue lines across it and markings in pencil. The other is of what looks like a small city made entirely of gold. Which will you go for?
[[The land of paper->158]]
[[The golden city->148]]You land in another long room. At the other end, you see a pedestal with a treasure chest, flanked by two statues of armor-wearing knights wielding warhammers. You walk towards it, anticipating treasure, but you are stopped by what you see once you enter through an arch. There is a checkerboard pattern taking up the whole width of the floor, as well as a dead body slumped on the wall, its feet touching the edge of the checkerboard. You walk up to the body and take a closer look. It's a man with a sword in his left hand, his eyes pierced by arrows, wearing leather armor and a helmet with “I survived Deathtrap Dungeon” written on it. He's also holding a note written on parchment, and a fountain pen and inkwell are lying on the floor a distance away. They must have rolled away after the note was written. You open the note and it says:
“i have slain the migty minotor and defeated the fiendish puzzle of the levers... the correct path here is- aaaaaaaaah my eyes my beautiful eyes”
Adventurers are not known to be big on spelling or grammar... but this must mean that there is an arrow trap somewhere in here, activated by the checkerboard. You must walk on the checkerboard to proceed. How to do it?
[[You walk upright on the checkerboard->129]]
[[You crawl on the checkerboard->130]]
[[You cast a shield spell to protect your eyes and then walk on->131]]The white and black vortexes enter your body. One moment you feel nothing, the next your body feels like it's being torn apart. Rapid waves of pain crash upon your consciousness until you “die.” [[Continue->13]]You must decide quickly where you will form the shield.
[[Around yourself->132]]
[[Around the two vortexes->133]]
[[Between the two vortexes->134]](set: $enemyname to "White Vortex")(set: $substancee to 4)(set: $aurae to 5)(set: $hite to 2)\
You must defeat one of the vortexes before they reach you. You have three turns to defeat it:
WHITE VORTEX 4 SUBSTANCE points 5 AURA
Round 1: (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) Opponent's AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[\
You lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite) You have (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(else:)[\
(print: $enemyname) loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit) (print: $enemyname) has (print: $substancee) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(if: $substance>0)[
Round 2: (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) Opponent's AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[\
You lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite) You have (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(else:)[\
(print: $enemyname) loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit) (print: $enemyname) has (print: $substancee) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
]\
(if: ($substance>0) and ($substancee>0))[
Round 3: (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) Opponent's AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[\
You lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite) You have (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(else:)[\
(print: $enemyname) loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit) (print: $enemyname) has (print: $substancee) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
]\
{(if: $substance<1) [(You have died) [[Continue->13]]
](else-if: $substancee<1)[You defeat it within three turns. The other vortex retreats and you can continue up the stairs. [[Continue->126]]
](else:)[You fail to defeat it in three turns, the two vortexes converge upon you. [[Continue->124]]
]}
You jump the stairs two by two in your haste to reach the top. You eventually get to a rickety wooden door (the very first thing you've seen here not made of, or plated with, gold) precariously perched at the very end of the flight of stairs. You open it, wand in hand, and enter a circular room filled with gadgets on long tables, as well as larger apparatus like transformation chambers. You barely have time to see Vadron, Lord of Arslycus, shoot you a look of pure hatred as he runs into a portal. You run after him and plunge headlong into the portal. [[Continue->181]]You walk for twenty seconds on this dirt road, unable to tell if you're going towards anything of importance due to the dense forest. But a few steps around yet another curve in the road reveals a cemetery, with a wooden fence around the perimeter, and a mausoleum in the back. You swing the gate open and start looking at the graves: you see nothing unusual here, apart from the strange names of the dead. You keep an eye out for zombies or something of the sort, but there's no movement in the soil.
The mausoleum is a rectangular, hastily put together structure made of red bricks. The double doors are ajar, so you push one of them further and enter. Your eyes have to adjust to the relative darkness: when they do, you see three coffins, about five times bigger than normal coffins. Walking between them, you also notice that there is a white circle made with chalk behind these coffins, with a pentagram inscribed inside of it. You now deeply regret sleeping through your Esoteric Symbology class (although it wasn't your fault that it was always in the early morning).
What do you do?
[[Leave the graveyard and walk towards the south, where the Mukamuks ran to->128]]
[[Open the coffins->135]]
[[Stand on the pentagram->136]]You walk for five seconds on this dirt road until you see in the distance the shape of a village, with fields and huts, smoke coming out of their chimneys. As you make your way towards it, you hear the humming of Mukamuks, but also another voice, deeper and louder, able to speak words. You were able to get the Mukamuks off your back easily enough, but this new creature might not be as easy to deal with. On the other hand, if you are in the shape of a Mukamuk, you might be able to explore the village without interference.
(if: $mukamukspell is 1)[[[You explore the village under a Mukamuk illusion->137]]](else:)[[[You explore the village without a Mukamuk illusion->138]]]
[[You leave this place and walk towards the north, where the Mukamuks came from->127]]Confidently, you stride forward on the checkerboard. As soon as your foot hits its edge, two nearly-invisible slits at the far end spit out arrows, which lodge themselves in your astral eyes. You do not lose your sight, but you do lose 2 SUBSTANCE points. What a lousy trap! But that's okay, everyone can fall to black-and-white thinking occasionally. (set: $substance to it - 2)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[
The way is finally open to the treasure chest. But there are two statues on each side of it. What will you do?
[[Open the chest right away->139]]
[[Destroy the statues before opening the chest->140]]
]You get on your hands and knees, and begin slowly crawling your way on the checkerboard. As soon as your hand touches it, two nearly-invisible slits at the far end spit out arrows, which whirl past you at the height your eyes would have been. While you crawl your way through the checkerboard floor, you notice a piece of paper lying on the ground. You crawl towards it and grab it. It reads:
=><==
<font size="4"><u>PLOT COUPON</u>
If anything happens that makes sense in this gamebook,
you may hand over this coupon to cancel it out.
(no refunds, returns, takebacks, exchanges, or substitutions)</font>
<==
Strange. You add the <i>plot coupon</i> to your inventory.(set: $inventory13 to 1) You crawl the rest of the way and can now walk to the treasure chest... but there are two statues on each side of it. What will you do?
[[Open the chest right away->139]]
[[Destroy the statues before opening the chest->140]]You cast a shield spell in front of your head and walk on the checkerboard. As soon as you step on it, two arrows shoot from the back wall, right at your eyes, but they plink on your shield. This adventuring business is not that hard, you think. Now what? You have a way to the treasure chest, but there are still those statues. Statues are prone to coming alive and metaphorically biting you in the ass.
[[Open the chest right away->139]]
[[Destroy the statues before opening the chest->140]]The white and black vortexes touch your shield, which collapses, and enter your body. One moment you feel nothing, the next your body feels like it's being torn apart. Rapid waves of pain crash upon your consciousness until you “die.” [[Continue->13]]The white and black vortexes touch your shield, which collapses, and enter your body. One moment you feel nothing, the next your body feels like it's being torn apart. Rapid waves of pain crash upon your consciousness until you “die.” [[Continue->13]]You erect a magic shield between the white and black vortexes. The white vortex enters your body while the black vortex bumps on your shield. You feel nothing and, after a few moments, the white vortex flies towards the black vortex, but is stopped by your shield. You start carefully walking up the stairs again, making sure to keep your shield up so the two vortexes remain separated. You reach a wooden door (the first non-gold thing you've seen so far) perched at the end of the spiral staircase. You quickly open the door, release the vortex outside of it, and slam it shut behind you.
Finally rid of the vortex, you turn around to see a circular room filled with gadgets on long tables, as well as larger apparatus like transformation chambers. You barely have time to see Vadron, Lord of Arslycus, shoot you a look of pure hatred as he runs into a portal. You run after him and plunge headlong into the portal. [[Continue->181]]You open the coffin to your left, with both hands due to the weight of the gigantic lid, but it is empty. You then open the center one, which contains a small male centaur, probably a child. You close it and open the coffin to your right, which contains an elderly female centaur. They are both disfigured by decomposition. You close the coffins, having had enough of the smell and sights of two rotting centaurs. The thought of pillaging the corpses never enters your mind. You have two choices left:
[[Leave the graveyard and walk towards the south, where the Mukamuks ran to->128]]
(if: $hist136 is 1)[(You have already stood on the pentagram)](else:)[[[Stand on the pentagram, if you haven't done so already->136]]]
(set: $hist136 to 1)Are you under a Mukamuk illusion spell?
(if: $mukamukspell is 1)[[[Yes->136a]]](else:)[[[No->136b]]]
You gallop to the village and hide behind the first hut you can get to. You look around for the inhabitants. The huts are placed in a rough circle, and in the circle, traversed by the dirt road, you see the group of Mukamuks from earlier, and also a centaur speaking to them in gentle tones. From what you can see, he is an elderly male centaur. You are about to move when he snaps his head towards you and narrows his eyes. Have you been discovered?
[[You surrender to the centaur->142]]
[[You duck into the nearest hut->141]]You enter the village. But no sooner have you taken a few steps towards the nearest hut that an elderly male centaur gallops at you from inside the village. [[Continue->142]]You walk straight to the chest, but as you come within half a meter of it, the two statues come to life and smash their warhammers into the pedestal! The chest and the pedestal both break to smithereens, the chest in wooden shards and the pedestal in pieces of plaster. You pick your way through the debris, but you find no trace of any treasure. If there was anything in the chest, it must have been obliterated.
You see no way out of here, but you reason that there must be some kind of hidden passage. You look over the back wall until you notice one part of the wall that seems loose. You give it a good push and it flies off into the ether.
You slide out and concentrate on the Amulet. You get two images. The first image you see is that of an oval arena, filled with people, with colored chariots moving on an inner track at breakneck speed. The other is of a sheet of paper, going as far as your eye can see, with blue lines across it and markings in pencil. Which do you choose?
[[The oval arena->55]]
[[The land of paper->158]]You shoot two Tonnerre de Brest spells at the statues, which blow up in a shower of rocks. Now reassured that they won't come back to life and massacre you, you walk to the chest and open it. Inside, you find a strange sight: it's a soul, but not the soul of a person that comes out after they die. It looks like some mad wizard or witch patched together fragments of souls and made them into this abomination. You take it in your hands and it seems to pulse like a human heart. You add the <i>patchwork soul</i> to your inventory.(set: $inventory20 to 1)
You see no way out of here, but you reason that there must be some kind of hidden passage. You look over the back wall until you notice one part of the wall that seems loose. You give it a good push and it flies off into the ether.
You slide out and concentrate on the Amulet. You get two images. The first image you see is that of an oval arena, filled with people, with colored chariots moving on an inner track at breakneck speed. The other is of a sheet of paper, going as far as your eye can see, with blue lines across it and markings in pencil. Which do you choose?
[[The oval arena->55]]
[[The land of paper->158]]You step into the circle and pentagram traced in chalk. At first, nothing happens, and you feel a little foolish. But then, in a flash, you are transported to a dark room, where you are surrounded by figures wearing dark cloaks. They all have their heads covered and are holding candles, except for the one in front of you who holds a red scepter. The moment you arrive, that one uncovers himself with an indignant look.
“What the fuck is this?” he screams, seemingly to no one in particular.
“I, um, my name-” you start.
He ignores you and turns to the acolyte to his right. “Valerio, did you get the incantation right? This is a total failure. We got some kind of funny-looking hairy beast. This can't possibly be the demon Abraxades.” He turns to you with a dubious look. “Are you the demon Abraxades?”
“Well, no, but-”
“Then begone with you! I don't have time for this shit!”
You try to protest, but the acolyte is already executing a spell of banishment. In another flash, you are back in the mausoleum. You stay in the circle for a while longer, but nothing else happens.
You are now very confused, and your mind scrambles to make sense of what has happened. The demonologist thought he was summoning the demon Abraxades, and demons come from Hell (or so you are told). You were summoned from this circle. Are you, therefore, in Hell? You leave the mausoleum and look outside, astutely noting the fact that your surroundings look nothing like Hell.
Could it be all an illusion, then? You gather all your energies and cast a spell of Detect Illusion, expecting to see the entire planet fall apart into fire and lava before your eyes. But the only thing that changes is that, on a hill in the distance which was previously bare, a small temple now stands.
You set out for the temple and reach it one second later. It is completely white, with excessively tall white columns and a triangular top. You walk through the columns and then through an arch, into a building which contains nothing but a shrine. You walk up to the shrine and grab the item within, a <i>diamond hammer</i>.(set: $inventory19 to 1) This must be what you came here to find! Add it to your inventory.
But now how are you supposed to get out of here? It seems you have no choice but to take the southern route. [[Continue->128]]
You step into the circle and pentagram traced in chalk. At first, nothing happens, and you feel a little foolish. But then, in a flash, you are transported to a dark room. There is still a circle with a pentagram at your feet, but you are also surrounded by figures wearing dark cloaks. They all have their heads covered and are holding red candles, except for the one in front of you who holds a red scepter. The moment you arrive, that one uncovers himself with an indignant look. You see he has strange symbols marked in red on his forehead.
