Let's Play - The Eye of the Dragon (Golden Dragon Fantasy Gamebooks 4)

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to open the snuff box.

[Beroli]

Take the golden apple, which we know is an item checked for at Master Giru. Then open the snuff box afterward if we have the chance.

[Thaluikhain]

Open the snuff box, take the other things.

[deaddmwalking]

You automatically take everything - you just have the option to use/consume things immediately if you like.

234

When the lid of the snuff box is opened, a loud screech comes from inside. You almost drop the box in shock. Since the deafening shriek shows no signs of abating, you snap the lid shut. The noise stops immediately. You may now eat the pomegranate (turn to 13) or the golden apple (turn to 253), or you may leave the cellar (turn to 82).

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to leave the cellar.

[Beroli]

Leave the cellar.

[deaddmwalking]

82

Ascending the cellar steps, you observe that your robes are stained a deep blue where they trailed in the water. You quickly guess that the Kraken must have discharged ink into the water during the closing stages of your fight. You have known octopuses to resort to this ploy when imperilled. You may collect some of the ink if you wish, but to do this you must empty out whatever was previously in the bottle or flask you use to hold the ink. You might use your water-flask, for example, and in this case you would note down on your Character Sheet that the flask now contained Kraken ink instead of fresh water. Whether or not you collect up any of the ink, you now leave the cellar. Turn to 107.

************
Please decide whether you would like to take the ink, or not. If you choose to take the ink you may replace either your fresh water or your vinegar.
*************

107

299

As you cross the lawn, you have a sudden feeling that something is amiss. Thoughts racing, you look around you. The pedestal by the door is empty — the statue has moved! A shouted warning from the mansion comes just in time; you throw yourself flat on the grass as a huge bronze fist cleaves the air just above your head. You look up to see the statue towering over you, grim and black against the cloudy sky. It raises a heavy armoured foot to crush you. You will die if you do not roll aside in time — but you find you cannot move. Fear has drained your strength from you.

A bellowing white-maned warrior charges from the darkened portico and swings his sword against the statue’s metal spine. It turns ponderously to deal with this distraction — a distraction which buys you the seconds you need to recover and leap to your feet. The white-haired adventurer is battering furiously at the statue, though each blow shatters slivers from his sword and does no harm at all to his opponent. He is mad with battle-lust. You damned devil!’ he roars. ‘I'll not stand idly by and watch you take another life!’ Even when the statue lifts its massive fists, he does not flinch. He is utterly transformed now — you no longer recognize him as the cringing figure you scorned. As the death blow descends, his expression is one of defiant rage.

The statue lumbers around to face you once more. It's hands are wet with blood and brains. You have seen the futility of swords against this foe - will you run from it (turn to 223) or, if you still have the spell, will you cast Burning Tiger (turn to 140)?

****************
Alcina knows that trying to run leads inevitably to her death. She chose not to get the shield to save the spell, so she will cast it now.
****************

140

It is the first time you have even seen the savage tiger of flame reluctant to tackle a foe. Nonetheless, it slinks forward and leaps upon the statue as you command. The fiery claws have some effect on the bronze body of the statue — but not enough, and you quickly see that the tiger is bound to lose this battle. You hurry south along the Avenue of Sphinxes. Turn to 28.


28

You push your way south against a gale that throws sharp needles of icy rain into your face. To either side, a line of carven sphinxes face one another across the avenue. Their marble bodies are palely luminous in the watery moonlight; their chiselled faces seem grim and brooding. The raindrops could almost be tears on those stone cheeks. You begin to imagine what they must have stared down on through the ages — what secrets would pass their lips if they could talk. But you have no time for such idle fancies now. You hurry on without stopping. Turn to 210.

210

You reach the end of the avenue. Wide broken steps descend majestically to a plaza which is almost completely submerged. Shattered columns protrude from the shimmering moonlit surface. From its height on the columns, you judge the water to be no more than waist deep. You are about to go down the steps when a party of Kappa come into view, wading across the plaza. You can hear their voices on the wind, like the notes of a reed flute. Heart pounding, you hurry away from the top of the steps. A hollow wail pierces the night and tells you that you were seen! More patrols will be converging on this area, and you must get off the streets quickly. Not far to your left is the huge gaping archway that gives access to the Arena. It is not an especially inviting prospect, but at least it is preferable to staying in the open to face the spears of a hundred Kappa soldiers. With the rain in your face, you sprint towards the Arena. Turn to 12.

