The Gaming Den

You enter a chamber containing sculptures of Fangtigers. Before your very eyes, two of the carvings come to life; they prowl around, sniffing, then they spot you and attack. Fight each in turn.

First FANGTIGER SKILL 6 STAMINA 8
Second FANGTIGER SKILL 7 STAMINA 10

If you survive (mark off 2 Poison units on the Adventure Sheet), the bodies turn to stone again. You find yourself in front of two doors. Which do you choose: a door to the left or a door to the right?

Huh, looks like I was wrong about the clan animal fights not adding to Poison. But even now, I'm inclined to think this was an unintentional mistake by the author or the editor, because I've looked at the other clan animal encounters in this sequence and none of the others increase your Poison. The encounter with Korkut snakes may potentially do that, but only if you get bitten by them, not for just fighting them (which makes more sense). If we do die to Poison later I will remove the 2 Units we take here upon revival to see if we can get through without the Poison taken here.

COMBAT LOG:
Fangtiger#1 11, Qulan Gal 17. FT1 is at 6.
FT1 14, QG 19. FT1 is at 4.
FT1 17, QG 17. Tie.
FT1 12, QG 19. FT1 is at 2.
FT1 15, QG 18. FT1 is defeated.
Fangtiger#2 13, QG 21. FT2 is at 8.
FT2 15, QG 15. Tie..
FT2 15, QG 22. FT2 is at 6.
FT2 17, QG 16. QG is at 10.
FT2 10, QG 19. FT2 is at 4.
FT2 12, QG 14. FT2 is at 2.
FT2 15, QG 14. QG is at 8.
FT2 17, QG 18. FT2 is defeated.

Qulan consumes his last meal to restore his STAMINA to 12 after the battle.

We totally should have brought the Potion of Strength from the beginning...

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Qulan Gal
SKILL 10/10
STAMINA 12/18
LUCK 11/11
Poison: 22/24
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Potion of Fortune (+1 to Initial LUCK, restores LUCK to new Initial value), Flower, Treffilli (2 sprigs)
Provisions: 0
Gold: 1 (sewn into boot, lucky piece)
Abilities: Darkfight
Medallions:
Extra Lives unlocked: 5/9 remaining
No. of deaths/failures: 4
[/spoiler]

I vote to take the door on the right, as becoming a ruler requires Qulan Gal to fully embrace fascism.

Left door.

We went right last time, so I'm in favor of going left now.

You are in a room filled with the statues of stallions. Suddenly three of them come to life; they stamp their feet and snort, crashing their hoofs down on the stone floor. Throw 1 die six times to show the path you take between the stallions. List the result on your Adventure Sheet. Then throw 1 die to show where the stallions stamp. If this number matches the first number in the sequence you have written down, you are hit (deduct 4 points from your STAMINA). Repeat the process five more times and compare throws. If you survive, you succeed in reaching another door.

Qulan's path:

1) 1
2) 2
3) 1
4) 1
5) 5
6) 2

Stallions' stamp:

1) 5 (miss)
2) 5 (miss)
3) 4 (miss)
4) 3 (miss)
5) 5 (hit!)
6) 6 (miss)

Damn, we almost got through unscathed, but got stomped at the 5th point! STAMINA down to 8 again.

(Btw, Ruler-theme or no, Luke Sharp is apparently not a fan of fascism. We would have run into Kazilik Dragons if we'd gone right, and I don't think you'd be surprised to learn that they are the strongest of all the clan animals. And we'd need to fight 3 of them!)

A door in front of you slides open. You walk into an antique chamber, full if tombs bearing carvings of skeletons. The voice of the Heart of the Throne speaks: "You have passed the first barrier to the Throne of Kazan. Now do you possess a second Medallion? If you do, place it here." An obelisk rises out of the stone floor. If you have a second Medallion, deduct the number 874 from the number inscribed on the back of the Medallion's reverse side and go to that paragraph. If you do not, then a door opens in the wall in front of you and you have to enter a strange room, full of jars and bottles.

This is the section that we would immediately have been directed to if we had the first Medallion, btw.

The voice echoes in your mind: "You are in the Chamber of Ancient Magical Spells. Here is where the power of the kings and queens of Kazan is determined." You see a table with row of three bottles and another row of three jars on it. The ghostly voice speaks again. "True monarchs of Kazan are able to face the dangers of Gnosis. You must now choose the contents of one bottle and one jar; mix the materials from the two and drink the resultant brew. Beware, for three of the mixtures are deadly. You must perform this feat twice. Choose now."

Eye of Newt + Volcanic Dust --> 63
Eye of Newt + 1000-Fathom Seawater --> 93
Eye of Newt + Mist from the Mithrir Forest --> 142
Viper's Tongue + Volcanic Dust --> 166
Viper's Tongue + 1000-Fathom Seawater --> 284
Viper's Tongue + Mist from the Mithrir Forest --> 330
Dragon's Claw + Volcanic Dust --> 356
Dragon's Claw + 1000-Fathom Seawater --> 376
Dragon's Claw + Mist from the Mithrir Forest --> 384

Make your choice and go to the paragraph indicated to discover the result of dabbling in alchemy.

If we had a second Medallion, we'd have avoided the risk of the 3 deadly mixtures altogether and just pick (but still at random, via section numbers) between 6 magical powers.

While I will not comment on Kazan's political system or their policy for choosing new heirs, I do think it's really cool that every ruler gets imbued with 2 Superpowers.

