[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 59 - Curse of the Mummy

[pragma]

And maybe eat a meal? Don't want to get caught low on stamina.

[Queen of Swords]

That's a good idea, though there may not be any more chances to replenish our Provisions.

[SGamerz]

though there may not be any more chances to replenish our Provisions.

Oops, now I remember that I'd forgotten to add the 4 meals we looted from the larder.

Boris now eats one of them to restore his STAMINA to 14. We still have 8 meals after that.

Pushing with all your strength against its lid, you open the sarcophagus - only to discover that Akharis's mummified body is not here! However, his guardian spirit or 'Ka' is. Like a glittering silhouette of a man, with no distinct features, the Ka sits up in the otherwise empty stone coffin and reaches for you, determined to acquire your life-force for Akharis.

KA SKILL 8 STAMINA 7

Despite its insubstantial form, the Ka can still be injured by your weapon. If you defeat the guardian spirit, tum to 252.

COMBAT LOG:
Ka 16, Boris O’Connell 18. Ka is at 5.
Ka 16, BOC 24. Ka is at 3.
Ka 15, BOC 18. Ka is at 1.
Ka 12, BOC 17. Ka is defeated.

Lying at the bottom of the sarcophagus, among a few scraps of stained, torn bandages, is an amulet in the form of a stylized eye (you may take it if you wish). So where can Akharis's body be? The Cult of the Cobra must have moved it from the tomb and taken it elsewhere. Having braved the tomb's dark depths, you are overwhelmed with dejection, fearing that your perilous journey may have been a complete waste of time! You are roused from your state of self-pity by a rushing sound. Looking up, you see in horror that the burial chamber is filling with sand which is pouring
down from holes in the ceiling. The door slams shut and there is no handle on the inside! The last trap has been sprung and, if you cannot find a way out soon, you are going to be buried alive. Test your Skill. If you succeed, turn to 109. If you fail, tum to 42.

Our maxed out SKILL prevents us from any chance of failure.

(And please state whether you wish to pick up the Eye Amulet.)

You notice a crack at the base of the sarcophagus and marks on the floor as if something heavy has been pushed across it. Desperately, you push against the immense stone coffin in the hope of revealing an escape route. Roll three dice. If the total rolled is less than or equal to your
STAMINA score, turn to 290. If it is greater, turn to 171.

Dice roll = 14 (narrow pass!)

With every muscle aching under the strain, you heave against the granite block of the sarcophagus - and it gives! A dark hole appears below the coffin and soon you have opened a gap big enough to squeeze through. You find yourself at the top of a flight of steps which disappear into the darkness below. You run down it as the sand starts to pour into the secret funnel, and find yourself standing at the edge of a subterranean lake in a huge natural cavern. Phosphorescent moss is growing on its walls and stalactites hang down from the ceiling, many metres above you. Far off in the distance you can see a great wall, on the other side of which you can just make out the tops of ancient Diaratian buildings. Moored at the edge of the lake is a long, narrow boat. This is Akharis's funerary barque and your means of crossing the Sacred Lake. Unmooring the barque, you climb aboard and, taking an oar in your hands, guide the boat over the still waters. On the other side of the lake, you step out by a great gate, set into the wall above a flight of steps. The gate creaks open and you enter the grand entrance hall beyond. Torches round its walls immediately flare into life and you step back in surprise. Sitting in the centre of the hall is a gigantic creature with the body of a lioness but the head of a woman. Surely this is the legendary Sphinx! In a growling voice the Sphinx addresses you in ancient Djaratian. If you can understand it, you know what to do. If you don't turn to 262.

'Mortal,' the Sphinx growls, 'all who would enter the Necropolis must first be judged worthy; therefore you must answer my three riddles correctly. If you should lie or prove ignorant, your punishment will indeed be terrible. But first, tell me, why do you seek to enter the City of the Dead?' In reply, will you tell the Sphinx all about your quest to stop Akharis, or will you simply say that you are an adventurer exploring the ruins of the lost civilization?

Of course, this book being influenced by ancient Egyptian and mythology, there has to be a riddling Sphinx.