“I summoned the demon Abraxades! Who the fuck are you?”
“My name is Suvad Tor. I am looking for-”
“Listen here Vlad Thor, you're fucking up a very important ritual. We're trying to summon the demon Abraxades and now you show up, so I'm going to banish your ass out of here, otherwise he might be trying to get in here and failing because you're here blocking our totally legitimate ritual circle!”
“Wait! I can explain-” you start, but it's too late. The demonologist is banishing you, as if you were just some run-of-the-mill demon and not an incredibly powerful wizard. How humiliating. In a flash, you are back on the circle at the mausoleum. You stay there for a while longer, but nothing else happens.
You are now very confused, and your mind scrambles to make sense of what has happened. The demonologist thought he was summoning a demon, and demons come from Hell (or so you are told). You were summoned from this circle. Are you, therefore, in Hell? You leave the mausoleum and look outside, astutely nothing the fact that your surroundings look nothing like Hell.
Could it be all an illusion, then? You gather all your energies and cast a spell of Detect Illusion, expecting to see the entire planet fall apart into fire and lava before your eyes. But the only thing that changes is that, on a hill in the distance which was previously bare, a small temple now stands.
You set out for the temple and reach it one second later. It is completely white, with excessively tall white columns and a triangular top. You walk through the columns and then through an arch, into a building which contains nothing but a shrine. You walk up to the shrine and grab the item within, a <i>diamond hammer</i>.(set: $inventory19 to 1) This must be what you came here to find! Add it to your inventory.
But now how are you supposed to get out of here? It seems you have no choice but to take the southern route. [[Continue->128]]
“You don't belong here, knave!” screams the centaur. He is brandishing a magic wand!
“Listen here-”
“Vile fiend! I will not lend an ear to your lies!”
You raise your hands in a placating gesture. “Please, allow me to explain-”
“I will banish you from this realm, foul monster!”
“No, wait! I was sent here to-”
“Avaunt!”
It is too late. The centaur is casting a banishment spell. You are being sent back to Arslycus! The gleam of the golden buildings hurts your eyes.
(if: $inventory19 is 0)[If you didn't find the diamond hammer during your trip to the hollow world, you will be unable to get past the City of Glass, and so your adventure is at an end. [[Continue->13]]](else:)[
(if: $hist59 is 1)[Choose between the following options:
[[You talk to a doll body->74]]
[[You shout to all the doll bodies to leave->76]]
[[You shout to all the doll bodies to storm the tower->75]]
[[You walk to the front doors->77]]
]
(else:)[[[Continue->151]]]
]You enter the hut. It is thoroughly unpleasant: dirty, smelling of dung, the floor mere soil covered in straw, a dingy table and chairs, and on the table, the remnants of a meal. You really do not want to rummage through this hovel, but can't think of anything better to do. You find nothing until you kick the straw in a corner of the hut, revealing a small piece of paper. Curious, you pick it up and read it:
=><==
<font size="4"><u>PLOT COUPON</u>
If anything happens that makes sense in this gamebook,
you may hand over this coupon to cancel it out.
(no refunds, returns, takebacks, exchanges, or substitutions)</font>
<==
Preposterous. You add the <i>plot coupon</i> to your inventory.(set: $inventory14 to 1) Finding nothing else of value in the hut, you leave it. But as you step outside, the centaur is right in front of you! He must have seen through your illusion. [[Continue->142]]You are back to Arslycus. Mirsu Agek stands in front of you again. “That was mighty fast. Did you find it?” You hold up the diamond hammer. “Good. Now, you may find it useful to do something about this mind control business. I have had plenty of time to investigate it, although I can't actually do anything about it. These people are being held under psychic control by a wide-band pulse. One of the features on the main building must be sending that pulse, but I haven't gotten close enough to determine which one, because the building is guarded.” He points to a saucer in the middle of the building, as well as an antenna at the very top. “I believe the pulse is coming from one of these two features. Destroy the right one and all these people can be freed.”
If you take Mirsu Agek's suggestion, which feature do you shoot at?
[[The saucer->156]]
[[The antenna->157]]
Otherwise, you may do one of the following:
[[You talk to a doll body->74]]
[[You walk to the front doors->150]]“Hell? What do you know about Hell? You're already tiresome. Begone with you!” She utters a spell and you feel an incredible sense of vertigo. You are falling up! You fall for a long time, all the way up to the base of the mountain, and further. The cliff whizzes past you. You continue falling, until you feel the gentle tug of the ether around you again.
You concentrate on the Amulet and get two images. One is a big rock formation floating in the ether, with a small opening in a cave-looking structure at the top. The other is an oval arena, filled with people, with colored chariots moving on an inner track at breakneck speed. Which will you focus on?
[[The oval arena->55]]
[[The rock formation->58]]“I'll say. Well,” she says, looking you over, ”you look like a wizard all right, and you did make it all the way here, so I suppose I might as well. I'll have you know I highly value my privacy, so make it quick.”
She helps you out the window. Her room is sparse in decorations but crammed full of potions, talismans, sigils, scrolls, maps, and shelves groaning with heavy books. “I don't receive visitors, so you'll have to stand, I'm afraid.” You try to sit on a pedestal-shaped contraption. “Don't sit on that!” she remonstrates. “I told you to stand. Stand,” she says forcefully, as if she's instructing a dog. “Good. Now, what are you doing here?”
You explain to her the nature of your quest for the Amulet, and what you've been through so far.
“Well, I don't know about this Amulet of yours. It's probably some kind of myth, although all myths have some basis in fact. Either way, you're gonna need some regents, right? Never know when you might need regents.” Before you can answer, she grumbles and reaches down to a box under her desk filled with vials, flanked by other boxes containing who knows what. “I've got some tricorn sweat, and no, don't ask me how I got it. I have my ways.” She hands you the <i>vial of tricorn sweat</i>.(set: $inventory21 to 1) “Always useful for any sort of ritual having to do with flying, so maybe not very useful in this realm, but I can see that you may need it later. Have I mentioned I'm a Time Sighter?”
Time Sighting, a discipline having to do with seeing possible futures of a person or object, is highly prized but almost completely closed off to those who do not have a special talent for it, and most Time Sighters end up living far away from society.
“I can sell you some other regents if you'd like, but you'll have to pay for those. This is not a charity, you know. I will sell you some lemon zest, or some baby carrots, or some parrot feathers, or some coffee grounds, for 15 gold pieces.”
(if: ($inventory6 is 1) or ($inventory7 is 1))[You may decide to buy any one of these from her, as long as you don't already own them.
[[Buy the lemon zest->145l]]
[[Buy the baby carrots->145b]]
[[Buy the parrot feathers->145p]]
[[Buy the coffee grounds->145c]]
[[You do not buy anything->145end]]
](else:)[(You do not have gold pieces) [[Continue->145end]]]
You buy the lemon zest for 15 gold pieces.(set: $inventory22 to 1)(if: $inventory7 is 1)[(set: $inventory7 to 0)](else:)[(set: $inventory6 to 0)]
[[Continue->145end]]You buy the baby carrots for 15 gold pieces.(set: $inventory16 to 1)(if: $inventory7 is 1)[(set: $inventory7 to 0)](else:)[(set: $inventory6 to 0)]
[[Continue->145end]]You buy the parrot feathers for 15 gold pieces.(set: $inventory23 to 1)(if: $inventory7 is 1)[(set: $inventory7 to 0)](else:)[(set: $inventory6 to 0)]
[[Continue->145end]]She concentrates on your AURA for a moment. “I see you are also going to fight Vadron, that pompous asshole who calls himself Lord of Arslycus. More like lyck my arse if you ask me. He especially likes to make vortexes to defend himself, so be warned that the key to fighting vortexes is to keep them separate at all times. Once they are within arms' reach, separate them with a shield. One vortex alone cannot hurt you. It's two of them together that will blow your guts out.”
(if: $inventory29 is 1)[[[You have a Wand of Slow Fall and want to show it to her->146]]](else:)[(You do not have a Wand of Slow Fall)]
[[You do not have a Wand of Slow Fall or do not want to shot it to her->147]]“Oh, those,” she sighs. “My latest failed experiment. You know the old expression 'wands don't grow on trees'? Well I was trying to make a tree that grows wands. It, ah, didn't quite work out. Something didn't work out in the flow and the wands are totally non-functional. You can't even fix them. There's just something fundamentally wrong with them. Maybe it's something about this realm, or the soil being not quite real. I should just cut that thing down, but going down there is such a hassle, even with a real Wand of Slow Fall.” [[Continue->147]]“Well, I'm tired of you now, so you had better leave.”
“How do I leave?”
“Go stand on the windowsill.”
You do as she says. She gets out a wand and blasts you with a spell. You get a tremendous feeling of vertigo: you are falling upwards! You fall for a long time, until you feel the gentle mental tug of the ether again.
You concentrate on the Amulet and get two images. One is a big rock formation floating in the ether, with a small opening in a cave-looking structure at the top. The other is an oval arena, filled with people, with colored chariots moving on an inner track at breakneck speed. Which will you focus on?
[[The oval arena->55]]
[[The rock formation->58]]One of the doll bodies quickly snaps its head around, looks around until it rests its gaze on you, and then walks towards you. Doll bodies have no facial expressions, but it seems to you like it's walking in a manner showing... curiosity?
“I am Mirsu Agek. I believe you have something that led you back to me. It has jolted my memories back... and I remember that I have been here for a very long time, working for the evil Lord Vadron. If you are an assassin, then feel free to kill me, for I am already dead. The worst you can do is free my soul from this realm. Just make it quick.”
What do you do in response?
[[You execute Mirsu Agek->152]]
[[You tell Mirsu Agek about your mission->153]]
If you leave Mirsu Agek to his fate and decide to do something else, choose one of these remaining options:
[[You talk to a doll body->74]]
[[You walk to the front doors->150]]You apply a directed pulse of energy to Agek's torso-head link. In a short moment it/he is dead (again). You are still stuck with deciding what to do.
[[You talk to a doll body->74]]
[[You walk to the front doors->150]]“My name is Suvad Tor and I am looking for the Subgenial Amulet, in order to destroy it. I was told you might know something about it.”
The doll body sighs. “Ah yes, this is what caused all my troubles. The evil Vadron... well, he is now the sole Lord of Arslycus, but back then he had lieutenants and thugs. Now he trusts nothing but his own constructs. But back then, he had his lieutenants kidnap me and steal my link to the City of Glass, and brought us here. He put the link in his personal room, at the top of the tower,” he points to the high tower dominating Arslycus, “killed me, and implanted me into a doll body once he realized I wouldn't open the way through the City of Glass for him. Incidentally...” and here he starts to whisper, “do you have an infrasonic bell?”
A good question.
(if: $inventory2 is 1)[[[You have an infrasonic bell->153b]]](else:)[(You do not have a infrasonic bell) [[Otherwise->73c]]]
You could take them on, but you are loathe to harm these innocent, enslaved people. You let them take you to a side building, which, you find out quickly, is a jail, made of the same golden bricks as everything else. Talk about a gilded cage. They have taken all your equipment and left it on a table inside the front door. You keep watch, waiting to see someone through the bars.
After about a half-hour, someone finally comes to see you. A short wizard, with short brown hair cut in a flat manner across the head, detached ears, and a perpetual scowl, enters the building, accompanied by a rock golem. He comes up to your cell, sizes you up, and says “this one has horsepower, put him in the extractor.” You don't like the sound of that! The golem nods, and the wizard leaves the building without even looking at your equipment.
The golem seems to be waiting for something, perhaps more golems. Even if you could disable the golem without your wand, you'd still be stuck in this prison, so you have nothing to do but wait. Eventually, the door opens again, but this time revealing not a golem, but your fiancée Qualia! Her eyes are just as big as yours when she realizes you are stuck in the cell, and she dispatches the golem with some well-placed Freeze and Melt spells. She was always the best at Spell-Channeled Thermodynamics (not the most flashy discipline, but can be very effective if you have the brains to use it right).
You scream each other's name, and she rushes to your cell. Her long moon-shaped face framed by bright white hair is filled with worry.
“What... what are you doing here?” she says breathlessly.
“I got captured,” you reply sheepishly.
She looks around for some way to open the cell door, and finds a button on the right wall that does the trick. You step out and hug her. While you talk, you get all your equipment back.
“I thought you were going shopping for some fireworks for the wedding.”
“I lied,” you say, still sheepish.
“That explains why Xaahel was busy tonight.”
“I thought you were going out with Votage and Patrie tonight.”
“I lied,” she says, sheepishly. You both laugh. “I came here because... well, it's a surprise.”
“Me too.”
“All right then... I guess I'll leave you to it.”
“Hey, wait! I can't get to the front doors of this place. Wanna help me?”
Her eyes light up. “Okay! Let's do it together!”
You leave the building holding hands. Walking towards the doors, the doll bodies rush to face you again, but this time you're ready: Qualia uses a Freeze spell on the golden floor to make it slippery, forcing the doll bodies to fall and block each other's way, while you sweep them to the sides with a quick and dirty Telekinesis spell. After you've beaten up enough of the doll bodies, they beat a tactical retreat, and your way is open.