12

The entrance to the Arena is a massive arched tunnel. It is said that competitors in the chariot races could ride in three abreast, and looking at the size of the tunnel you find this easy to believe. You head along it, feeling sheltered by the darkness. Doors on either side lead up to the stands, but you carry straight on to the end and emerge into the Arena. On the far side — almost a hundred metres from where you are standing — is another, identical funnel. Your map suggests you have found an ideal short cut to the Palatine Bridge. You glance around at the monumental sweeping tiers of marble seats, imagining the cheering crowds that once pressed into them. You can almost hear the echo of their surging roar as they thrilled to the Arena’s spectacular displays. Could anything in hose far-off days compare to the adventure in which you are now embroiled? You shrug. They are all dust on the wind now, those teeming multitudes of ancient Thalios. Not even theirghosts remain. The only symbol of that lost glory is a giant winged statue on a soaring pedestal above the Judicial Box.

No Kappa are in sight. You slip from the shadows and dash across the floor of the Arena. Turn to 2.

2

Do you have a small ivory Arena ticket? If so, turn to 178. If you are not a ticket holder, turn to 203.

********************
Lots of forced choices here, but this time Alcina has the ivory arena ticket.
*********************

178
Despite a sense of unease, as though you are being watched, you cross the Arena safely and walk along the other tunnel. Outside, the streets are deserted. The Kappa patrols must all be looking for you around the Avenue of Sphinxes. Turn to 240.

240

240

You glance again at your map. You have only to go along a narrow cobbled passage between two buildings and you should be at the Palatine Bridge. The passage is roofed over, but the cold wind that howls through it means that there is little shelter here from the insistent drizzle. The passage is draped in a sepulchral gloom, and echoes eerily to the sound of your boots on the damp cobblestones. You are drawing close to the end when a tall figure drifts into view in front of you. She wears extravagant robes of grey and blue; billowed up by the wind, the folds of her dark mantle almost brush your face. Her expression and bearing are serene, yet somehow terrible. You sense no human soul in her, and your hand goes automatically to your sword.

‘Well, little mortal,’ she says, her voice like a javelin of ice. ‘Where are you going in such a hurry? To stop the coral men from finding what they seek? You alone, against their legions?’ Her pitiless laughter rings out along the passage.

You draw the sword. Moonlight sends a shiver of ebon light along its blade. ‘Madam, my mission is important and I must not be delayed. Please stand aside.’ You try to sound stern and implacable, but the effect is spoiled somewhat by a nervous quaver in your voice.

‘Your mission is futile. Embrace despair. Learn to love her!’ As you raise your sword defiantly, she begins a strange lilting chant. You know who she is now — Ligea, demi-goddess of despair! Her mournful song drives all hope from your heart. With each sad note that escapes from her lips, you become more convinced that your quest is futile. Your sword clatters on the ground and you slump beside it. You must do something, while you still have the will to act. Will you:

Open a mother-of-pearl snuffbox? Turn to 254
Cast a Mind Shield spell? Turn to 279
Eat a pomegranate? Turn to 13

If you have none of these, you give in completely to Ligea's insidious song and lie here until you rot....

*********************
Last time Alcina had only the Mind Shield spell, however this time she has used it already. She has both the snuffbox and the pomegranate. It may be worth noting that the page number you turned to when opening the snuffbox previously was 234, so this would lead to the story advancing in a different direction. When you were given the option to eat a pomegranate before you were also advised to turn to page 13; thus whatever happens here is likely to be exactly what would have happened in the mansion for good or for ill.
********************

Character Sheet
Character's Name: Alcina Kakarot
Vigour: 28
PSI: 8
AGILITY: 8
Items:
-Orb of Illumination
-Sword
-10 Gold Pieces
-Hipflask of Freshwater
-Pegleg
-Bottle of Vinegar
-Ivory Plaque
-Silken Fabric
-Golden Apple
-Pomegranate
-Snuff Box
-Shield (deflects a hit on a roll of 6)
Spells::
1)Burning Tiger
2) Befuddle
3) Gust of Wind
4) ESP
5) Mind Shield
6) Mirage
7) The Deadly Swarm
8) Seance
9) Dagger of the Mind
10) Invulnerability
11) Dodge
12) Healing

[Beroli]

Replace the vinegar with ink.