What do we tell her?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Boris O’Connell
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 14/18
LUCK 12/12
Poison: 4/18
Equipment: Sword, backpack, Rope and Grapple, Firepowder (can be thrown at opponent at start of combat, hit after successful Skill test for 1D6 damage), Lantern + Skin of Oil (default light source), Oil of Lotus, Crystal Pyramid, Papyrus Scroll (subtract 20 from section number to translate hieroglyphic script), Statuette of Assamarra, God of the Sand, Ankh (Key of Life, set with 12 precious stones), Jet Cat, Earthenware jar (x4), Gold statue of Cracca, Lord of Rivers and Ferryman of the Gods, Dajaratian Book of the Dead, Falcon Breastplate (60 feathers), Golden Key ('34' inscribed on it), Malachite Amulet
Provisions: 8
Gold: 3
Extra Lives remaining: 1
Notes: We received Cranno's Warning. "And all those who would despoil the shrine of Cracca, Lord of Rivers and Ferryman of the Gods, beware the wrath of the crocodile-headed one." We gained the Wisdom of Khunam (understanding of ancient Djaratian speech - add 30 to section number when spoken to in that language). Dajaratian dead making their journey through the underworld must face thirteen hazards.
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

That was an intense sequence. Good thing pragma suggested eating a meal. Oh, and take the Eye Amulet.

The Sphinx has warned us about lying, so I think we should admit we're here to stop Akharis.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to get the Eye Amulet, eat another Provision in case Boris O'Connell is subject to another Stamina test, and tell the Sphinx all about his quest to stop Akharis.

[Thaluikhain]

Take the eye, and tell the truth (and good thing we passed what seem to be insta-kill tests)

[SGamerz]

"Very well," the Sphinx intones. "Here is your first question. Who designed and built the tomb of the evil one whom you seek?" If you know the name that is the answer to the Sphinx's question, convert it into a number using the code A = 1,B = 2, C = 3 and so on; then tum to the paragraph with the same number. If you do not know the name, turn to 262.

We met the guy earlier and had a nice talk with him. His name is Rhehotep.

"Your second question. In reaching the Necropolis you have ferried yourself across the Sacred Lake. But tell me this: who is the Ferryman of the Gods and Lord of Rivers?" Convert the name of the deity that is the answer into numbers, using the code A = 1, B = 2, C = 3...Z = 26. Add the numbers together then turn to the paragraph with the same number as the total you have calculated. If you get it wrong, or if you do not know the answer, turn to 262.

We not only learnt his name, we even fought the guy. So yeah, the fight against the Gold Sentinel can actually become a necessary fight if we missed the translated warning about Cracca earlier, because that's the only other way we can learn that name. Of course, since we did find the translated text, the optimal choice for us would have been to heed the warning and avoid it. So it's basically like between an "easy" or an alternative "hard" way to solve the puzzle. Either way though, we have the answer to the second question:

"And now my final question," says the Sphinx. "How many hazards must a dead person face on his or her journey through the underworld?" If you know the answer, turn to the paragraph with the same number. If you do not, you say just anything; turn to 61.

And we learnt the answer to this one from picking up the Book of the Dead, which is 13 hazards:

"I judge you worthy to enter the City of the Dead," the Sphinx says. "The Cult of the Cobra have taken Akharis's mummified body to the Temple of Sithera on the far side of the Necropolis, where they intend to raise him to life once more. Now go on your way." Without hesitation, you leave the entrance hall through a second set of double doors.

You find yourself standing at a vantage point overlooking the vast Necropolis. As far as your eye can see are the stone tombs of Djaratian rulers and nobles, as well as shrines to their beast-headed gods, eldritch fires burning round the city making it all visible. The ruined Necropolis is obviously in use again. To your left lie several low stone buildings that do not appear to be tombs; to the right, in the distance, you can see what appears to be a collection of simple dwellings, possibly the ruined remains of a village. However, the edifice that dominates the complex is a great black pyramid towering over the Necropolis; a voice inside your head tells you that this is the Temple of Sithera. What will you do now?