“Please be careful,” says Qualia.
“Thanks, I've got it. See you later.” You kiss. She disapparates and you move towards the doors. [[Continue->77]]
You activate the illusion: the doll bodies see you as a dragon now. They all recoil in fear, and then disperse as far away from you as they can. The way to the doors is open. [[Continue->77]]“Yes, I do.”
“You'll need that to get through the City of Glass. This is what Vadron does not have, and he hasn't guessed yet, hasn't found it, or just hasn't tried. Now, all you have to do is go through the portal in Vadron's chambers and use the bell to open the path to the Amulet.”
“But what about...”
“I have full confidence in your abilities. If you could get here, then you can do it. Now there's one favor I ask of you in return: kill me. I am already dead, and there is no reason to prolong my existence in this lowly state. But first, I would ask you to free these people from the mind control imposed on them by Vadron. These people are being held under psychic control by a wide-band pulse. I haven't been able to determine which one, but it could be one of these two features.” He points to a saucer in the middle of the building, as well as an antenna at the very top. “I believe the pulse is coming from one of these two features. Destroy the right one and all these people can be freed.”
If you take Mirsu Agek's suggestion, which feature do you shoot at?
[[The saucer->156]]
[[The antenna->157]]
[[You choose to not act on this suggestion->152]](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Triangle")(set: $substancee to 3)(set: $aurae to 3)(set: $hite to 1)\
You brandish your pencil-sketched wand against the triangle and use a simple Lightning spell, which strikes the triangle with an eerie yellow glow. Well, at least magic works here too, you think. Fight the triangle to the death. On the good side, due to their two-dimensional nature, your opponents in this paper world can only inflict 1 damage per hit.
TRIANGLE 3 SUBSTANCE points 3 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "159")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "159")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "159")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "159")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) Your rude opponent now lies in a pile of graphite. That'll teach it! You notice that it actually has two eyes, one on each side of its body.
You continue your way forward until you reach a square shape with a triangle at the top and an opening at its front, lying above the first blue line. You reason that the square is probably a house, and that all houses are built on the second level so people can still walk below them. A rock with very gentle slopes provides the means to hoist yourself to the blue line. What will you do?
[[Investigate the house->161]]
[[Pass under it and continue on your way->162]]\
]\
]\
You do as told and kneel in front of the triangle, which walks over you. When back on the ground, it mutters a “be seeing you, asshole” before resuming its brisk walk. You sincerely hope that not everyone is like this. When you turn around to see it go, you notice that it has another eye on the other side of it. No doubt these creatures, unlike you, can see both sides at all times. It gradually becomes smaller and smaller as it moves away.
You continue your way forward until you reach a square shape with a triangle at the top and an opening at its front, lying above the first blue line. You reason that the square is probably a house, and that all houses are built on the second level so people can still walk below them. A rock with very gentle slopes provides the means to hoist yourself to the second layer. What will you do?
[[Investigate the house->161]]
[[Pass under it and continue on your way->162]](set: $hist161 to 1)You walk to the top of the rock and extend your arms to the blue line, grabbing it as one would a rope, and then hoisting yourself up. You are now on the second layer. In front of you, a line is hanging from the top of the house, with short and long pieces of line over it. Some kind of code? You walk under this and into the opening. The inside of the square is filled with all sorts of shapes, some of which are easily recognizable as a table or a shelf, others not so much. On one of the latter lies a pentagon, with the now-recognizable eyes, mouth, legs and arms. It appears to be studying a strange “book,” which consists of a series of lines, containing more of the code you saw outside.
“Ahem, yes? Can I help you?” it says. Then it takes a longer look at you and says, “WHAT are you?”
“My name is Suvad Tor and I am looking for the Subgenial Amulet. I don't suppose you know about it?”
“No. And I know about everything knowing about in the universe. I am the Sage Ithium. Surely you heard of me?”
“I can't say I have,” you say, trying to shake your head while being utterly unable to do so.
“Oh.” It seemed flustered, although it was hard to tell. “Oh. You must be new in this region then, because I have never seen you before. And I know everything worth knowing. Go ahead, ask me anything.”
You ponder this for a moment. “Where do I go when I flip over?”
“Flip over? There is no such thing.”
“Sure there is. Look.” You flipped over, and then flipped over again to face the pentagon. “My vision goes blank when I do that. Why?”
“My dear... whatever you are... Suvad, is it? I assure you I saw nothing of the kind. All I saw was that you were one shape, then another shape, then you went back to the original shape. That's called a geometric instability disease. I hope you don't have a contagious one, at least.”
“I don't have a disease! I just flipped around.”
“All living creatures have eyes on both sides of their bodies, ensuring that they can see wherever they go and don't need some degenerate 'flipping.' Strange ugly being, you are clearly in need of EDUCATION and EDIFICATION. I will endeavor to educate you, at least for as long as I can stand to look at you. Do you know how to read?” It holds a “book” towards your face.
“No... I can't read that.”
“Good grief! I am a member of the Literacy Crusade, and we kill thousands of heretics every year, so I will teach you how to read to the best of my abilities. Pay attention. Every phoneme is represented by a series of one to five graphemes...”
The Sage Ithium teaches you how to read the line language, using as his example a book called “How to Doubt Anything.” After a while, you are able to slowly decipher the contents of the “line” (the equivalent of a page) that the Sage is using as an example to teach you. It reads as follows:
“the effective act of disbelief in anything requires that you, first, clear your mind, second, remember that all matter is illusion, third, remember that you are an illusion, fourth, laugh at the idea of an illusion holding a belief about another illusion. this technique is universal and, when practiced, can make you impervious to all facts.”
As an expert in illusion magic, you shake your head at the delusional technique described within, but you have to admit that the Sage is a good teacher, if a bit brusque. By the time it kicks you out of its house (you have to crawl over the table), you are able to read at a reasonable pace. You look back and there is a sign hanging from the roof on this side as well: the sign says “Home of the Illustrious and Mugnificent Sage Ithium.” [[Continue->162]]You continue walking through this strange white landscape, not running into anyone else. You notice that there are regular holes in the blue lines, permitting people to go down, you assume. Soon a very tall shape begins to form in the horizon. As you get closer, you see there is a triangle behind a parapet on the second layer, as well as some kind of door system, although you can't figure out how doors could work in this world. This structure blocks passage through the first layer and all the way up to the fifth or sixth layer. You get close to it and the triangle shouts at you:
“MISCREANT! Doncha know there's no passage allowed? This is the Castle Repulsor, keeping barbarians such as yourself out of the civilized lands. So you had better scram. Get out of here. Skedaddle. Twenty-three, skidoo!”
You have no idea if it's casting magic words against you, but you have no intention of finding out. Decide what to do quickly:
[[Shoot a Lightning spell at the triangle->163]]
[[Run towards the door->164]]
[[Climb up the wall->165]]You shoot a Lightning spell at the triangle. A thin yellow line shoots out of your wand, and hits the triangle, which breaks up and crumbles. But then something unexpected happens: the yellow line propagates from the corpse of the triangle to the building itself. Soon a wave of yellow propagates through the entire surface you can see. You vaguely remember from your Material Energetics studies that graphite, which composes the markings of a pencil, is highly conductive.
With a feeling of foreboding, you walk up to the door. After some fiddling, you figure out that these doors open by swinging them upwards, and they fit in a notch at the top. After two doors, you enter into a small guard area with two triangle corpses. You sheepishly crawl over the corpses and open another door into a vast and high area, also littered with corpses. These corpses have a lot more sides: squares, pentagons, even hexagons. Looking up, you see two other layers that contain various shelves and furniture: you guess that layers in a building are used as the equivalent of different rooms. Where will you go?
[[The second layer->166]]
[[The third layer->167]]
[[Through the back door->168]]You run towards the front door, but cannot figure out how to open it. There is a very small opening at the bottom, so you lie down and look through: there is a shape doing the same from the other side, for you see an eye looking back at you. “You had better get out of here,” it says hoarsely. “We have a superweapon on the other side. The second you open those doors, we're frying you to a crisp.” What do you do?
[[Keep trying to open the door->169]]
[[Climb up the wall->165]]You hoist yourself up the levels, ignoring the increasingly high-volume screaming from the triangle, until you reach the top of the castle. You turn around, only to see that a number of triangles are running after you, and they are heavily armed! You run across the roof of the castle, accompanied by their screaming, as well as the occasional arrow. One of them hits you: you lose 1 SUBSTANCE point.(set: $substance to it - 1)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[When the end of the roof is in sight, you hear a loud movement of air from above and behind you. You turn around and see five brown circles flying in the air in unison. They are coming straight for you! You shoot at them but all your magic simply bounces off of them.
You turn back and run as fast as you can, jumping down from layer to layer. You hear your heart beating loudly in your chest as you rush past everything, including some passersby who you ramp over, screaming apologies as fast as you can. Occasionally you turn around, just to confirm that the screaming horde of triangles and the brown circles are still after you.
After a few minutes of this harrowing run, you see a strange monument on the second layer, with three cannons on each side, and buttons under them. You believe this may be a weapon worth trying out. But you have little time to lose...
[[Get close to the monument and try to use it->170]]
[[Keep running->171]]
](set: $hist166 to 1)You hoist yourself up to the second layer. Amongst a few corpses, you see all sorts of closed containers, low to the ground so they are easy to walk over. You see little there of interest, mostly things you have trouble identifying but which are probably two-dimensional versions of things you already know. One thing in particular, lying on top of a small table, attracts your attention because it emits a small amount of magical energy: it is a <i>paper cutout</i> resembling a crude humanoid figure, with a head, two arms and two legs. You add it to your inventory.(set: $inventory24 to 1)
Has the Sage Ithium taught you how to read line language? (if: $hist161 is 1)[[[Yes->172]]](else:)[If not, you may crawl your way back between the other two options:
(if: $hist167 is 0)[[[The third layer, if you haven't gone there already->167]]](else:)[(You have already gone to the third layer)]
[[Through the back door->168]]
](set: $hist167 to 1)The third layer only has one corpse, a hexagon holding a book. It seems to be mostly filled with shelves of books and parchments. At the end of the layer, there is what looks like an altar with a parchment on top of it.
Has the Sage Ithium taught you how to read line language? (if: $hist161 is 1)[[[Yes->173]]](else:)[If not, you may crawl your way back between the other two options:
(if: $hist166 is 0)[[[The second layer, if you haven't gone there already->166]]](else:)[(You have already gone to the second layer)]
[[Through the back door->168]]
]You leave through a door which leads to another guard area, again filled with corpses. You crawl over them, mumbling apologies for killing them, and reach the opposite double doors, which lead to the outside. You breathe more easily now that you are out of the place whose inhabitants you all wiped out with one magic spell. The landscape looks little different from the way it looked before the castle. As you start off, you hear a loud movement of air from above you. You look up and see five brown circles flying in the air in unison. They are coming straight for you! You shoot at them but all your magic simply bounces off of them.
You turn back and run as fast as you can. You hear your heart beating loudly in your chest as you rush past everything, including some passersby who you ramp over, screaming apologies as fast as you can. After a few minutes of this harrowing run, you see a strange monument on the second layer, with three cannons on each side, and buttons under them. You believe this may be a weapon worth trying out. But you have little time to lose...
[[Get close to the monument and try to use it->170]]
[[Keep running->171]](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Triangle")(set: $substancee to 3)(set: $aurae to 6)(set: $hite to 1)\
While you try to figure out the door, the triangle from the balcony comes down and waves its sword at you. You must fight. Your opponent only inflicts 1 damage per hit.
TRIANGLE 3 SUBSTANCE points 6 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "169")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "169")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "169")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "169")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) [[Continue->169b]]\
]\
]\
The way these cannons are placed on top of each other, whichever cannon you choose to try, you must first flatten the other two in order to have access to it and fire it freely. So you may only choose one, but which?
[[The top one->176]]
[[The middle one->177]]
[[The lowest one->178]]You continue to run for what seems to be three hours, until you reach what appears to be a mountain barring your way. There is a catapult on the second layer, manned by a triangle with such an acute angle that it almost appears to be a line. Seems like this is the only way out. You rush to the triangle, but what will you tell it?
[[“Catapult me on the other side of that mountain”->179]]
[[“Catapult me sideways”->180]]You are able to read the line language on the cutout. It says: “Mirsu Agek.” You may now make your way back between the other two options:
(if: $hist167 is 0)[[[The third layer, if you haven't gone there already->167]]](else:)[(You have already gone to the third layer)]
[[Through the back door->168]]You unroll the parchment and read it:
“We fear Drawenna, the goddess of games, and fear Aleph, the god of all that can be seen, but the god we fear the most is the Hand of Depravity, which delights in taking everything away from us. Five orbs they are, but they unite into one semi-circle, and then into five orbs again. By what dark magic the Hand does its work we cannot comprehend, but we have devised weapons to use against it. Of the three cannons, only the lower one is effective. The other two are being reserved for future uses against even darker gods, if any decide to show themselves.”
