You take it - it is a Torque of Reanimation. If there is only one person in the party, it will be of no use. However, if in a multi-player party someone is killed, the torque can be placed around that player's neck. He or she will come back to life, but as a zombie, obedient only to the person who placed the torque. The zombie can be used only in combats, as an extra fighter. It cannot make decisions, or act as its old character (for example, if it was a Sage, it cannot turn to Sage paragraphs). It cannot cast spells, and all its abilities will be at -1, save for Endurance, which is at +10. It will be immune to Psychic spells.
Since the Trickster spotted it and wanted to take it, he'll be carrying it for now. If you think it should go to someone else, let me know.
While it doesn't seem likely that it'll be coming into use, taking the Torque was the right option for more than one reason....because if we leave it on the corpse, it re-animates the queen and she attacks us!
Gingerly, you step away from the Undead Queen's corpse, half expecting it to rise up with grasping talons and staring eyes. But nothing happens. You leave the cavern of Plague Star and go back to the chamber of doors.
We're back outside the doors again, but this time we have all 5 rods!
Each rod section has a number on it. Add all the numbers together. The total number is the paragraph you should turn to. If you haven't got all the rods (that is, you have cheated), turn back to 119 and choose again.
Ok, now we've come to a point where I think there's a bug in the book.
Here are the rods we have:
Golden Rod ('100')
White Rod ('16')
Blue Rod ('50')
Red Rod ('50'
Green Rod ('XX')
If we were to take 'XX' as its Roman numerical value, which would be 20, then the total will be '236'.....which is NOT the right section.
The correct section is, in fact '
316', which means the Green Rod is probably supposed to be marked '100'. One possible theory I've read is that the 'XX' might have been just a placeholder figure in the text before authors decided on which numbers to assign to the rods, and forgot to change it by accident.
Either way, we'll just proceed to the correct section here:
The five sections fit together perfectly to make a large key, with the blue one at the end. You step over to the circular slab of steel and insert the key. It disappears from sight, and you leap back as a deep rumbling noise sounds from below you. The steel circle begins to rise upwards, revealing itself to be a huge pillar of metal embedded in the floor. Up above, in the ceiling, a round hole appears. The pillar of steel rises right up to cover the hole. At the base of the pillar a door slides open, revealing a spiral staircase that travels up the interior of the steel edifice. You step in and start to wend your way up.
This is why I didn't ask who would be carrying the green rod, since it'd have been gone pretty son, and I figured as long as we still have slots between the party members it doesn't matter.
You come out at the top of the pillar in a large antechamber with a corridor running off at the far end. Several people seem to be waiting for you here - a couple of men-at-arms, several armed peasants and a merchant or two.
'All foes of our astral masters must perish!' screams one of the merchants. 'Destroy them!'
If you have a Trickster in the party who wishes to try something, turn to 92. If a Warrior wishes to try something, turn to 256. Otherwise, it looks as if you will have to fight these mad disciples of the Magi - turn to 152.
Does either Benedict or Kiki want to find out what he/she can do?