Votes registered; Ariel Faust Constantine will investigate further.
251
You ask the elders if you can be taken to the place where the crypt is said to be. The village tanner, Gerog, leads you to the spot at the bottom of the hill. At the point where the stone used to rest, part of the hillside has caved in, opening a way into the earth. You are determined to deal with this terror once and for all. Lighting your lantern, you enter the tunnel, watched by an anxious Gerog. Your lantern casts flickering shadows over the walls of the tunnel as you follow its twists and turns through the darkness. Turning a corner, you hear a snarl, then you see the gigantic rat running towards you down the tunnel. The beast is at least one and a half metres in length and the diseased yellow of its eyes tells you that it too is a plague carrier.
PLAGUE RAT SKILL 6 STAMINA 5
If you kill the rat, add 2 to your INFECTION score and turn to 195.
The fight:
[spoiler]Round 1: Plague Rat Attack Strength: 11, Player Attack Strength: 19;
Plague Rat Stamina: 3, Player Stamina: 18
Round 2: Plague Rat Attack Strength: 15, Player Attack Strength: 19;
Plague Rat Stamina: 1, Player Stamina: 18
Round 3: Plague Rat Attack Strength: 9, Player Attack Strength: 22;
Plague Rat Stamina: -1, Player Stamina: 18[/spoiler]
As expected, Ariel Faust Constantine flawlessly kills the plague rat.
195
Soon the tunnel broadens out into a small chamber; on the opposite side of the room is a pair of large, stone doors. Above the doors a skull has been carved out of the rock, underneath which you read the legend:
All Good souls, do not ye enter here. Lying on the floor on either side of the doors are two decaying human corpses. You could turn back now, but you must put an end to the evil in this place. As you approach the stone doors the eyes of the nearest body flick open. Horrified, you watch as the two Plague Zombies get to their feet and shamble towards you. Roll one die and add 4. If the result is less then, or equal to, your FAITH, turn to 221. If it is greater, turn to 73.
Rolling the die and applying the modification yielded a 9, which is greater than Ariel Faust Constantine’s Faith.
73
You fend off the disease-ridden Undead with your sword as they try to grasp you with clawed hands. Fight them one at a time.
First PLAGUE ZOMBIE SKILL 6 STAMINA 7
Second PLAGUE ZOMBIE SKILL 7 STAMINA 6
If you win, add 4 to your INFECTION score. Putting all your weight against the doors, you push them far enough to squeeze through. Turn to 259.
The fights:
[spoiler](First Plague Zombie)
Round 1: First Plague Zombie Attack Strength: 14, Player Attack Strength: 14;
First Plague Zombie Stamina: 7, Player Stamina: 18
Round 2: First Plague Zombie Attack Strength: 14, Player Attack Strength: 22;
First Plague Zombie Stamina: 5, Player Stamina: 18
Round 3: First Plague Zombie Attack Strength: 13, Player Attack Strength: 18;
First Plague Zombie Stamina: 3, Player Stamina: 18
Round 4: First Plague Zombie Attack Strength: 15, Player Attack Strength: 18;
First Plague Zombie Stamina: 1, Player Stamina: 18
Round 5: First Plague Zombie Attack Strength: 10, Player Attack Strength: 16;
First Plague Zombie Stamina: -1, Player Stamina: 18
(Second Plague Zombie)
Round 1: Second Plague Zombie Attack Strength: 9, Player Attack Strength: 17;
Second Plague Zombie Stamina: 4, Player Stamina: 18
Round 2: Second Plague Zombie Attack Strength: 14, Player Attack Strength: 20;
Second Plague Zombie Stamina: 2, Player Stamina: 18
Round 3: Second Plague Zombie Attack Strength: 14, Player Attack Strength: 19;
Second Plague Zombie Stamina: 0, Player Stamina: 18[/spoiler]
Ariel Faust Constantine flawlessly dispatches the two Plague Zombies.
259
Beyond the doors you find yourself in a large cavern, your lantern barely illuminating the roof of the cave. As you begin to walk across the chamber, the ground becomes softer underfoot and … What was that? Something cold and clammy just squirmed against your legs. Looking down, you are filled with revulsion at the sight that meets your eyes: the cavern seems to be full of huge, bloated, green maggots which are writhing around in the slime that covers the cave floor. Disgusted, you hastily run towards the other side of the cave where you can make out another stone door. All at once a terrible buzzing fills the air. You look up and see a mass of winged bodies, covered in stiff green hairs and at least half a metre in length, flying straight at you. The multi-faceted eyes of the Carrier Flies reflect the light from your lantern while long, sharp mouth-parts dart in and out in anticipation.
Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 354. If you are Unlucky, turn to 216.
Rolling the dice yielded an 8, meaning that Ariel Faust Constantine was Lucky.
354
As you run across the cavern, the flies are angrily trying to sting you and pass on the dreadful disease they are carrying. Fight the flies as if they were one creature. Every time you lose an Attack Round, you do not lose any STAMINA points; instead, you must add 2 to your INFECTION.
CARRIER FLIES SKILL 7 STAMINA 11
Once you have fought three Attack Rounds, you reach the door and escape the flies by running through it and slamming it shut behind you. Turn to 320.
The fight:
[spoiler]Round 1: Carrier Flies Attack Strength: 11, Player Attack Strength: 15;
Carrier Flies Stamina: 9, Player Infection: 8
Round 2: Carrier Flies Attack Strength: 12, Player Attack Strength: 19;
Carrier Flies Stamina: 7, Player Infection: 8
Round 3: Carrier Flies Attack Strength: 18, Player Attack Strength: 20;
Carrier Flies Stamina: 5, Player Infection: 8[/spoiler]
Ariel Faust Constantine does not take any hits during the three Attack Rounds.
320
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]
You are standing at one end of a pillared crypt. Patches of phosphorescent algae grow on the walls and ceiling, giving off a dim light – but it is the smell that strikes you most forcibly. The stench of disease and putrefaction is sickening and you gag at the smell. While you are in the crypt you must reduce your SKILL by 2 points because of the vile stench. At the other end of the crypt is a large sarcophagus and rising out of it is a disgusting mass of pseudopods and seething, rotting flesh. This living embodiment of decay and corruption was once human, a servant of the Dark Gods; over the centuries it has become the Canker, the festering source of the plague that has been threatening Aryll. Between you and the sarcophagus, however, there are at least a dozen Plague Zombies, resurrected from the dead victims of the plague. Roll one die: this is the number of Zombies you must get past in order to reach the sarcophagus. For each Zombie faced, roll one die and add 4. If the result is less than or equal to your FAITH, the undead creature is repelled by your aura of Goodness and you can go on to face the next one. If the result is greater than your FAITH, you must fight the Zombie. Each Plague Zombie has SKILL 6 and STAMINA 6. For each Zombie you have to fight, add 2 to your INFECTION, regardless of the outcome. If you survive all your opponents, turn to 395.
Rolling the die yield a 3, meaning that we will need to get past 3 Zombies to reach the sarcophagus.
The first Zombie die roll and modification yields a 6, which is less than Ariel Faust Constantine’s Faith. She moves on to the second Zombie.
The second Zombie die roll and modification yields a 5, which is less than Ariel Faust Constantine’s Faith. She moves on to the third Zombie.
The third Zombie die roll and modification yields a 5, which is less than Ariel Faust Constantine’s Faith. She proceeds to paragraph 395.
395
The evil Canker reaches for you with foul tentacles. Will you:
Attack the Canker with your sword? Turn to 186
Throw your lantern at the monstrosity? Turn to 292
Throw a Heal-all at it (if you have one)? Turn to 346
Ariel Faust Constantine does have a Heal-all. Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PST or a 3-vote majority is reached to be sure that they will be counted.
After tomorrow morning, I will not have a reliable internet connection until Wednesday evening since I will be away with family, so progress is going to slow to a standstill until then.
Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Ariel Faust Constantine
SKILL: 12
Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 18
Initial Stamina = 24
LUCK: 9
Initial Luck = 12
FAITH: 8
GOLD PIECES: 0
PROVISIONS: 6
INFECTION: 8
Turn to 13 if INFECTION is 15 or more
EQUIPMENT AND TREASURE:
Sword
Lantern
Tinderbox
Backpack
Silver Key With ‘252’ Engraved
Shroud
Falcon
Protective Leather Gauntlet
Scarlet Lady
Drake Nettle
Heal-all (restores Skill and Stamina to Initial levels and +2 Luck)
Ilithorn Rose
Phoenix Grass
Charmed Pipes
Jar of Powder
Notes:
Knows Demonic Word of Command
Say ‘One, two, away’ to send a falcon with SKILL 7 STAMINA 5 against an opponent
Reduce any additions to INFECTION by 1 point
RESURRECTIONS: 4[/spoiler]