Then, open the snuffbox, as loud noise is exactly what we need.

[JourneymanN00b]

I agree with Beroli's vote.

[deaddmwalking]

254

A deafening screech is emitted from the box the moment you lift the lid. The noise is so loud that it completely drowns out Ligea’s disheartening chant. You retrieve your sword and march past her. She says something to you as she fades back to her own dismal world, but you cannot hear her over the box’s noise. When you are sure she has gone, you snap it shut. Turn to 284.

284

The Palantine Bridge, which once spanned one of the magnificent canals of ancient Thalios, is now a ruined structure of weathered marble. It is the only link between the city and the Consul’s Palace, from where Thalios was ruled in ages past. You gaze out towards the Palace. Giru is there; you can feel it. Picking your way carefully around the yawning cracks in the stonework, you begin to cross the bridge.

There is a blur of motion ahead. Something flashes in the moonlight. Your instinct takes over and you hurl yourself to one side. Your lightning reactions save you from certain death, but the hurtling spear still catches you a glancing blow across the shoulder. Lose 3 VIGOUR points. If you are still alive, you prepare to battle two Kappa that are rushing towards you. Hard on their coral heels come three Sentinel Crabs, scuttling along eagerly to assist their unhuman masters at the kill. You seem to be badly outnumbered. Will you cast a spell to even the odds (turn to 33), or trust to your warrior skills (turn to 309)?

If Alcina wanted to cast a spell, she would have a choice of The Burning Tiger or The Deadly swarm. Since both spells have been cast she would be redirected back to 309 to trust her warrior skills.

I'm using the same rolls from before; Alcina ends the combat with 12 Vigour.

44

You have dealt with their sadistic masters, but you still have the Sentinel Crabs to contend with. Their eyes wave eerily on stalks as they watch you clacking their giant pincers together impatiently. As they cluster in towards you, you step back and then suddenly run towards them, leaping so that you land on the back of the nearest one. The other two sweep their claws at your ankles — but the Crab on which you are standing, already confused by the weight on its back, assumes they are attacking; it! Enraged, it turns on the other two. You make an easy escape, chuckling to yourself at the thought how simple it was to confound the stupid creature once their Kappa handlers were out of the way. You reach the end of the bridge. Turn to 128.

128

Silent and stealthy, you creep along the outer wall of the Palace and into the courtyard. The ancient buildings tower up on all sides. An ornamental fountain, choked with moss and rainwater, stands in the centre of the courtyard. The statue above it has crumbled away, though some of the long-dead sculptor’s genius is still there to be glimpsed in the weathered lines. Wary in case there are Kappa soldiers about, you move out of sight into the deep shadows opposite the gate. You literally stumble upon a broken skeleton half-buried in the wet gravel. A few fragments of rusted armour still enclose it like tenacious, grasping fingers. An adventurer who came here before you. Perhaps decades before.

You must find Master Giru, and you sense he is somewhere in the Palace. To explore it, you will need your Orb of Illumination. If you still have this item, turn to 62. If you have lost it, turn to 114.

Alcina still has the orb.

62

The task of searching for Giru through the labyrinth of halls and corridors within the Palace will not be easy. Like all the nobles of your race, you have a limited sixth sense. This may guide you, but it is neither precise nor reliable. Now is the time to use your Séance spell, if you still have it. Whose ghost will you summon:

One of the warriors who met you at the gates of the city? Turn to 264
The man whose mortal remains lie at your feet? Turn to 89

If you have already cast the spell, turn to 242.

Alcina knows that summoning the adventurer can result in instant death and the warrior at the gate will tell her to go to the west tower. Since it does not permit you not to cast the spell if you have it, she will summon the warrior.

264

The moonbeams seem to cluster and coagulate into the shimmering form of one of the warriors. It is the Sergeant’s ghost. It drifts slowly towards you. Suffering shows in its sad eyes, its drawn face. It tears at its clothes and hair, and speaks to you imploringly: ‘Send me back. I cannot bear to live again .

‘Answer one question and I shall release you. Where in the Palace is Master Giru’s camp?’

‘Giru .. .’ answers the ghost as though struggling to recapture a dim memory. ‘He was my master. We hid from the Kappa in a room in the west tower. The door had a colour, but I can no longer remember colours. . .’