You may now make your way back between the other two options:
(if: $hist166 is 0)[[[The second layer, if you haven't gone there already->166]]](else:)[(You have already gone to the second layer)]
[[Through the back door->168]](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "2 Triangles")(set: $substancee to 6)(set: $aurae to 10)(set: $hite to 1)\
After disposing of the triangle, you again set your attention on the door. You finally realize that it opens from the bottom, and can be angled in such a way that it fits a notch at the top. You open the door and are faced with another door, which you open the same way. Doing this reveals two more triangles, also heavily armed. They are stacked one on top of the other, meaning they can fight you as one deadly enemy. You must fight to the death. Your opponents only inflict 1 damage per hit.
2 TRIANGLES 6 SUBSTANCE points 10 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "169b")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "169b")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "169b")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "169b")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) You quickly open the door behind the now-dead triangles and emerge into a vast room. The ground layer is filled with people, and they all scream and holler at your arrival. Most of them are on the ground layer. You must escape through the less cluttered layers, but which will you take?
[[The second layer->174]]
[[The third layer->175]] \
]\
]\
(unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "2 Triangles")(set: $substancee to 6)(set: $aurae to 6)(set: $hite to 1)\
You clamber to the second layer and jump over various containers. You run into a square that was holding a paper cutout. “Oh!” it screams, falling down. You steal the <i>paper cutout</i>.(set: $inventory24 to 1) You run to the end, drop down, and quickly open another door before the crowd can swarm you. On the other side is another guard area. The two guards there are not ready for you, and you can fight them separately, one after the other (they will still be treated as one enemy, but their AURA will be the same as for one guard). Your opponents only inflict 1 damage per hit.
2 TRIANGLES 6 SUBSTANCE points 6 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "174")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "174")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "174")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "174")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) You open the double doors as fast as you can and run outside. By the sounds of it, the entire castle is after you! You turn around and see a pentagon at the lead, screaming at you... and hear a loud movement of air overhead. You look up and see five brown orbs that are making a beeline for you! You shoot a spell at one of them but it bounces off.
You hear your heart beating loudly in your chest as you rush past everything, including some passersby who you ramp over, screaming apologies as fast as you can. After a few minutes of this harrowing run, you see a strange monument on the second layer, with three cannons on each side, and buttons under them. You believe this may be a weapon worth trying out. But you have little time to lose...
[[Get close to the monument and try to use it->170]]
[[Keep running->171]]\
]\
]\
(unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "2 Triangles")(set: $substancee to 6)(set: $aurae to 6)(set: $hite to 1)\
You clamber on to the second layer, and then the third layer. It is mostly filled with shelves of books and the occasional piece of furniture, which you jump over. There is no one to slow you down here. You finally reach the end, occupied by an altar, but you have no time to investigate it. You drop down to the ground layer and quickly open another door before the crowd can swarm you. On the other side is another guard area. The two guards there are not ready for you, and you can fight them separately, one after the other (you still fight them as on enemy, but their AURA will not be higher). Your opponents only inflict 1 damage per hit.
2 TRIANGLES 6 SUBSTANCE points 6 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "175")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "175")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "175")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "175")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) You open the double doors as fast as you can and run outside. By the sounds of it, the entire castle is after you! You turn around and see a pentagon at the lead, screaming at you... and hear a loud movement of air overhead. You look up and see five brown orbs that are making a beeline for you! You shoot a spell at one of them but it bounces off.
You hear your heart beating loudly in your chest as you rush past everything, including some passersby who you ramp over, screaming apologies as fast as you can. After a few minutes of this harrowing run, you see a strange monument on the second layer, with three cannons on each side, and buttons under them. You believe this may be a weapon worth trying out. But you have little time to lose...
[[Get close to the monument and try to use it->170]]
[[Keep running->171]]\
]\
]\
You lower the other two cannons and press the button next to the top one. Nothing happens. You frantically press it again and again, but the brown orbs turn before your eyes into a semi-circle, scoop you up, and throw you out of the paper land! You are stunned to find yourself back into the ether. After you regain your bearings and your three-dimensional vision, you shake the cobwebs loose and concentrate on the Amulet. This time, you get only one image: a shining city of gold. You have no choice but to go after it. [[Continue->148]]You push the top cannon and lower the bottom one in order to have enough room to aim the center one. You press the button next to it, but nothing happens. You frantically press it again and again, but the brown orbs turn before your eyes into a semi-circle, scoop you up, and throw you out of the paper land! You are stunned to find yourself back into the ether. After you regain your bearings and your three-dimensional vision, you shake the cobwebs loose and concentrate on the Amulet. This time, you get only one image: a shining city of gold. You have no choice but to go after it. [[Continue->148]]You push the two other cannons and begin aiming the lower one. As you do so, the five brown orbs merge into one giant semi-circle. You aim at it and press the button: you see nothing coming out of the cannon, but the very paper itself is ripped and catches fire, and the semi-circle recoils, perhaps from pain. It divides itself into the five circles again, which become smaller and smaller, and then disappear. If you had any pursuers, they also flee from this terrifying display. But something equally as bad is happening: the paper upon which their existence (and yours, at the moment) depends is now on fire! You run from the fire as fast as you can. [[Continue->171]]“You got it, boss!” it replies. You go up to the second layer on the other side and sit on the bucket. You hear a string being loosened, and then you have the feeling of being thrown into the air. Alas, you are heavier than the shapes that inhabit this realm, and you splat on the mountain. You are “dead.” [[Continue->13]]“Sideways? What's that?” it replies, confused. You climb up to the second layer besides it and turn the catapult sideways: everything but the basket disappears. “HEY! What did you do that for?” it complains. You have no time for complaints. You get in the catapult and shoot blindly at the back of the machine, which you cannot see. One of your shots must have hit the release, because you suddenly get the feeling of being thrown into the air. You pop back into the ether.
After you regain your bearings and your three-dimensional vision, you note that there is a piece of paper in your left hand. You must have grabbed it unconsciously from the basket. You bring it close to your face and read:
=><==
<font size="4"><u>PLOT COUPON</u>
If anything happens that makes sense in this gamebook,
you may hand over this coupon to cancel it out.
(no refunds, returns, takebacks, exchanges, or substitutions)</font>
<==
Ridiculous. You add the <i>plot coupon</i> to your inventory.(set: $inventory15 to 1) You shake the cobwebs of your mind loose and concentrate on the Amulet. This time, you get only one image: a shining city of gold. You have no choice but to go after it. [[Continue->148]]You ring the bell towards the center of the glass globe. At first, nothing happens, but the molecules within the glass move along with the sound waves, slowly being shaken loose. After thirty seconds of ringing, the glass begins to crack and disintegrate. A few more rings and you have a direct path to the center. Gliding through the ether, you come up to a gigantic, groaning machine. It is covered and you cannot divine its contents. It seems to be powering some kind of arch. You pass through the arch and end up in another world.
(if: $hist104 is 1)[[[You have previously visited a hollow world->185]]](else:)[[[You have not previously visited a hollow world->186]]]You lightly hit the glass with the hammer. Nothing happens. You hit the glass harder and immediately feel vibrations spreading from the hammer to the glass. These vibrations build up, making the glass crackle and break. After a few seconds, a large channel has opened between you and the center. Gliding through the ether, you come up to a gigantic, groaning machine. It is covered and you cannot divine its contents. It seems to be powering some kind of arch. You pass through the arch and end up in another world.
(if: $hist104 is 1)[[[You have previously visited a hollow world->185]]](else:)[[[You have not previously visited a hollow world->186]]]You hesitate, not knowing what to do, until you notice a glass golem coming towards you. You start walking away from it, but more and more glass golems join it in pursuit. You are being chased by a mass of golems when you run smack dab into a wall: you have unwittingly entered a glass city. Glass people come up to you and plead for you to stop the glass golems. There are so many golems stomping in unison that they are destabilizing the glass. The ground is becoming wobbly under your feet. Soon the invisible buildings start to topple: you only know this because one of them falls directly on you, “killing” you. [[Continue->13]]You apparate and are immediately dizzy. You get a strong sense of deja vu: you've been here before! This is the hollow world, with the big indistinct red sun in the center, and the land visible all around you. Once you look directly around you, however, you do not seem to have apparated in the same place as last time. You are still in a forest and near a dirt road, but there is a wooden sign saying “Threep's Woods,” which you haven't seen before.
You take a moment to judge the situation. Clearly you are in the right place. You must be on the way to the Amulet, in fact it could be somewhere in this world, but where could it be? This is a huge world. What you need is a Location spell. However, Location spells require iron shavings as regent. Do you have any iron shavings?
(if: ($inventory17 is 1) or ($inventory18 is 1))[[[Yes->187]]](else:)[[[No->188]]]
You apparate and are immediately dizzy. You look up and see only more land! In the center, you see a vast, indistinct mass of red, flecked with black. Around it, forests of blue, lakes of red, and what you can only guess are villages. You are in a gigantic hollow world! You look down to see that you are surrounded by a forest of blue and near a dirt road. A sign proclaims “Threep's Woods.”
It takes you a few moments to stop being dizzy and be able to think again. Then you take the time to judge your current situation. Clearly you are in the right place. You must be on the way to the Amulet, in fact it could be somewhere in this world, but where could it be? This is a huge world. What you need is a Location spell. However, Location spells require iron shavings as regent. Do you have any iron shavings?
(if: ($inventory17 is 1) or ($inventory18 is 1))[[[Yes->187]]](else:)[[[No->188]]]
You look at your bag of iron shavings. It is not enough for a Locate spell. You need to get your hands on some more. [[Get started->188]]You set out on your quest to find iron shavings. You are on a dirt road, and therefore can go in one of two directions. You may choose any direction you have not yet taken:
(if: $hist189 is 0)[[[East->189]]](else:)[(You already went east)]
(if: $hist196 is 0)[[[West->196]]](else:)[(You already went west)]
(set: $hist189 to 1)You follow the dirt road until you arrive at what looks like a ruined, rotting wooden building, with a man standing in front of it. He is wearing a big, sky blue turban, red parachute pants, and is wielding a long cane with a mirror design at the top. He beckons you, and when you get within hearing distance, he shouts at you:
“Hello my good man! Step right up, step right up! Come see the amazing Seer!” You walk up to him. “Hail, great hero! What brings you to the Great Zaranthos?”
“I'm looking for the Subgenial Amulet. Have you seen it?”
“Yes indeed I have my good sir! It's inside this very building!”
You frown. “Are you quite sure of that?”
“Yes! And I predict that...” and here he holds an envelope to his forehead and closes his eyes for a few seconds, “... you will enter the building!” He looks at you expectantly. Will you follow his “prediction”?
[[You enter the building->190]]
[[You do not enter the building->191]](set: $hist196 to 1)You go down the dirt road until you arrive at a suspicious-looking cave, from which emanates magical energies. You peer inside but see nothing. It is very dark. What will you do?
[[Walk into the cave with a Light spell on->197]]
[[Walk into the cave with no Light spell->198]]You open the door, and the knob breaks off in your hand. You throw it aside and enter. The inside looks as bad as the outside: the floor is rotten and the walls are falling apart. There are two doors, one on each side. Zaranthos follows behind you.
“Well done, mighty hero! My prediction was correct! And now I predict that...” he puts another envelope to his forehead and closes his eyes, “... you will go through the right door!”
[[You go through the right door->192]]
[[You go through the left door->193]]“Listen here, I won't enter this building unless you explain a few things. Who are you and what is this place?”
Zaranthos frowns and fidgets. “Now listen here, you don't want to break the prediction, do you? I'm an amazing Seer. I am never wrong! You have got to get into the building right now!”
[[You enter the building->190]]
[[You do not enter the building->194]]
You open the door, and enter into another dingy, dirty room, which is absolutely empty. There are no other ways out. Zaranthos follows you, a hand on your shoulder.
“Absolutely wonderful, honored hero! You have passed the test!”
“What test is that? I thought you said the Amulet was in here.” you ask, dubious.
Zaranthos walks in front of you. He looks very happy. “It was a test, a test of my powers, for your benefit! You must now realize my incredible powers of prognostication! This is why you must let me accompany you on your quest. I will lead you straight to the Amulet!”
“Well, where is it? And no lies this time.”
He puts another envelope up to his forehead. “Well... I can't see that just yet. But if we walk together, I'm sure I'll be able to get a clearer idea of where it is.” You both leave the building. “I believe we should set off this way!” He points towards a dark part of the forest.
Do you follow this miscreant?
[[Yes->195]]
[[No->194]](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Zaranthos")(set: $substancee to 12)(set: $aurae to 4)(set: $hite to 2)\
“That's not what I predicted at all! You invalidated my powers! You invalidated my poweeeers!” Zaranthos is now furious and attacks you with his cane, which focuses his psychic powers.