Explore the low stone buildings?
Investigate the ruined village?
Make straight for the Temple of Sithera?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Boris O’Connell
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 14/18
LUCK 12/12
Poison: 4/18
Equipment: Sword, backpack, Rope and Grapple, Firepowder (can be thrown at opponent at start of combat, hit after successful Skill test for 1D6 damage), Lantern + Skin of Oil (default light source), Oil of Lotus, Crystal Pyramid, Papyrus Scroll (subtract 20 from section number to translate hieroglyphic script), Statuette of Assamarra, God of the Sand, Ankh (Key of Life, set with 12 precious stones), Jet Cat, Earthenware jar (x4), Gold statue of Cracca, Lord of Rivers and Ferryman of the Gods, Dajaratian Book of the Dead, Falcon Breastplate (60 feathers), Golden Key ('34' inscribed on it), Malachite Amulet, Eye Amulet
Provisions: 8
Gold: 3
Extra Lives remaining: 1
Notes: We received Cranno's Warning. "And all those who would despoil the shrine of Cracca, Lord of Rivers and Ferryman of the Gods, beware the wrath of the crocodile-headed one." We gained the Wisdom of Khunam (understanding of ancient Djaratian speech - add 30 to section number when spoken to in that language). Dajaratian dead making their journey through the underworld must face thirteen hazards.
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

We're getting there!

Explore the low stone buildings first.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go to Temple of Sithera straight away, since time seems to be the essence here.

[Thaluikhain]

I vote to go to the low stone buildings first, getting the optional stuff done before the endgame.

[SGamerz]

(The picture of the Sphinx has been inserted in the earlier post.)

An eerie silence pervades this area of the city. Inside the buildings you find rooms containing stone tables and benches covered with rusty tools and broken clay pots. In the heart of the complex you enter one room that has been used recently: scraps of linen lie, discarded, on the floor and a dark fluid has stained the crumbling slab. It is then you realize the purpose of these rooms: these are the embalming chambers to which the bodies of the dead were brought to be preserved. You are especially interested in two jars, half-full of strange liquids. One is sweet-smelling, while the other stinks foully and is syrupy. Do you want to:

Drink some of the sweet-smelling liquid?
Drink some of the reeking syrup?
Rub some of the syrup on your skin?
Leave the embalming chamber?

[Darth Rabbitt]

Don’t drink any embalming fluids, though rubbing some on our skin might be useful in the land of the dead. Rub it in our skin, I guess.

[Queen of Swords]

I'd rather not risk touching the foul-smelling liquid. Let's try drinking some of the sweet stuff.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to leave the embalming chamber, as I feel that both of these jars are traps.

[Thaluikhain]

Leave well alone.

[SGamerz]

Where will you go now: towards the Temple of Sithera or to the village?

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go to the Temple of Sithera.

[Thaluikhain]

I vote the village.

[Queen of Swords]

I agree, let's check out the village.

[SGamerz]

At present you are wandering through the deserted streets of a Djaratian workmen's village where the people who laboured to build the Necropolis once lived. Their basic dwellings are in ruins now and there is nothing of use to you here. However, as you are returning to the central avenue through the City of the Dead you come upon a craftsman's workshop, still almost intact. Looking inside, you notice an iron ring attached to a flagstone in the middle of the room. If you want to try to lift the flagstone, tum to 67. Altematively, you can leave the workmen's village and explore the low stone buildings, if you haven't already done so, or make for the Temple of Sithera.

[Thaluikhain]

Lift flagstone, or at least try.

[JourneymanN00b]

Sure, let's lift the flagstone.

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, lift the flagstone.

[SGamerz]

You raise the stone easily. Beneath it you find a shallow storage pit. In this are some decayed provisions and a peculiar, wand-like object, made of iron, that has remained untarnished in this dry atmosphere; its end is fashioned in the shape of a clawed hand. If you want to take the iron wand, add it to your Adventure Sheet.Whether you do or not, you will now have to leave the village. Where will you make for now: the Temple of Sithera or the low stone buildings, if you haven't been there already?

Please decide if you want to take the wand.

Boris has already been to the stone buildings, so he now heads for the Temple.

Making your way along the processional avenue of the Necropolis, you see the black pyramid looming up in front of you. However, before you reach the temple, you pass through other areas of the city that may be of interest. To your left, extending towards the distant edge of the cavern are the tombs of Djaratians, while to the right are shrines to their gods. Do you want to proceed by making for:

The tombs?
The shrines?
The Temple of Sithera?

[Thaluikhain]

Take wand and visit shrines.