‘Give me more precise directions!’ you demand, but the ghost is already fading from view. Obviously it was unacquainted with the etiquette of Séance. With nothing else to go on, you enter the Palace’s west tower. Turn to 168.

168

Your fruitless search takes you through scores of forlorn empty rooms and twisting corridors. Finding a grand staircase, you ascend to the upper apartments of the west tower. A startling sight awaits you — a disembodied yellow hand which is floating towards you through the air! When it sees (?) you, it splays its fingers in mimed surprise and then begins to drift away along the passage, beckoning you to follow. It leads you through a series of echoing corridors and hallways and up several flights of stairs before finally coming to a halt in front of a sturdy bronze door. An impatient jerk of its thumb indicates that it wants you to go through. If you wish to open the door, turn to 228. If you would rather use an ESP spell first to find out what is on the other side, turn to 194.

228

The door opens and, with an elegant gesture, the hand motions you to step inside. You enter a room lit by a single lantern. Two guards wearing the livery of the Academy flank the door. They turn to face you, hands flying to their swords, but the third man in the room waves them away. He is in his sixties and wears the austere robes of the Academy. He has a heavy build that suggests he may have been a fighter in his youth, but he has the kindly eyes of a scholar. It can be none other than Master Giru.

The hand smugly points you out to Giru, then flits over to him and shrinks until it is small enough to enter a ring on his finger. He snaps the clasp of the ring shut to seal it in. ‘Welcome!’ says Giru, taking you by the hand. ‘We feared the Kappa had got you.” He sees you staring at his ring. ‘Ah, you are bewildered by the scout I sent looking for you. That was Sinistrum. He’s a genie — or rather, the last bit of one. The rest of him was destroyed in a magical duel six centuries ago, but I found the hand in a jar I dug up on one of my archaeological expeditions. He is a good servant for simple tasks, though he will spitefully misinterpret any complex or important command. Still, come and sit down. You look as though you've been through hell to get here!’


Master Giru, I presume.

You gratefully take a swig from the brandy flask he pushes into your hand. ‘Did you meet up with the four men I sent to bring you here?’ he continues. The look in your eyes gives him his answer, and he hangs his head sadly. The guards’ faces are dark and grim.

‘Tomorrow there will be time for mourning,’ you tell them. ‘Our immediate priority is to escape from the ruins with the Eye.’

Giru surprises you by telling you that he does not have the Eye here. ‘It is still in its casket atop the Vault of Heroes, on a promontory to the west. I considered it dangerous to move even the unopened casket before you got here.’

You jump to your feet. ‘What are we sitting around here for, then?’ you cry. ‘We must get to the Eye quickly, before the Kappa find it.’

Giru shakes his head and waves you back to your chair. ‘Too late for that, I’m afraid. They found it hours ago, when they first came out of the ocean and surprised us. Still, that isn’t as bad as it sounds. The last thing I did was to activate a force field device that I'd already set up around the Eye as a safety measure. That force field will prevent the Kappa from reaching the Eye, and the device is not set to turn itself off until several hours after sunrise. We may as well get some sleep now. The Kappa are accustomed to a dim, watery light, so dawn will give us at least one advantage over them.’

You are forced to admit that Giru’s suggestions make sense. The four of you settle down as comfortably as you can in the spartan room. You find, however, that sleep does not come easily. Your mind is awhirl with thoughts of the coming day.
You may be facing the greatest battle of your life — and, as yet, you have no inkling of how you are going to win it. You yawn, feeling all the fatigue of the last few hours. Turn to 277.



277

‘It is time to leave,’ says Master Giru, waking you. You have been asleep for several hours and a wan, grey predawn light now filters into the room. “We have a problem,’ he continues. ‘The promontory on which the Vault of Heroes stands is completely . cordoned off by a force of at least fifty Kappa. I have just been up to the roof of the tower and seen them for myself. The only way we could reach the Eye would be to fly across.’

You explain that none of your spells gives the power of flight, but you may have an item that will help. You lay out all the items you have collected in the course of your adventure and go over them one by one with the knowledgeable old scholar. Do you have a ship in a bottle and a sheet of strange fabric? If so turn to 198. If you do not have both of these items, turn to 35.

35

Do you, in that case, have a golden apple? If so, turn to 68. If not, turn to 55.

68

‘Why, this is a Proteus fruit!’ exclaims Giru. Noticing your blank look, he continues: ‘Such fruits transform those who eat them for a short time. I believe the golden variety is exactly what we need.’