ZARANTHOS 12 SUBSTANCE points 4 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "193")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "193")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "193")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "193")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) Zaranthos lies dead at your feet. You search his clothes and find a <i>small bag of iron shavings</i>.(if: $inventory17 is 0)[(set: $inventory17 to 1) [[Go back and make another choice->188]]](else:)[(set: $inventory18 to 1) You have enough iron shavings to begin a Locate spell. [[Continue->203]]]
]\
]\
(unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Zaranthos")(set: $substancee to 12)(set: $aurae to 4)(set: $hite to 2)\
“You won't follow me? But I proved my powers to you! I will lead you to the Amulet!”
“I can do it on my own, thank you.”
“Oh no you won't! Without me, you will fail! So as an act of mercy, I will kill you right now!” Zaranthos is now furious and attacks you with his cane, which focuses his psychic powers.
ZARANTHOS 12 SUBSTANCE points 4 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "194")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "194")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "194")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "194")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) Zaranthos lies dead at your feet. You search his clothes and find a <i>small bag of iron shavings</i>.(if: $inventory17 is 0)[(set: $inventory17 to 1) [[Go back and make another choice->188]]](else:)[(set: $inventory18 to 1) You have enough iron shavings to begin a Locate spell. [[Continue->203]]]
]\
]\
Zaranthos sets out into the forest, and after some hesitation, you follow behind. You walk for only a few seconds when, out of nowhere, a herd of rampaging rhinophants stampede through the forest, crushing Zaranthos to death under their heavy, broad feet! You rush to his side, but he is already dead, his skull caved in. You turn his face away from you. Searching his clothes, you find a <i>small bag of iron shavings</i>.(if: $inventory17 is 0)[(set: $inventory17 to 1) [[Go back and make another choice->188]]](else:)[(set: $inventory18 to 1) You have enough iron shavings to begin a Locate spell. [[Continue->203]]]You sit down at the border of the forest and disperse the iron shavings on a flat piece of ground. You imbue some of your energy onto the shavings, and then pronounce the incantation: “eye... see... cue... eye... see... cue...” while keeping the idea of the Subgenial Amulet in your mind at all times. The shavings should reorganize themselves by pointing at the direction of the object sought. However, this time, the outcome surprises you: instead of moving on the flat surface, the shavings start hovering in the air and piling up. Soon they form an arrow... pointing upwards! You look in the direction of the arrow: it is pointing at the very center of the red sun!
You are a little dubious and reason that they could be pointing at a location on the exact other side of the hollow globe. You make your way into the forest and keep walking until locations on the other half have slightly shifted above you, and try the ritual again. The shavings once again point dead center of the red sun. There's no escaping it.
You now have a new mission: you must find a way to fly to the center of the red sun.
(if: $lugubre is 1)[[[You have met professor Trémande Lugubre->204]]](else:)[[[You have not met professor Trémande Lugubre->205]]]You use your wand to shed some light in your surroundings. The ground is very uneven, and you walk carefully. There is an eerie green glow from a turn in the cave, which you follow. You are confronted with a wall of green flames! These flames do not emit any heat, but you feel they are of a magical nature. There is no other way but forward. But how?
(if: $hist161 is 1)[[[You have read the book “How to Doubt Anything”->199]]](else:)[(You have not read the book “How to Doubt Anything”)]
[[You want to use your illusion magic to dispel the flames->200]]
[[You want to walk through the flames->201]]Are you sure this is a wise idea? The cave's inside is pitch black, and you are likely to be eaten by a Grue.
[[Walk into the cave with a Light spell on->197]]
[[Walk into the cave with no Light spell->202]]This is a strong illusion, and you are not in your element. <i>Test your ILLUSION at difficulty 4.</i> (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$illusion)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+4)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) [[You have no choice but to walk through->201]]]\
(else:)[(You won the test) You are able to dispel the illusion and walk through without a hitch. You walk towards the back of the cave. Shining a light on all surfaces reveals a <i>small bag of iron shavings</i> on the ground. (if: $inventory17 is 0)[(set: $inventory17 to 1) [[Go back and make another choice->188]]](else:)[(set: $inventory18 to 1) You have enough iron shavings to begin a Locate spell. [[Continue->203]]]
]You walk through the green flames and are immediately stricken with a searing psychic pain. You lose 1 AURA point.(set: $aura to it - 1) Dazed and confused by the intensity of the pain you've just gone through, you stumble towards the back of the cave, shining your wand everywhere. You finally find what you were looking for: a <i>small bag of iron shavings</i> lying on the floor between two rocks. (if: $inventory17 is 0)[(set: $inventory17 to 1) [[Go back and make another choice->188]]](else:)[(set: $inventory18 to 1) You have enough iron shavings to begin a Locate spell. [[Continue->203]]]You remember the text you read from the book How to Doubt Anything. You are still dubious of its veracity, but you decide to give it a try. First, you clear your mind. Second, you remember that all matter is illusion. Third, you remember that you are an illusion. Fighting the urge to dispel yourself, you move on to the last point, laughing at the idea of an illusion holding a belief about another illusion. At first, you don't think it's funny, but the more you think about it, the funnier it seems to you. You give a little chuckle, then a longer one, and then you're having a good laugh. Soon you're rolling down the floor, rocks poking your back. You roll so much that you roll straight through the green flames, without any damage whatsoever. Maybe there was something to this after all...
Once you are composed again, you walk towards the back of the cave. Shining a light on all surfaces reveals a <i>small bag of iron shavings</i> on the ground. (if: $inventory17 is 0)[(set: $inventory17 to 1) [[Go back and make another choice->188]]](else:)[(set: $inventory18 to 1) You have enough iron shavings to begin a Locate spell. [[Continue->203]]]
You start walking into the cave with no light, not even a match or a torch in your inventory. You suddenly feel an influx of air followed by an abominable smell and the feeling of being chewed to “death.” You are being eaten by a Grue. Don't say I didn't warn you, because I most definitely did. You have only yourself to blame on this one. [[Continue->13]]You remember Lugubre's words: “I placed the chest inside a mist cloud which I placed inside the hollow core of a water planet...“ This must be the hollow core. And that red sun must be mist! Since water is red in this planet, mist must also be red! Now you know the ritual's result is definitely correct. [[Continue->205]]You hear the sounds of talking. You have walked for so long that you have reached the vicinity of a village. You ponder your current predicament and can think of one solution: if you can find a broom, you could use ritual magic with coffee grounds, baby carrots, and tricorn sweat, to turn it into a flying broom. No doubt a broom would be easy to find in any village. If you do not have these three regents, then you will have to find some other way to get to the center of the mist.
You enter the village, a collection of bricked white buildings framed with wood. There are a number of points of interest. At the center of the village lies a well. An inn and a tavern both look to be pretty busy. There is a small church, with a bell atop it, and a shop with colorful signs designed to attract attention. Finally, at the outskirts of town, there is a pig farm, with many pigs squatting in the mud. You may choose any of those you haven't yet visited:
(if: $hist206 is 1)[(You have already visited the well)](else:)[[[The well->206]]]
(if: $hist209 is 1)[(You have already visited the inn)](else:)[[[The inn->209]]]
(if: $hist210 is 1)[(You have already visited the tavern)](else:)[[[The tavern->210]]]
(if: $hist216 is 1)[(You have already visited the church)](else:)[[[The church->216]]]
(if: $hist217 is 1)[(You have already visited the shop)](else:)[[[The shop->217]]]
(if: $hist221 is 1)[(You have already visited the pig farm)](else:)[[[The pig farm->221]]]
(if: ($hist206 is 1) and ($hist209 is 1) and ($hist210 is 1) and ($hist216 is 1) and ($hist217 is 1) and ($hist221 is 1))[You have been to all these places and still have not found a way to get to the mist, you keep wandering about in the hollow world until Xaahel fishes you out of the Astral Realm. Your quest is over. [[Continue->13]]](else:)[You will be brought back here to make a new choice once you leave whatever location you have chosen. If you do not find a way to get to the mist in this village, your quest is over.]
(set: $hist206 to 1)You walk up to the center of the village, to the well. A group of women are looking at you with suspicion, and disperse when you get close. You peer down the well and see a bucket in some water. You bring up the bucket and drink some water: it's extremely refreshing! If your SUBSTANCE points are below 20, you may reset... hang on. This makes way too much sense.
(if: ($inventory12 is 1) or ($inventory13 is 1) or ($inventory14 is 1) or ($inventory15 is 1))[[[You have a plot coupon and wish to use it here->207]]](else:)[(You do not have a plot coupon)]
[[Otherwise->208]](set: $hist209 to 1)You step inside the inn, and enter a large rectangular room with a fireplace and tables for eating. Behind the counter, the innkeeper gives you the stink eye. “We were told you would be coming,” he says in a menacing tone. “You had better get out of here. We don't want you causing any trouble.” Two tough, scruffy ruffians, armed with rough bludgeons, come up to you to support his words. You should probably [[go back->205]] and make a new choice.(set: $hist210 to 1)The tavern is busy at this time of day, and reeks of alcohol and a smoke which, you think, has more than tobacco in it. Besides the expected old-timers and young drunkards with nowhere else to go, you see a few people who may be of interest: the bartender, a large, ruddy man, a young lady dressed skimpily standing languidly at the end of the bar, and two middle-aged men pouring over a blueprint and engaged in an animated discussion at one of the tables. Who will you talk to? You may only choose options you have not yet taken.
(if: $hist211 is 1)[(You have already talked to the bartender](else:)[[[The bartender->211]]]
(if: $hist212 is 1)[(You have already talked to the young lady](else:)[[[The young lady->212]]]
(if: $hist213 is 1)[(You have already talked to the middle-aged men](else:)[[[The two middle-aged men->213]]]
(unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "2 Vampires")(set: $substancee to 10)(set: $aurae to 2)(set: $hite to 2)\
(set: $hist216 to 1)You enter the church. It's about what you expect: rows after rows of pews, with an altar at the front, stained glass windows, an organ, and two vampires.
Two vampires?
They are baring their fangs at you and are ready to attack. These things are bad news, Suvad, and you don't even have Excalibur Jr. to save you out of this one. If they get two consecutive battle rolls of 6, they suck your blood and kill you instantly. As against that, they only have 10 SUBSTANCE points combined and 2 AURA. Good luck.
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "216")(display: "vampirefight")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "216")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "216")
(display: "vampirefight")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "216")
(display: "vampirefight")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) You search the church but find nothing of interest. [[Go back->205]] and make a new choice.\
]\
]\
(set: $hist217 to 1)The shop has a sign in front of it that says: “visit Mercurio's amazing curio shop!” You enter into a small shop filled with trinkets of all kinds. There are all sorts of rings, shirts, and helmets for sale with various slogans on them. You walk up to the counter, where a slight, tall middle-aged man with short brown hair wearing a shirt with “Mercurio's Amazing Curio Shop” written on it in big red letters.
“Welcome good sir! I see you are a discerning customer... so let me tell you about our special this week. We've got a kit with rope, bedroll, a tent, lantern and oil, and tinderbox, for only 30 gold! It's a deal!”
Wait a second... rope, bedroll, tent? All of these are perfectly mundane items. It just makes too much sense...
(if: ($inventory12 is 1) or ($inventory13 is 1) or ($inventory14 is 1) or ($inventory15 is 1))[[[You have a plot coupon and wish to use it here->218]]](else:)[(You do not have a plot coupon)]
[[You wish to haggle->219]]
(if: ($inventory6 is 1) and ($inventory7 is 1))[[[You wish to pay the 30 gold->220]]](else:)[(You do not have 30 gold pieces )]
If you don't want to buy anything, [[go back->205]] and make a new choice.(set: $hist221 to 1)It's not a great scene. You are surrounded by pigs, pig shit, and hay. But snooping around the barn itself, you find, amongst other farming implements, an old broom in one corner. This could just do the trick, if you have the regents necessary to turn it into a flying broom.
(if: ($inventory3 is 1) and ($inventory16 is 1) and ($inventory21 is 1))[[[You wish to start the ritual (somewhere less smelly)->224]] (note that you will not get this opportunity again)](else:)[(You do not have coffee grounds, bag of baby carrots, and vial of tricorn sweat )]
Otherwise, [[go back->205]] and make a new choice.You see no one to give the plot coupon to, so you throw it into the well.(if: $inventory15 is 1)[(set: $inventory15 to 0)](else-if:$inventory14 is 1)[(set: $inventory14 to 0)](else-if:$inventory13 is 1)[(set: $inventory13 to 0)](else:)[(set: $inventory12 to 0)] The healthy feeling you got from drinking the water is gone. You have gained no SUBSTANCE points at all. Was that really worth it?
[[Go back->205]] and make a new choice.If your SUBSTANCE points are below 20, you may reset them to 20 right now.(if: $substance is < 20)[(set: $substance to 20)] Once you've done that, there is nothing left to do at the well (unless you want to do something stupid like throw yourself into it or something), so [[go back->205]] and make a new choice.(set: $hist211 to 1)You walk up to the counter and start addressing the bartender, when he turns to you and scowls.
“It's you! The one I was warned about! I won't fall for your sorcerous wiles. You get out of here, y'hear?” he is waving a mug in your face. Other patrons are looking at you now. A few youths are making their way towards you, itching for a fight. It would be best for you if you left... unless you're willing to fight.
