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136 You cannot afford to spend too much longer in Fenmarge. Your blood lusts for vengeance and you must find Saul to satiate it. If you have either the codeword 'grass' or the codeword 'merchant', turn to 183. If you have neither codeword, turn to 30. |
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183 You know that Saul is headed for Ximoran. You must therefore catch him quickly for if you cannot reach him before he has taken the city, he will be too well guarded for you to get near him. If you have just bought a horse, you can set off immediately by turning to 326. If you have not bought a horse, turn to 319 if you have the codeword 'grass' or turn to 10 if you have the codeword 'merchant'. *codeword grass* off to 10 10 Perhaps Poomchukker will provide you with a horse? After all, you did risk life and limb to fight for his entertainment. You make your way to his home and the goblin serving girl ushers you in without asking for your sword. Poomchukker is once again in his library and he is in the middle of a conversation with a man in a white robe with oily, slicked back hair. On seeing you enter, Poomchukker turns to you and smiles. "My friend, what can I do for you?" he asks. You say that you desperately need a swift horse, but you lack sufficient funds to purchase one. Poomchukker strokes his chin thoughtfully and then smiles to himself. "I'll gladly buy you a horse if you do me a favour. This man," he says, indicating the man in the white robe, "is Doctor Flaude; an employee of mine. He has come up with a method of implanting a substance into the human body to make it more capable in battle. This would be of great use to me as it would make the many caravan guards in my employment a more formidable force. The only problem is we haven't tested it yet and that is where you fit in. Let Doctor Flaude put the strength implants into your body and I'll buy you a horse." "Before you decide," warns Doctor Flaude uncomfortably. 'Be aware that this surgery has never been performed before. It could backfire and make you weaker." Poomchukker glares at the doctor for a second, but then his smile returns as he turns to you once more. "What do you say, my friend?" he asks. "The choice is yours." If you agree to let Doctor Flaude experiment on you, turn to 322. If you decide it might be better trying to get a horse by other means, you excuse yourself and return to the market square. Turn to 30. |
I think your right me reads to fast!
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319 You are just contemplating what to do next when you hear a scream from the inn. The townspeople look around, stunned and unsure what to do, but you do not have this cowardly caution of the civilized. You dash into the inn and see the cause of the commotion. Caius is standing at the far end of the tavern holding the young serving wench in front of him with a knife held to her throat! Three of his cronies stand around him with their swords drawn. "I know who tipped you off about me, barbarian dog," Caius yells. "And once my boys have killed you, I'm going to enjoy gutting this little minx." The poor girl stares at you in panic as the three swordsmen advance on you. Fight all three at the same time. FIRST SWORDSMAN Skill:6 Stamina:6 SECOND SWORDSMAN Skill:5 Stamina:8 THIRD SWORDSMAN Skill:6 Stamina:5 If you kill the first two swordsmen in ten attack rounds or less, turn to 20. If not, keep fighting until you kill all three. Then turn to 251. |
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20 Caius lowers his knife, amazed at how quickly you dispatched his lackeys. The barmaid seizes the opportunity to elbow him in the stomach, winding him severely. The third man turns round to aid Caius, but as he does so, you swing your sword in a wide arc and cleave his head from his shoulders. As Caius struggles to get his breath back, the barmaid, now broken free, reaches for a pint glass and brings it down on his head, knocking him out cold. The townspeople flock into the tavern to congratulate you both. It turns out that the barmaid is the Mayor of Fenmarge's niece and you are given a meal fit for a king for saving her life (restore up to 5 Stamina points). The mayor also gives you his prize mare as a thank you. You would love to stop and relax at the town, but you must reach Saul quickly. Turn to 326. 326 You have no time to waste. You leap into the saddle of your new horse and gallop out of town onto the highway that leads south-east towards Ximoran. Dark storm clouds gather as you leave Fenmarge and soon it begins to pour down with rain. A bad omen perhaps? You follow the road, looking for signs of the army's passing, but visibility is terrible through the torrents of rain and the road is awash with water and mud. You doubt even Saul himself could track in these conditions. Saul's tracking skills were always superhuman. It is one of the reasons why he came to your attention. You turn away from such thoughts and concentrate on following the road through the sheets of rain. Roll one die. If you roll: 1-2 Turn to 377. 3-4 Turn to 182. 5-6 Turn to 119. *roll 2* 377 To your surprise, through the sheets of rain you spot the shape of a man sitting by the roadside dreamily playing a lute. On the ground in front of him is his hat left out for passers-by to throw coins in, but despite the torrents of rain falling, there is no water floating in the hat. There is something very wrong here. If you wish to race along the highway and leave this strange minstrel to his musings, turn to 129. If you would rather toss him a gold piece and ask if he saw the army pass by, turn to 255. |
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255 The minstrel stares at you without saying anything. You are about to leave him and ride on down the highway when he says one word in a soft voice: 'woods'. You are not sure what he means by this, but you mutter your thanks anyway and continue to ride along through the rain. A few seconds later, you turn round to look back at the minstrel . . . But he has vanished into thin air! You shudder and kick the flanks of your horse hard, eager to be away from this place. Turn to 129. 129 At last the rain eases off and you shake the moisture from your soaking hair. The road you are following joins the King's Road and you turn south-west along it in the direction of Ximoran. You have yet to come across the rear guard of the army. It is now getting quite dark and you will only be able to ride for a couple more hours before you will have to make camp for the night. Fifteen minutes of riding later, the road passes a small wood to the east. It is possible that the army may have camped in there in order to take shelter from rain so it might be worth exploring. On the other hand, it might be a waste of time and energy. If you want to investigate the wood, turn to 146. If not, you continue along the highway. Turn to 37. |