You quickly gather up your other items and then the four of you go up to the tower roof. Night is a blue-grey shadow retreating westwards, leaving the eastern sky a pale gold. The tide has gone out from the bay below, leaving a marshy tract of kelp and wet sand. Further west, you can see the promontory where the Vault of Heroes stands. The Vault is a colossal pyramid of ochre stone. Kappa swarm around its base like ants.

Giru hands you the apple and you bite into it. The magic takes effect at once. You begin to shrink. You can feel your bones twisting into new shapes, your muscles shifting under your skin, and feathers sprouting all over your body. There is a look of utter amazement in the faces of the two guards as they watch you change into a proud golden eagle. With a defiant screech, you launch yourself out on the winds and fly towards the Vault of Heroes.

Dawn breaks, and shafts of coral light glint on the spears of the Kappa soldiers. They see you approaching the Vault. A wave of confusion passes through the massed throng. On the flat summit of the pyramid stand three Kappa warriors and — taller than the others, and of a chalky blue colouring rather than the dull red of his fellows — the Kappa leader himself. He is holding his intricate hands above Giru’s force field, pouring his mystical energy into it in an attempt to break through to the Eye of the Dragon. And he is succeeding the force field is starting to shimmer and fade! There is no time to lose. You swoop down on to the summit of the Vault and resume your human form. The three warriors step forward to prevent you from reaching their leader. They attack you one at a time:

KAPPA WARRIORS VIGOUR 15 each
Roll two dice:
score2to6 Youare hit; lose 3 VIGOUR
score 7to12 The Kappa Warrior you are
fighting loses 3 VIGOUR
You must fight and defeat each of them in turn. If you succeed in killing all three, turn to 34.

I am crunched for time, so I'm just going to assume Alcina wins this fight...

34
As you approach the Kappa leader, the force field finally collapses under his magical onslaught. It fades to reveal a small casket on a carved ivory pedestal. The effort of banishing Giru’s force field has visibly weakened the Kappa leader. As he sways unsteadily, you leap forward and shoulder him aside. He falls, but as you reach for the casket he catches hold of your robe and pulls you back towards him. His huge pearl eyes seem to glow for an instant, and then a terrible pain stabs through your head. You cover your ears, but you cannot block out the agonizing psionic attack. In a matter of moments he will have enslaved you with his hypnosis. If you have a bottle of vinegar, turn to 289. If you would rather rely on your Mind Shield spell, turn to 78. If you have neither of these, turn to 263.

Alcina replaced the Vinegar with Ink and cast her Mindshield spell.

263

Only your years of training in the ways of wizardry might save you now. The Kappa leader’s hypnosis is a particularly potent form of psychic attack, and _you must resist it as you would a hostile spell. Roll two dice. If the total is greater than your current PSI score, turn to 212. If the dice roll is equal to or less than your PSI, turn to 237.

Alcina rolls a 3.


237

You summon up all your reserves of willpower and manage to shrug off the hypnotic thrall into which you were being drawn. The Kappa leader seems amazed at your ability to resist his psionic power. You take advantage of his surprise to pull free of his grip. Turn to 154.

154

You reach out for the casket. It is of a dark burnished metal that gleams fierily in the dawn light. The hasp is incised with a runic symbol. As soon as you touch this, the lid flies open and your face is bathed in the golden-green light of the huge gemstone within. It is smooth and clear, as green as the sea. The Eye of the Dragon.

You are holding your breath as your hand closes around it. Immediately you sense dozens of psychic frequencies radiating from it, entering your mind. All but one of the frequencies are magical traps — they will soon scramble your brain if you do not filter them out. The last frequency is the correct one — the frequency to which you must attune your mind in order to control the Eye.

Within seconds you have analysed the frequencies and filtered out all but three. One of these three will enable you to harness the power of the Eye, while the other two will destroy you if you try to tune in to them. Only a skilled sorcerer could have narrowed the field this much; only a master sorcerer could make the final, fateful decision.