If you want to leave the tavern, [[go back->205]] and make a new choice.
[[You want to fight->214]](set: $hist212 to 1)The young lady is looking at you from top to bottom approvingly.
“Hey bad boy, you wanna have a good time?” she slurs, slightly drunk.
“No, this is not happening.”
“Hey, what's the matter? I'm not good lookin' enough for ya?”
“No, I mean, this is a gamebook, and there's no sex in gamebooks. This is strictly PG-13.”
“Oh yeah? Well what about that time when Fire*Wolf-”
“We don't talk about Fire*Wolf,” you reply decisively. She pouts, defeated. Who will you talk to next? [[Go back->210]] and make a new choice.(set: $hist213 to 1)You ask them if you can sit down at their table. They look at you with some suspicion but accept. After talking to them for a while, they reveal that they are working on an amazing project: a machine that can, assisted by human action, fly through the air! They call it, fittingly enough, a “flyer.” They are debating how to make their next flyer the right flyer: prior attempts have been only partially successful.
[[You want to convince them to let you use a flyer->215]]
Otherwise, [[go back->210]] and make a new choice. Keep in mind that you will not be able to access this opportunity again.You raise your fists against the ruffians. One of them steps forward, a stupid-looking sort of fellow. This is no fight to the death: whoever gets the first blow wins. The RUFFIAN has 1 AURA.(set: $enemyname to "Ruffian")(set: $aurae to 1)
(set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) Opponent's AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[(the Ruffian gets the first blow) You get kicked out of the tavern. [[Go back->205]] and make a new choice.]\
(else:)[(You get the first blow) The others back off and you are free to [[go back->210]] and make a new choice.]\
After further discussion, the two men explain to you that they do not own the flyers, they only help build them, but they can take you to the owner. You get them to set off at once, and follow them out of the village and on a path into the forest. Eventually you arrive at a clearing, where a wooden tower stands, surrounded by all sorts of wondrous machines with long, fixed sails. An older man with a long beard comes out of the tower and hails the two men.
“Who is this one?” he says, pointing at you. “Do you vouch for him?”
“He's fixin' to rent one of your flyers.”
“So you are, huh?” he walks up to you and looks at you carefully. “Well you gotta know I ain't doin' nothin' for nothin'. You've got some gold for me?”
“How much gold do you want?”
He considers the matter carefully. “About 15 gold should do.”
“That's extortion!”
“Well, what if you wreck it, or lose it somewhere, or never come back? Once you come back, I'll give you back 10 of the gold.”
You have no intention of ever coming back, but you don't need to tell him that. Either way, are you willing to pay 15 gold for a dubious flying machine?
(if: ($inventory6 is 1) or ($inventory7 is 1))[[[You pay 15 gold to the old man->222]]](else:)[(You do not have gold pieces )]
[[You do not, or cannot, pay 15 gold->223]](unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Sky Novempus")(set: $substancee to 18)(set: $aurae to 5)(set: $hite to 2)\
You reluctantly hand over 15 gold.(if: $inventory7 is 1)[(set: $inventory7 to 0)](else:)[(set: $inventory6 to 0)] The old man counts them one by one, and then, satisfied, takes you around the tower to one of the machines. Like the others, it has two long fixed sails, a flat vertical tail, and some matter of structure holding a seat with pedals. The owner explains the flying procedure to you: it is a simple matter of climbing into the seat, pedaling until the flyer attains enough speed to take to the air, and then guiding it using the stick, like one would use reins to direct a horse. He also explains how to move the sails up and down, which he says are actually “wings,” although they don't actually flap.
You crawl painfully into the flyer and make your way to the seat, which is uncomfortable. You start pedaling, but the pedals are heavy and it takes you a lot of strength. “Pedal faster! Faster!” the old man keeps shouting. Finally, you take to the air and use the stick to point upwards, towards the center of the mist.
Once into the mist, you find visibility is rather lowered, but you keep pedaling towards what you think is the center. Your vision is blurry, but you see a mass of black slowly move to block your passage. Once you get close enough, you realize what this black mass really is: it's a sky novempus! This gigantic night-black creature has a bulbous head and nine tentacles which flatten into large kite-like extensions, serving as means to keep the light creature in the air. It has formidable psychic powers, and is trying to take control of your mind. You must fight the creature to the death, or it will take over your mind and devour you.
SKY NOVEMPUS 18 SUBSTANCE points 5 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "222")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "222")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "222")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "222")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) The novempus, spurting green ichor from its wounds, tumbles down beyond the mist. Good riddance, you think. Other novempuses do not approach you, and the center of the mist is soon within your sight: it looks like a small, flat-roofed, rectangular building made of white bricks. The building looks almost unnaturally smooth, and the bricks all perfectly sized, as if it came from some perfect geometric dimension. There is a small ledge in front of the opening to this building, so you may try to leap at it, or you may try to land on the top of the building and slide down.
[[You take a leap->225]]
[[You land at the top->226]]\
]\
]\
(unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Sky Novempus")(set: $substancee to 18)(set: $aurae to 5)(set: $hite to 2)\
“Well, show me which one I get to take first, before I give you the gold. I want to make sure it's in good shape,” you say nonchalantly. The old man takes you around the tower to one flyer which looks much like the others: two long fixed sails, a flat vertical tail, and some matter of structure holding a seat with pedals. You start crawling and contorting your way to the seat.
“Hey! I haven't seen any gold yet!” the old man angrily points out, but it's too late. You're already in the seat and pedaling forward. The pedals are hard to push and the flyer goes slowly, but by the time the three men are going after you in earnest, it's too late: you're already lifting off the ground, leaving their jeers and threats behind. You have no idea how to control this crazy contraption, but you eventually figure out that the stick in front of you controls the direction, and you lift it up towards the mist. Your control is wobbly but you're able to keep it on course.
Once into the mist, you find visibility is rather lowered, but you keep pedaling towards what you think is the center. Your vision is blurry, but you see a mass of black slowly move to block your passage. Once you get close enough, you realize what this black mass really is: it's a sky novempus! This gigantic night-black creature has a bulbous head and nine tentacles which flatten into large kite-like extensions, serving as means to keep the light creature in the air. It has formidable psychic powers, and is trying to take control of your mind. You must fight the creature to the death, or it will take over your mind and devour you. Due to your uncertain grasp of the flyer, your AURA is reduced by 2 for the duration of this encounter.(set: $aura to $aura - 2)
SKY NOVEMPUS 18 SUBSTANCE points 5 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "223")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "223")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "223")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "223")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight)(set: $aura to $aura + 2) The novempus, spurting green ichor from its wounds, tumbles down beyond the mist. Good riddance, you think. Other novempuses do not approach you, and the center of the mist is soon within your sight: it looks like a small, flat-roofed, rectangular building made of white bricks. There is an opening with a small ledge in front of it. You try to aim for the roof, but a sudden wind betrays you, and you have to make a leap for the ledge. [[Continue->225]]\
]\
]\
(set: $lastvampireroll to 0)
(if: ($substance>0) and ($substancee>0))[\
(set: $x to it + 1)\
Round (print: $x): (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6))Vampire dice roll: (print: $random2)
(if: ($random2 is 6) and ($lastvampireroll is 6))[The vampires suck your blood! You are dead!(set: $substance to 0)]
(else:)[\
(set: $lastvampireroll to $random2)\
(set: $aurah1 to $aura + $random1)(set: $aurae1 to $aurae + $random2)Your AURA roll: (print: $aurah1) Opponent's AURA roll: (print: $aurae1)
(if: $aurah1 < $aurae1)[\
You lose (print: $hite) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to $substance-$hite) You have (print: $substance) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
(else:)[\
(print: $enemyname) loses (print: $herohit) SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substancee to $substancee-$herohit) (print: $enemyname) has (print: $substancee) SUBSTANCE left.
]\
]\
]\
(if: ($substance>0) and ($substancee>0))[\
(link: "Next round")[(display: "vampirefight")]\
]\
(else:)[\
(link-goto: "Continue", $fightgoto)
]\
“Ooooh, you've got me,” the shopkeeper replies when you hand him the plot coupon. “This is all tourist tat.” You frown, but don't interrupt by pointing out that you haven't actually seen any tourists. “Strictly a scam. Don't bother with it. You can have your coupon back, as you'll for sure have more use for it than me. I have to warn you though, some guy went through here, talking to all the people around here, giving them your description, and telling them that you're some kind of brigand come to steal all our valuables and harm the people. Of course, I didn't believe a word of it. I can sniff bad people out, and this guy smelled as bad as they come. Besides, I'd go out of business if I refused to serve disreputable types. Well, whatever you're up to, good luck to you. Give him what's for.”
He gets out from behind the counter, walks up to a box on a shelf, and rummages through a box of novelty rings. “Here, this might help you out.” He gives you a <i>novelty plastic ring</i>(set: $inventory27 to 1) that says “Fool me twice, you can't get fooled again” around it in small letters. This ring is imbued with illusion power: add 2 to your ILLUSION rating while you have it.(set: $illusion to it + 2)
You wave goodbye to him and leave. [[Go back->205]] and make a new choice.“All right, all right, I do want to get rid of these, so I'll cut you a deal and sell it to you for 15 gold. But this is my absolute rock bottom price.”
(if: ($inventory6 is 1) or ($inventory7 is 1))[Do you pay the 15 gold?
[[Yes->219b]]
No-you take leave of the shopkeeper and [[make a new choice->205]]](else:)[(You do not have gold pieces) You take leave of the shopkeeper and [[make a new choice->205]]]
You pay 30 gold to the happy storekeeper and add the adventurer's kit to your inventory.(set: $inventory26 to 1)(set: $inventory7 to 0)(set: $inventory6 to 0) With nothing else in the shop interesting you, you take your leave. [[Go back->205]] and make a new choice.
You pay the 15 gold and add the adventurer's kit to your inventory.(set: $inventory26 to 1)(if: $inventory7 is 1)[(set: $inventory7 to 0)](else:)[(set: $inventory6 to 0)] [[Go back->205]] and make a new choice.You bring the broom and the regents out into a field. You lay the broom down and sprinkle the coffee grounds, the baby carrots, and the tricorn sweat on it(set: $inventory3 to 0)(set: $inventory16 to 0)(set: $inventory21 to 0), chanting “porcus levitatus” over and over until each regent is fused with the broom. After all three regents are fused with the broom, you straddle it and activate a Flight spell. While you're not a racer, you've never had any problems broom-flying, so you are able to easily take to the air and fly into the mist.
Once into the mist, you find visibility is rather lowered, but you keep flying towards what you think is the center. Your vision is blurry, but you see a mass of black slowly move to block your passage. Once you get close enough, you realize what this black mass really is: it's a sky novempus! This gigantic night-black creature has a bulbous head and nine tentacles which flatten into large kite-like extensions, serving as means to keep the light creature in the air. Your skill at broom-flying enables you to evade numerous novempuses (novempi?) along the way.
The center of the mist is soon within your sight: it looks like a small, flat-roofed, rectangular building made of white bricks. The building looks almost unnaturally smooth, and the bricks all perfectly sized, as if it came from some perfect geometric dimension. You fly towards a small ledge in front of the opening and stick the landing. [[Continue->227]]
You have to abandon your flyer and make a leap of faith for the entrance. (if: $inventory4 is 1)[If you have a lucky coin, you make the jump automatically. [[Continue->227]]](else:)[(You do not have a lucky coin) Roll a d6. (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6))(Your roll is (print: $random1)) (if: $random1 is 1)[You miss the ledge and tumble all the way to the ground. You do not “die” from this, but you waste the rest of your time trying to find your way back to the people with the flyers. [[Continue->13]]](else:)[You land heavily on the ledge, but you are unharmed. [[Continue->227]]]]
By this time, you have become proficient at driving this machine, and you are able to direct it onto the rooftop and land with nothing but a few tremors. There is barely just enough space for you to squeeze by and slide down the building to the ledge. [[Continue->227]]You enter the building, and you're surprised to see that it is much, much larger on the inside than on the outside. You poke your head back out again and the dimensions are still the same as before you came in. You think you must be in some kind of pocket dimension. This is only confirmed when you reach the opposite wall of the building and find a loose brick which reveals a lever. When pulled, it grinds open a secret passage close to the ground. You clamber through a small passage which opens up into a cave area with two doors set into the back. In the middle, there is a peculiar creature: a horse with two heads!
“I always tell the truth!” says the right head. “I always tell lies!” says the left head. “If you answer our riddle correctly, we'll tell you which door to go through!”
Oh no, it's one of THOSE.
[[You attack this thing right away->229]]
[[You keep listening to it->228]]You shoot a fireball at the two-headed horse, which catches fire and runs around the room screaming. You wait until it smolders on the ground, a pile of bones and guts. You step over the corpse of the stupid horse and open the right door: as expected, it's full of spikes. You go through the left door. [[Continue->230]]“There are two doors!” says the right head. “No way! There are three doors!” says the left head. “One of them is safe, the other is deadly!” says the right head. “You got that exactly in reverse!” says the left head.
