[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 16 - Seas of Blood Redux

[Beroli]

Fixating on the three chalices of City of Thieves and not--say--the three rings of Caverns of the Snow Witch is, as I may have mentioned before, quite arbitrary.

Lighting torches, you and your companions ease your way into the tunnel and edge down through the hill. After a few hundred yards the tunnel ends in another doorway--this one is blocked. Leaning against it to test its strength, you are surprised to have the floor beneath you flip open, dropping you out of sight of your equally surprised companions and into a narrow chute. You tumble down this for a few seconds before dropping into an open space and landing in a subterranean lake. Spluttering to the surface of the water, you look around.

Door with Statue.jpg (136.37 KiB) Viewed 14869 times

You are in a large subterranean cavern, lit by the phosphorescence of the rocks around. To one side, a small wooden landing juts out into the water. Swimming to this, you pull yourself from the water and follow the construction to a short corridor, which leads from the cavern to a massive stone door. Beside the door is a life-sized statue of a gargoyle, looking down the corridor at you.

Try to open the door?
Have a close look at the statue?

Adventure Sheet:
Jack Sinbad
Skill: 12/12
Stamina: 14/14
Luck: 10/10
Crew Strike: 12/12
Crew Strength: 6/10

Gold: 88
Slaves: 3
Log: 11

[deaddmwalking]

Half vote for looking at the statue first.

[Thaluikhain]

Look at statue.

(And, ok, yes, it's arbitrary, and for it to be useful it would have to apply to many examples that could just as well be used, but I could only remember the B chalice thing)

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to have a close look at the statue.

[Beroli]

The gargoyle is set about a foot above the ground, on a small circular dais. Looking closer, you see that the dais has rollers built under it, so the statue has been built to be moved. There are wear-marks from the rollers on the left side of the statue but none on the right. Taking a firm grip of the gargoyle's shoulders, you prepare to push.

Try to push the statue left?
Try to push the statue right?

Adventure Sheet:
Jack Sinbad
Skill: 12/12
Stamina: 14/14
Luck: 10/10
Crew Strike: 12/12
Crew Strength: 6/10

Gold: 88
Slaves: 3
Log: 11

[Thaluikhain]

Push left.

[deaddmwalking]

Yeah. The worn side should be the correct side. If it wasn't there should be a lot of dead would-be-thieves. Left.

[JourneymanN00b]

I actually think the worn left side means that either the thieves have already taken everything that could be gained by pushing it left or have fallen into another trapdoor to their deaths. I vote to push it to the right and embrace the temptation of fascism, since it seems to be all the rage nowadays.

[Dogopolis]

Move it the way that most people don't: right.

[deaddmwalking]

Wow, a tie. Both sides with 2 votes.

To avoid it, I'm willing to shift my vote to right. If JourneymanN00b wants to go right it's either the right choice or we'll learn quickly why you always have to say no to even a little shift.

[Beroli]

As far as that goes, your character is evil...

The statue rolls easily to the side, causing some ancient mechanism to grind into life, which opens the massive stone door with a hollow boom. You go through it.

Through the door is a long narrow hall, whose walls on either side are regularly punctuated with alcoves. The floor is strewn with a large number of grey ovoid stones, each about two feet in diameter. At the far end of the chamber is another massive door.

Look in one of the alcoves?
Take a closer look at the stones?
Bypass both and go to the door?

Adventure Sheet:
Jack Sinbad
Skill: 12/12
Stamina: 14/14
Luck: 10/10
Crew Strike: 12/12
Crew Strength: 6/10

Gold: 88
Slaves: 3
Log: 11

[JourneymanN00b]

Because the Alien series taught me not to trust ovoid shapes, and because the numerous alcoves might signify traps, I vote to bypass both and go to the door.

[deaddmwalking]

I'll buy that. Run right through the traps and go directly to the door.

[Thaluikhain]

Hmmm, I guess going straight to the door might be right in this case.

[Beroli]

The door is a massive stone affair with an ornately carved block set in its exact centre. Under this block is an inscription in a language which is so archaic that you have difficulty deciphering it. What you think it says is this: 'To greet Ut-Napishtim you must (will?) push (pull?) the handle into (out of?) the door.'

Push the carved block into the door?
Pull the carved block out of the door?

Adventure Sheet:
Jack Sinbad
Skill: 12/12
Stamina: 14/14
Luck: 10/10
Crew Strike: 12/12
Crew Strength: 6/10

Gold: 88
Slaves: 3
Log: 11

[deaddmwalking]

Pushing is more penetrative. Half vote for that.

[Thaluikhain]

In lieu of any other reasoning, may as well.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to pull the carved block out of the door. In many games I played, the player is not good at a language, I find that the initial translation is usually bad.

[Beroli]

Pushing the block into the door wins 1.5 to 1.

As soon as you start to push, the block explodes with a shattering roar. You take (2d6) 10 damage.

Slowly, the door opens into a large crypt, occupied by a single massive sarcophagus. All around the edge of the lid is an inscription, repeated over and over, which reads:

UT-NAPISHTIM KEEPER OF THE WATERS OF
RETRIBUTION

Open the sarcophagus?
Leave it?

Adventure Sheet:
Jack Sinbad
Skill: 12/12
Stamina: 4/14
Luck: 10/10
Crew Strike: 12/12
Crew Strength: 6/10

Gold: 88
Slaves: 3
Log: 11

[deaddmwalking]

Half vote for opening

[Thaluikhain]

Opening is more interesting than not.

[JourneymanN00b]

I also vote to open the sarcophagus.

[Beroli]

With great difficulty, you manage to slide the lid from its place and on to the floor, where it lands with a resounding crash, which echoes through the crypt and out into the caverns beyond. The sarcophagus is empty except for a stout-looking helmet and a bag containing, at a quick count, 110 Gold Pieces. You put the helmet on and sling the bag over your shoulder.

Above the sarcophagus, in the ceiling, is a large stone ring surrounded by a circular inscription, written in the same archaic language as that on the door into the crypt. It says: Push (pull?) this key to a better (worse?) life (death?), or suffer Ut-Napishtim's trial.' Standing on the sarcophagus, you take hold of the ring.

Push it up?
Pull it down?

Adventure Sheet:
Jack Sinbad
Skill: 12/12
Stamina: 4/14
Luck: 10/10
Crew Strike: 12/12
Crew Strength: 6/10
You are wearing a helmet.
Gold: 198
Slaves: 3
Log: 11

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to pull it down, as following the player’s translation obviously didn’t work so well.

[deaddmwalking]

Yeah, hoping that the translation errors work in the same direction. Pull.