Which will you choose:

The highest frequency? Turn to 248
The intermediate frequency? Turn to 86
The lowest frequency? Turn to 175

Character Sheet
Character's Name: Alcina Kakarot
Vigour: 28 12
PSI: 8
AGILITY: 8
Items:
-Orb of Illumination
-Sword
-10 Gold Pieces
-Hipflask of Freshwater
-Pegleg
-Bottle of Vinegar Ink
-Ivory Plaque
-Silken Fabric
-Golden Apple
-Pomegranate
-Snuff Box
-Shield (deflects a hit on a roll of 6)
Spells::
1)Burning Tiger
2) Befuddle
3) Gust of Wind
4) ESP
5) Mind Shield
6) Mirage
7) The Deadly Swarm
8) Seance
9) Dagger of the Mind
10) Invulnerability
11) Dodge
12) Healing

[Thaluikhain]

Is this a totally blind choice?

Anyway, intermediate.

[JourneymanN00b]

Sure, I vote intermediate, in the hope that rejecting extremism pays off.

[Beroli]

Hm. Try the lowest frequency.

[deaddmwalking]

I do not think there is any way to know the right frequency, so yes, this appears to be a blind choice.

86

You begin to attune your mystic senses to the frequency you have chosen but, instead of gaining control of the Eye, you discover that it is beginning to drain the power out of you! Your lips shape a scream, but no sound emerges. You are helpless — the Eye is draining your very essence to add to its own power. You can only return the shocked stare of the Kappa leader as you gradually fade out of existence and merge with the green glow of the Eye. You dared to tamper with forces you did not fully understand, and you have paid the ultimate price.

Sorry fellas.

There is a way for you to go from the mansion to the Amber Pantechnicon allowing you to get the ship and the sail. I was convinced that the book had made a mistake and made that impossible - it took a lot of looking to find it. Which means that despite having a way to the end, you haven't found the OPTIMAL PATH.

You could follow the exact same path and eventually make the 'right guess', or you could try to find the right combination that lets you leave the mansion with better options. Or, having seen the bulk of the adventure, we could call it 'done'. I'm game for whatever.

[Beroli]

Does it actually leave us with significantly better options? That is, do we still wind up at the "blindly guess a frequency" choice?

If so, I think this is close enough to the optimal path that I'd rather say we choose the right frequency than either go back and try to get the ship, or give up here.

(If we can avoid this blind choice with the ship, let's go back to where we got the sail.)

[deaddmwalking]

No matter what, it appears to be a blind choice.

Going to both the mansion and the Amber Pantechnicon allows you to potentially acquire the shield and the items that Lord Mantis carries, but they're not really necessary to getting to the end. Sometimes when you play a videogame, it's fun to get everything, so in the completist sense, figuring out how to make that work is quite the puzzle, and there's something to be said for solving it. Still, I think it's a strange choice that you can get what you need from the mansion to get to the end, but can't do the same from the Amber Pantechnicon. I would expect that you either MUST visit both or either one would offer a path to the end.

[Beroli]

Then my vote is to try different frequencies at the end.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, let's try different frequencies.

[deaddmwalking]

Since you voted for lowest frequency we'll see what would have happened if you had tried that instead!

175

You attune your mystic senses to the frequency you have chosen. Power flows from the Eye and courses through your body. An eerily shrieking horde of Kappa soldiers is clambering up the steps of the pyramid towards you. You watch them coolly for a moment, then slowly raise the Eye. Suddenly, a spray of searing gold-white beams flash from the sparkling gem. The Kappa halt, aghast — every one of their swords and spears has been vaporized in that single instant.

The Kappa leader lurches to his feet. You know that he has abandoned any thought of attacking you. The Eye of the Dragon lets you see right into his mind, and you read only awe and fear there. You speak to him, and to all the Kappa, through the telepathic power of the Eye; ‘You are weaponless, defeated. Return to your own realm. Tell your people we humans have the Eye of the Dragon. If you ever attack again, be certain that we shall unleash its full force against you. Now go!’ You watch as the Kappa turn and shuffle south, out to sea. The waves close over their heads. The Kappa leader is the last to go. As he enters the water, he glances back towards you. The Eye picks up his thoughts and translates them: ‘Farewell, human. You were a worthy adversary.’

You reply with a grim smile as he wades off into the surging sea. Turn to 310.



310

Using the astonishing power of the Eye, it is a simple matter to teleport yourself, Giru and the two guards back to the Academy. You materialize on a small cloister lawn and soon dozens of bemused scholars are gathering around you. You quickly make you way to the great hall where the High Council awaits you. Giru renders a full report and then steps up to take his seat with the others. ‘We, the Master Scholars of the Academy of the Light of Truth, thank you for what you have done,’ he says. ‘You found yourself in the midst of a perilous adventure which no one had foreseen, yet you struggled on and managed to save the Eye of the Dragon from the Kappa’s fell clutches. It is our feeling the the Eye should now be kept in a place of safety where its powers can be studied. But we cannot force you to relinquish it - nor would we choose to. Will you, then, entrust it to our care?’