[[You attack this thing->229]]
[[You keep listening to it->228b]]“The door on my side is safe!” says the right head. “He's absolutely right,” says the left head. “Wait, you weren't supposed to say that,” says the right head. “What, can't I take a break sometimes?” asks the left head.
[[You attack this thing->229]]
[[You keep listening to it->228c]]“I'm just saying, how are we supposed to provide a valid puzzle if you're going off script?” asks the right head. “Well, I never wanted us to become guardians of some dubious treasure,” says the left head.
[[You attack this thing->229]]
[[You keep listening to it->228d]]“Come on, let's do this right.” says the right head. “Look at that gormless adventurer. He doesn't know his right from his left. I think this puzzle is entirely wasted. Besides, wouldn't we be more effective guardians if we, you know, attacked people instead of wasting our time on easily solved puzzles?” asks the left hand.
[[You attack this thing->229]]
[[You keep listening to it->228e]]
(unless: $parreset is 1)[\
(set: $enemyname to "Two-Headed Horse")(set: $substancee to 8)(set: $aurae to 2)(set: $hite to 2)\
“I can't really argue with that,” says the right hand. The horse body advances towards you. “En garde!” says the left head.” They are determined to stop you. You must fight them to the death.
TWO-HEADED HORSE 8 SUBSTANCE points 2 AURA
(if: $inventory9 is 1)[Use the Capacitor Jewel?\
{|output>[(link: "Yes")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $inventory9 to 0)(set: $substancee to it - 20)\
(if: $substancee > 0)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "228e")(display: "fightloopexample")
](else:)[
(set: $parreset to 1)(display: "228e")
]
]]
(link: "No")[(replace: ?output)[
(set: $x to 0)(set: $parreset to 1)(set: $fightgoto to "228e")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]] ]}
]
(else:)[\
(set: $x to 0)\
(set: $parreset to 1)
(set: $fightgoto to "228e")
(display: "fightloopexample")
]\
]\
(else:)[
(set: $parreset to 0)
(if: ($substance<=0))[\
(You lost the fight) [[Continue->13]]\
](else-if: ($substancee<=0))[\
(You win the fight) You step over the corpse of the stupid horse and open the right door: as expected, it's full of spikes. You go to the left door and go through. [[Continue->230]]\
]\
]\
You walk confidently though a wooden corridor until you hear a trapdoor: the ground collapses under your feet and you fall four meters down on a bed of hard rocks. You lose 14... wait a second. That's what would happen in an ordinary story. But there's no way just falling would take away any SUBSTANCE points. That makes too much sense.
(if: ($inventory12 is 1) or ($inventory13 is 1) or ($inventory14 is 1) or ($inventory15 is 1))[[[You have a plot coupon and wish to use it->231]]](else:)[(You do not have a plot coupon)]
[[Otherwise->232]]You see no one to give the plot coupon to, so you lay it on the ground.(if: $inventory15 is 1)[(set: $inventory15 to 0)](else-if:$inventory14 is 1)[(set: $inventory14 to 0)](else-if:$inventory13 is 1)[(set: $inventory13 to 0)](else:)[(set: $inventory12 to 0)] Out of nowhere, a small humanoid being, looking like some sort of gnome, materializes and carefully examines the coupon.
“Hmmm... I guess we made a mistake here. Terribly sorry. Let's reset everything, all right? Again, really sorry for the inconvenience.”
You feel as if your body is falling upwards. Time is rewinding! The trapdoor closes back. You tentatively put a foot on it and press down: nothing happens. You are able to walk through the corridor. [[Continue->233]]You lose 14 SUBSTANCE points due to the grievous fall. (set: $substance to it - 14)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[With the help of some spells, you laboriously make your way back up this trap and continue down the corridor. [[Continue->233]]]
You reach the end of the corridor and find a rounded door inlaid with gold and silver. The door opens into a wide space, flanked by big columns, which narrows down around some sort of long table, in front of which is.. Vadron! He is holding an amulet which you can't see quite clearly from where you are, but which must be the Subgenial Amulet! There are large shards of glass on the table and on the ground around him. He's mumbling something about wishes. When he hears your arrival, he looks up. He is a short man with short, flat brown hair, wrinkles betraying his age despite many uses of cosmetic rituals, his face seemingly frozen in a hateful rictus.
“Ah, if it isn't the little boy wonder who ruined my life. I really have to thank you for leading me here...” You are about to scream “WHAT? HOW? You were here before me!” but he continues: “... it's really too bad that the Amulet doesn't seem to be working right now, otherwise my wish for your death would have already come true. But at least I can get a more personal revenge!”
Vadron is ready to strike, so you had better decide what your first move is.
[[Shoot a Thunder spell->234]]
[[Produce an illusion that there are three of you->235]]
[[Take cover behind one of the columns->236]]Vadron swats away your Thunder spell, and replies with a Xender's Vipire spell, a magical snake which flies towards you and unleashes a cone of flames: you lose 8 SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to it - 8)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[He gives a short sarcastic laugh, and advances upon you, enveloping himself in a triple shield. His face is going red, and he is clearly expanding a lot of energy on this. What will you do?
[[Shoot a Tonnerre de Brest spell->237]]
[[Use telekinesis on the glass shards to distract him->238]]
(if: $inventory8 is 1)[[[Use the shutdown spell, if you know it->239]]](else:)[(You do not have a shutdown spell)]
]You are going against an experienced wizard, so making a convincing illusion on the fly is going to be extremely difficult.
(if: $illusion is < 7)[If your ILLUSION is less than 7, you fail automatically: [[continue->235b]]](else:)[<i>Test your ILLUSION at difficulty 6.</i>(set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$illusion)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+6)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) [[Continue->235b]]]\
(else:)[(You won the test) If you succeed, you deploy two illusory versions of yourself. Vadron deploys a Xender's Vipire spell, producing a snake which flies towards you and unleashes a cone of flames: being non-sentient, the Snake is fooled and spits fire at the wrong version of you.
Furious, Vadron advances upon you, enveloping himself in a triple shield. His face is going red, and he is clearly expanding a lot of energy on this. What will you do?
[[Shoot a Tonnerre de Brest spell->237b]]
[[Use telekinesis on the glass shards to distract him->238]]
[[Use the shutdown spell, if you know it->239]]]
]
(set: $hist236 to 1)You roll and hide behind a pillar, just in time for a Xender's Vipire spell, cast by Vadron, to unleash flames at you. The column protects you from being overwhelmed by the heat. Note that you are currently under cover. Furious, he advances upon you, enveloping himself in a triple shield. His face is going red, and he is clearly expanding a lot of energy on this. What will you do?
[[Shoot a Tonnerre de Brest spell->237]]
[[Use telekinesis on the glass shards to distract him->238]]
(if: $inventory8 is 1)[[[Use the shutdown spell, if you know it->239]]](else:)[(You do not have a shutdown spell)]
The Tonnerre de Brest spell can pierce through the shields, but it is a high-precision spell that demands high skill, especially against a moving target and a defense of this magnitude. <i>Test your AURA at difficulty 5.</i>(set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$aura)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+5)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) Your spell glances off the shields. [[Continue->240]]]\
(else:)[(You won the test) You have inflicted a severe blow to Vadron, and his shields are down. [[Continue->241]]]
From the other side of the room, you lift as many glass shards as you can off the ground and hurl them at Vadron. He is distracted by your ploy long enough to let his shields lapse. [[Continue->242]]You activate the pathways in your mind which activate the shutdown spell, and channel them through your wand. Vadron is hypnotized, but he will not stay that way for long. You use that opportunity to shoot a Tonnerre de Brest spell at him, which hits the mark. Vadron stumbles, hurt, his shields destroyed. [[Continue->241]]Vadron uses the Xender's Vipire spell, producing a snake which flies towards you and unleashes a cone of flames: you lose 8 SUBSTANCE points. (set: $substance to it - 8)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[He gives a short sarcastic laugh, and advances upon you, enveloping himself in a triple shield. His face is going red, and he is clearly expanding a lot of energy on this. What will you do?
[[Shoot a Tonnerre de Brest spell->237]]
[[Use telekinesis on the glass shards to distract him->238]]
[[Use the shutdown spell, if you know it->239]]
]The Tonnerre de Brest spell can pierce through the shields, but it is a high-precision spell that demands high skill, especially against a moving target and a defense of this magnitude. Thankfully, Vadron is distracted by your doubles, so the spell has a good chance of going through. <i>Test your AURA at difficulty 2.</i> (set: $random1 to (random: 1, 6)+$aura)(set: $random2 to (random: 1, 6)+2)(your roll is (print: $random1), the opposing roll is (print: $random2))
(if: $random1 < $random2)[(You lost the test) Your spell glances off the shields, and your doubles dissipate. [[Continue->240]]]\
(else:)[(You won the test) You have inflicted a severe blow to Vadron, and his shields are down. Your doubles dissipate. [[Continue->241]]]
You are in a bad position. Vadron is still protected by his powerful shields and is getting close to you. He's invoking a Detonation spell: he intends to take you out once and for all.
(if: $hist236 is 1)[[[If you are under cover, you may move to another cover->243]]](else:)[(You are not under cover)]
[[You can rush him in order to derail his spell->244]]You've wiped Vadron's sneer off his face and you've got him on the ropes right now, but he is standing up again and will recuperate rapidly. What's your next move?
(if: $inventory1 is 1)[[[Shoot him with an energy pistol, if you have one->245]]](else:)[(You do not have an energy pistol)]
[[Cast a Banishment spell->246]]Vadron no longer has his shields up, but he's still a threat. He's preparing another spell, his rictus contorting and twisting. What will you do?
(if: $inventory1 is 1)[[[Shoot him with an energy pistol, if you have one->245]]](else:)[(You do not have an energy pistol)]
(if: $inventory25 is 1)[[[Interrupt his spell with the Amplifier Sword, if you have it->247]]](else:)[(You do not have an Amplifier Sword)]
[[Cast a Thunder spell->248]]Mobilizing all your muscles, you leap towards the closest pillar and roll... but Vadron's reflexes are faster than your legs. He detonates the ground below you, “killing” you instantly. [[Continue->13]]You rush at Vadron and collide with him. Getting this close to him removes the possibility of a Detonation spell, under penalty of mutual destruction. The clash has taken his concentration off of his shields, but before they dissipate, he pushes you away with them, slamming you into a column. You lose 2 SUBSTANCE points.(set: $substance to it - 2)(if: $substance < 1)[(You are dead) [[Continue->13]]](else:)[If you previously noted that you were under cover, remove that note.(set: $hist236 to 0) [[Continue->242]]]You shoot Vadron with an energy beam: he collapses to the ground in a brief shout. Before you can do anything else, he grabs the amulet and screams: “I wish to be somewhere far away from here!” He disappears instantly... but the amulet falls from his hand as he disappears and is now on the ground. It seems like his wish was a little too vague: he didn't specify he wanted the amulet to follow him where he was going. You wait for a while to see if Vadron will reappear, but it seems that the amulet has at least given him what he wanted. [[Continue->249]]Vadron laughs sardonically as you intone a Banishment spell. “What do you think you're doing, you blithering idiot? I ain't no demon. You can't-” His overconfident babbling ends as he slowly disappears. “No, this is not possible,” he shouts, raising his fists before vanishing completely. Whether you knew it or not, people can be banished from this hollow world, and that includes Vadron. Where he stood, only the amulet is left on the ground. [[Continue->249]]You aim the Amplifier Sword at Vadron, not to stab him (as the sword is far too flimsy for that purpose) but to disrupt his casting. Through the sword, you channel an attempt at disrupting the energy flows through his body. The disruption is so powerful that he falls down! [[Continue->241]]You cast a Thunder spell, which hits Vadron and makes his wand go off balance. Unfortunately for you, that doesn't matter, because it was not a directional spell. Vadron has hit you with a Disconnection spell, creating a hole in the energy circuits in your body. By the time you realize what has happened, he's had the time to vaporize you. [[Continue->13]]Finally you pick up the amulet with one hand and take a good look at it. It is a silver snake chain with a pendant in the shape of a grinning man's head, with a pipe in his mouth. You can feel the power emanating from this artefact. However, you also know that wishes are very tricky things, which can easily lead you astray. Instead of using its power, you spend the rest of your time in the Astral Plane. Unless you trashed your ride, you are free to go back and explore the hollow world. When your time expires, Xaahel wakes you up, and the amulet is still in your hand.
You've spent a lot of real time in the Astral Plane, longer than you expected: when you get back home, Qualia is already there, although, oddly enough, she seems too preoccupied to ask you where you've been.
The weeks before the wedding are a blur of flower arrangements, seating diagrams, renting pens for familiars, and hiring musicians and wizard pyrotechnists. The day itself goes off without a hitch (or at least, no hitch you're aware of). The Globusian cliffs and Globus waterfall proved the perfect backdrop for the ceremony, especially for the fireworks after dusk. Everyone was suitably impressed by the artefact you brought, and said its magical power was a good omen for your marriage. You become an instant celebrity and your incredible achievement will be remembered for the rest of your life and beyond.
Your quest has been an absolute success! Congratulations!(set: $substance to 20)(set: $aura to 5)(set: $illusion to 5)(set: $herohit to 4)
(set: $inventory1 to 1, $inventory2 to 0, $inventory3 to 0, $inventory4 to 0, $inventory5 to 0, $inventory6 to 0, $inventory7 to 0, $inventory8 to 0, $inventory9 to 0, $inventory10 to 0, $inventory11 to 0, $inventory12 to 0, $inventory13 to 0, $inventory14 to 0, $inventory15 to 0, $inventory16 to 0, $inventory17 to 0, $inventory18 to 0, $inventory19 to 0, $inventory20 to 0, $inventory21 to 0, $inventory22 to 0, $inventory23 to 0, $inventory24 to 0, $inventory25 to 0, $inventory26 to 0, $inventory27 to 0, $inventory28 to 0, $inventory29 to 0)
(set: $parreset to 0)(set: $hist20 to 0, $hist25 to 0, $hist26 to 0, $hist59 to 0, $hist62 to 0, $hist63 to 0, $hist104 to 0, $hist161 to 0, $hist167 to 0, $hist168 to 0, $hist189 to 0, $hist196 to 0, $hist206 to 0, $hist209 to 0, $hist210 to 0, $hist211 to 0, $hist212 to 0, $hist213 to 0, $hist216 to 0, $hist217 to 0, $hist221 to 0, $hist236 to 0, $mukamukspell to 0, $lugubre to 0)
(go-to: "1")(set: $substance to 20)(set: $aura to 5)(set: $illusion to 5)(set: $herohit to 2)
(set: $inventory1 to 0, $inventory2 to 1, $inventory3 to 0, $inventory4 to 0, $inventory5 to 0, $inventory6 to 0, $inventory7 to 0, $inventory8 to 0, $inventory9 to 0, $inventory10 to 0, $inventory11 to 0, $inventory12 to 0, $inventory13 to 0, $inventory14 to 0, $inventory15 to 0, $inventory16 to 0, $inventory17 to 0, $inventory18 to 0, $inventory19 to 0, $inventory20 to 0, $inventory21 to 0, $inventory22 to 0, $inventory23 to 0, $inventory24 to 0, $inventory25 to 0, $inventory26 to 0, $inventory27 to 0, $inventory28 to 0, $inventory29 to 0)
(set: $parreset to 0)(set: $hist20 to 0, $hist25 to 0, $hist26 to 0, $hist59 to 0, $hist62 to 0, $hist63 to 0, $hist104 to 0, $hist161 to 0, $hist167 to 0, $hist168 to 0, $hist189 to 0, $hist196 to 0, $hist206 to 0, $hist209 to 0, $hist210 to 0, $hist211 to 0, $hist212 to 0, $hist213 to 0, $hist216 to 0, $hist217 to 0, $hist221 to 0, $hist236 to 0, $mukamukspell to 0, $lugubre to 0)
(go-to: "1")(set: $substance to 20)(set: $aura to 5)(set: $illusion to 5)(set: $herohit to 2)
(set: $inventory1 to 0, $inventory2 to 0, $inventory3 to 0, $inventory4 to 1, $inventory5 to 0, $inventory6 to 0, $inventory7 to 0, $inventory8 to 0, $inventory9 to 0, $inventory10 to 0, $inventory11 to 0, $inventory12 to 0, $inventory13 to 0, $inventory14 to 0, $inventory15 to 0, $inventory16 to 0, $inventory17 to 0, $inventory18 to 0, $inventory19 to 0, $inventory20 to 0, $inventory21 to 0, $inventory22 to 0, $inventory23 to 0, $inventory24 to 0, $inventory25 to 0, $inventory26 to 0, $inventory27 to 0, $inventory28 to 0, $inventory29 to 0)
(set: $parreset to 0)(set: $hist20 to 0, $hist25 to 0, $hist26 to 0, $hist59 to 0, $hist62 to 0, $hist63 to 0, $hist104 to 0, $hist161 to 0, $hist167 to 0, $hist168 to 0, $hist189 to 0, $hist196 to 0, $hist206 to 0, $hist209 to 0, $hist210 to 0, $hist211 to 0, $hist212 to 0, $hist213 to 0, $hist216 to 0, $hist217 to 0, $hist221 to 0, $hist236 to 0, $mukamukspell to 0, $lugubre to 0)
(go-to: "1")(set: $substance to 20)(set: $aura to 5)(set: $illusion to 5)(set: $herohit to 2)
(set: $inventory1 to 0, $inventory2 to 0, $inventory3 to 0, $inventory4 to 0, $inventory5 to 1, $inventory6 to 0, $inventory7 to 0, $inventory8 to 0, $inventory9 to 0, $inventory10 to 0, $inventory11 to 0, $inventory12 to 0, $inventory13 to 0, $inventory14 to 0, $inventory15 to 0, $inventory16 to 0, $inventory17 to 0, $inventory18 to 0, $inventory19 to 0, $inventory20 to 0, $inventory21 to 0, $inventory22 to 0, $inventory23 to 0, $inventory24 to 0, $inventory25 to 0, $inventory26 to 0, $inventory27 to 0, $inventory28 to 0, $inventory29 to 0)
(set: $parreset to 0)(set: $hist20 to 0, $hist25 to 0, $hist26 to 0, $hist59 to 0, $hist62 to 0, $hist63 to 0, $hist104 to 0, $hist161 to 0, $hist167 to 0, $hist168 to 0, $hist189 to 0, $hist196 to 0, $hist206 to 0, $hist209 to 0, $hist210 to 0, $hist211 to 0, $hist212 to 0, $hist213 to 0, $hist216 to 0, $hist217 to 0, $hist221 to 0, $hist236 to 0, $mukamukspell to 0, $lugubre to 0)
(go-to: "1")(set: $substance to 20)(set: $aura to 5)(set: $illusion to 5)(set: $herohit to 2)
(set: $inventory1 to 0, $inventory2 to 0, $inventory3 to 0, $inventory4 to 0, $inventory5 to 0, $inventory6 to 0, $inventory7 to 0, $inventory8 to 0, $inventory9 to 1, $inventory10 to 0, $inventory11 to 0, $inventory12 to 0, $inventory13 to 0, $inventory14 to 0, $inventory15 to 0, $inventory16 to 0, $inventory17 to 0, $inventory18 to 0, $inventory19 to 0, $inventory20 to 0, $inventory21 to 0, $inventory22 to 0, $inventory23 to 0, $inventory24 to 0, $inventory25 to 0, $inventory26 to 0, $inventory27 to 0, $inventory28 to 0, $inventory29 to 0)
(set: $parreset to 0)(set: $hist20 to 0, $hist25 to 0, $hist26 to 0, $hist59 to 0, $hist62 to 0, $hist63 to 0, $hist104 to 0, $hist161 to 0, $hist167 to 0, $hist168 to 0, $hist189 to 0, $hist196 to 0, $hist206 to 0, $hist209 to 0, $hist210 to 0, $hist211 to 0, $hist212 to 0, $hist213 to 0, $hist216 to 0, $hist217 to 0, $hist221 to 0, $hist236 to 0, $mukamukspell to 0, $lugubre to 0)
(go-to: "1")(set: $substance to 20)(set: $aura to 5)(set: $illusion to 7)(set: $herohit to 2)
(set: $inventory1 to 0, $inventory2 to 0, $inventory3 to 0, $inventory4 to 0, $inventory5 to 0, $inventory6 to 0, $inventory7 to 0, $inventory8 to 0, $inventory9 to 0, $inventory10 to 0, $inventory11 to 1, $inventory12 to 0, $inventory13 to 0, $inventory14 to 0, $inventory15 to 0, $inventory16 to 0, $inventory17 to 0, $inventory18 to 0, $inventory19 to 0, $inventory20 to 0, $inventory21 to 0, $inventory22 to 0, $inventory23 to 0, $inventory24 to 0, $inventory25 to 0, $inventory26 to 0, $inventory27 to 0, $inventory28 to 0, $inventory29 to 0)
(set: $parreset to 0)(set: $hist20 to 0, $hist25 to 0, $hist26 to 0, $hist59 to 0, $hist62 to 0, $hist63 to 0, $hist104 to 0, $hist161 to 0, $hist167 to 0, $hist168 to 0, $hist189 to 0, $hist196 to 0, $hist206 to 0, $hist209 to 0, $hist210 to 0, $hist211 to 0, $hist212 to 0, $hist213 to 0, $hist216 to 0, $hist217 to 0, $hist221 to 0, $hist236 to 0, $mukamukspell to 0, $lugubre to 0)
(go-to: "1")(set: $substance to 20)(set: $aura to 5)(set: $illusion to 5)(set: $herohit to 2)
(set: $inventory1 to 0, $inventory2 to 0, $inventory3 to 0, $inventory4 to 0, $inventory5 to 0, $inventory6 to 0, $inventory7 to 0, $inventory8 to 0, $inventory9 to 0, $inventory10 to 0, $inventory11 to 0, $inventory12 to 0, $inventory13 to 0, $inventory14 to 0, $inventory15 to 0, $inventory16 to 0, $inventory17 to 0, $inventory18 to 0, $inventory19 to 0, $inventory20 to 0, $inventory21 to 0, $inventory22 to 0, $inventory23 to 0, $inventory24 to 1, $inventory25 to 0, $inventory26 to 0, $inventory27 to 0, $inventory28 to 0, $inventory29 to 0)
(set: $parreset to 0)(set: $hist20 to 0, $hist25 to 0, $hist26 to 0, $hist59 to 0, $hist62 to 0, $hist63 to 0, $hist104 to 0, $hist161 to 0, $hist167 to 0, $hist168 to 0, $hist189 to 0, $hist196 to 0, $hist206 to 0, $hist209 to 0, $hist210 to 0, $hist211 to 0, $hist212 to 0, $hist213 to 0, $hist216 to 0, $hist217 to 0, $hist221 to 0, $hist236 to 0, $mukamukspell to 0, $lugubre to 0)
(go-to: "1")(set: $substance to 20)(set: $aura to 7)(set: $illusion to 5)(set: $herohit to 2)
(set: $inventory1 to 0, $inventory2 to 0, $inventory3 to 0, $inventory4 to 0, $inventory5 to 0, $inventory6 to 0, $inventory7 to 0, $inventory8 to 0, $inventory9 to 0, $inventory10 to 0, $inventory11 to 0, $inventory12 to 0, $inventory13 to 0, $inventory14 to 0, $inventory15 to 0, $inventory16 to 0, $inventory17 to 0, $inventory18 to 0, $inventory19 to 0, $inventory20 to 0, $inventory21 to 0, $inventory22 to 0, $inventory23 to 0, $inventory24 to 0, $inventory25 to 1, $inventory26 to 0, $inventory27 to 0, $inventory28 to 0, $inventory29 to 0)
(set: $parreset to 0)(set: $hist20 to 0, $hist25 to 0, $hist26 to 0, $hist59 to 0, $hist62 to 0, $hist63 to 0, $hist104 to 0, $hist161 to 0, $hist167 to 0, $hist168 to 0, $hist189 to 0, $hist196 to 0, $hist206 to 0, $hist209 to 0, $hist210 to 0, $hist211 to 0, $hist212 to 0, $hist213 to 0, $hist216 to 0, $hist217 to 0, $hist221 to 0, $hist236 to 0, $mukamukspell to 0, $lugubre to 0)
(go-to: "1")(set: $substance to 20)(set: $aura to 5)(set: $illusion to 7)(set: $herohit to 2)
(set: $inventory1 to 0, $inventory2 to 0, $inventory3 to 0, $inventory4 to 0, $inventory5 to 0, $inventory6 to 0, $inventory7 to 0, $inventory8 to 0, $inventory9 to 0, $inventory10 to 0, $inventory11 to 0, $inventory12 to 0, $inventory13 to 0, $inventory14 to 0, $inventory15 to 0, $inventory16 to 0, $inventory17 to 0, $inventory18 to 0, $inventory19 to 0, $inventory20 to 0, $inventory21 to 0, $inventory22 to 0, $inventory23 to 0, $inventory24 to 0, $inventory25 to 0, $inventory26 to 0, $inventory27 to 1, $inventory28 to 0, $inventory29 to 0)
(set: $parreset to 0)(set: $hist20 to 0, $hist25 to 0, $hist26 to 0, $hist59 to 0, $hist62 to 0, $hist63 to 0, $hist104 to 0, $hist161 to 0, $hist167 to 0, $hist168 to 0, $hist189 to 0, $hist196 to 0, $hist206 to 0, $hist209 to 0, $hist210 to 0, $hist211 to 0, $hist212 to 0, $hist213 to 0, $hist216 to 0, $hist217 to 0, $hist221 to 0, $hist236 to 0, $mukamukspell to 0, $lugubre to 0)
(go-to: "1")You buy the coffee grounds for 15 gold pieces.(set: $inventory3 to 1)(if: $inventory7 is 1)[(set: $inventory7 to 0)](else:)[(set: $inventory6 to 0)]
[[Continue->145end]]