You step up and place the glowing jewel on the table in front of him. Giru looks into your eyes. ‘A wise decision,’ he says. ‘In the hands of a single individual, even one as noble as yourself, such power could only breed arrogance and evil.’

You do not disagree with that. ‘There’s another reason, though,’ you reply. ‘You see, if I kept an item as powerful as the Eye is, it would take all the fun out of adventuring!’


****************

Earlier, there was a supposition that vinegar might dissolve the pearl that contained Lord Mantis, but only the harp worked for that. If you had not replaced the vinegar with ink you could have splashed vinegar into the Kappa leader's pearl eyes and they would have melted 'like acid' which is a little funny because vinegar IS an acid but essentially your logic was spot on and not applied universally. I don't think there were any possible uses for the ink, but if you had played the harp you could have summoned a monster and the fresh water would have defeated him.

Here are some pictures that I don't think I posted:

The final battle takes place here





The final battle takes place here





Finding a boat to row across







Probably a bad seance?






The random choice of doorway (until after you spoke to the Sphinx)






The Nuckelavee - note that there is one creature, it's not a horse and rider, it's like a nightmare centaur

[Beroli]

Thanks for running this!

[Thaluikhain]

Thanks for running this, one suspects this was a strain on your patience. Dave Morris sometimes likes feel over playability, and the bits of this one seemed less coherent than usual.

Also fitting this is run at the same time as The Legends of Skyfall: Monsters of the Marsh, which seems to have similar issues.

[JourneymanN00b]

Thank you for running this, deaddmwalking.

[deaddmwalking]

Note for self - books that have been suggested:

1986 Super Endless Quest 6: Master of Ravenloft
2014 Fabled Lands Quest: Keep of the Lich Lord
2021 ACE Gamebooks 6 Dracula - Curse of the Vampire (note: high chance that JourneymanN00b will run this at some point)
1984 Golden Dragon 1 Crypt of the Vampire (original version, not revised)
1984 Golden Dragon 2 Temple of Flame (warning: it's a meat-grinder, so if you choose this one, I strongly recommend not stopping at the first--or tenth--death)
1985 Golden Dragon 3 The Lord of Shadow Keep
1985 Golden Dragon 4 The Eye of the Dragon
1986 Golden Dragon 5 Curse of the Pharaoh (started 5/15)
1986 Golden Dragon 6 Castle of Lost Souls
1986 Marvel Super Heroes 1. The Amazing Spider-Man: City in Darkness
1986 Marvel Super Heroes 4. Doctor Strange: Through Six Dimensions

[JourneymanN00b]

Note for self - books that have been suggested:

1986 Super Endless Quest 6: Master of Ravenloft
2014 Fabled Lands Quest: Keep of the Lich Lord
2021 ACE Gamebooks 6 Dracula - Curse of the Vampire (note: high chance that JourneymanN00b will run this at some point)
1984 Golden Dragon 1 Crypt of the Vampire (original version, not revised)
1984 Golden Dragon 2 Temple of Flame (warning: it's a meat-grinder, so if you choose this one, I strongly recommend not stopping at the first--or tenth--death)
1985 Golden Dragon 3 The Lord of Shadow Keep
1985 Golden Dragon 4 The Eye of the Dragon
1986 Golden Dragon 5 Curse of the Pharaoh (started 5/15)
1986 Golden Dragon 6 Castle of Lost Souls
1986 Marvel Super Heroes 1. The Amazing Spider-Man: City in Darkness
1986 Marvel Super Heroes 4. Doctor Strange: Through Six Dimensions

If I may, I would like to add the following title to the interest list: 2025 ACE Gamebooks 8 - Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu - What Dreams May Come.

I don’t have a copy of this right now, and it is not a guarantee that I will have the funds and time to get and run this title anytime soon. If anyone has it and is willing to run it, it would provide some well needed overlap and distinguish the forum as having run every ACE gamebook out so far.

If there are no takers, I will do a second ask if I do have the funds to purchase a copy and if I can secure enough time to run it in the future.