Which 2 combinations do we wish to brew?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Qulan Gal
SKILL 10/10
STAMINA 8/18
LUCK 11/11
Poison: 22/24
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Potion of Fortune (+1 to Initial LUCK, restores LUCK to new Initial value), Flower, Treffilli (2 sprigs)
Provisions: 0
Gold: 1 (sewn into boot, lucky piece)
Abilities: Darkfight
Medallions:
Extra Lives unlocked: 5/9 remaining
No. of deaths/failures: 4
[/spoiler]

My vote will be to combine Eye of Newt + 1000-Fathom Seawater for the first brew and mix Dragon's Claw + 1000-Fathom Seawater for the second brew. I figure that we cannot go wrong with seawater, and volcanic dust and mist both seem a tad suspicious. Viper's Tongue just spells out poison, so I *strongly* discourage brewing anything using that ingredient.

I suspect, rather, that each ingredient is deadly combined with one other ingredient.

That being the case, I'll vote for Dragon's Claw and Mist, and Viper's Tongue and Volcanic Dust.

(I don't remember the deadly combinations, alas. Watch it turn out that I'm voting for two of them.)

I'm going with :

Dragon's Claw + 1000-Fathom Seawater
Eye of Newt + Mist from the Mithrir Forest

I think I like Queen of Swords’ plan best. Vipers Tongue and Volcanic Dust sound the most two dangerous and I don’t want to double up on any ingredients if we only get two mixtures.

Going first with Dragon's Claw + 1000-Fathom Seawater, which is the clear favourite:

THE POWER OF STORMBRINGING

You have drunk the mixture that gives you this Power. Note this on your Adventure Sheet. If this is your first choice, return to 45 and choose again. If it is your second choice, turn to 74.

Definitely sounds impressive, although how useful it is within the context of the game remains to be seen (I mean, if it only summons a natural storm outdoors, then it's not likely to give us help help where we are).

Next, Eye of Newt + Mist from the Mithrir Forest:

You have drunk the fatal mixture of the Luckless. Fortune has not favoured you in your quest for the throne. You suffer and agonizing death.

I would have thought Luckless just means our LUCK gets reduced, but I guess they did warn that the bad mixtures are deadly.

Fortunately we still have more than enough extra lives to experiment further, so please choose a second alternative second mixture!

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Qulan Gal
SKILL 10/10
STAMINA 8/18
LUCK 11/11
Poison: 22/24
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Potion of Fortune (+1 to Initial LUCK, restores LUCK to new Initial value), Flower, Treffilli (2 sprigs)
Provisions: 0
Gold: 1 (sewn into boot, lucky piece)
Abilities: Darkfight, The Power of Stormbringing
Medallions:
Extra Lives unlocked: 4/9 remaining
No. of deaths/failures: 5
[/spoiler]

I will stick with Eye of Newt + 1000-Fathom Seawater as my second mixture vote.

Seconded. I believe we found one of the two safe combinations for 1000-Fathom Seawater, that we found one of the two safe combinations for Dragon's Claw, and also that we found the deadly combination for Eye of Newt and for Mist. So: Eye of Newt + 1000-Fathom Seawater should be safe if I'm correct about the pattern (and Viper's Tongue + 1000-Fathom Seawater should be deadly, as should Dragon's Claw+Volcanic Dust).

Sure, let's try Eye of Newt and 1000-Fathom Seawater.

INVULNERABILITY TO SWORD-STRIKE

You have drunk the mixture that gives you this Power. Make a note on your Adventure Sheet. If this is your second Spell potion, turn to 74; otherwise, return to 45 and choose your second mixture.

As cool as this sounds, it's also an oddly-specific invulnerability. I sure hope this is a well-kept secret. Otherwise, assassins simply have to carry out their assassinations on the monarch using daggers/spears/arrows/poison/kitchen knives/etc instead of swords. In fact, given how the dagger seems to be the standard weapon for the Mamlik Assassins, maybe we need and Invulnerability to Dagger-Strike instead...

You stand in front of a wall of green shimmering smoke and a voice announces, "You have passed through the Heart of the Throne and have no rival. You have proved your bravery; walks forth and complete the ascent to the throne, for you will be greeted, paraded and adulated." The mist clears and a metal door opens.

You step out and are met by two Mamliks holding longswords. One of them stabs you before you can move. If you have the Power of Invulnerability to Sword-Strike, you are not harmed; otherwise deduct 4 points from your STAMINA and mark off 1 Poison unit on the Adventure Sheet. The Mamliks rush off in opposite directions, sounding the alarm. Do you now go to the left or to the right?

...and of course, just as I said that, the Mamliks obligingly attacked us with the 1 weapon we're immune to, how nice of them. I guess Chingiz didn't know about the magic powers aspect of the monarchy.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Qulan Gal
SKILL 10/10
STAMINA 8/18
LUCK 11/11
Poison: 22/24
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Potion of Fortune (+1 to Initial LUCK, restores LUCK to new Initial value), Flower, Treffilli (2 sprigs)
Provisions: 0
Gold: 1 (sewn into boot, lucky piece)
Abilities: Darkfight, The Power of Stormbringing, Invulnerability to Sword-Strike
Medallions:
Extra Lives unlocked: 4/9 remaining
No. of deaths/failures: 5
[/spoiler]

Okay, since SGamerz claims that Luke Sharp is apparently not a fan of fascism, I will vote for Qulan Gal to reject it this time by going left.

If the Mamliks rushed off in opposite directions, we might as well go left. It's not like any one direction will be safer than the other.

The corridor comes to a corner and you peek round, to see a room filled with a gaggle of Dungeon Beasts. They scuttle up to you and block your progress. You cannot fight them all. There is a large open window to one side of the room. If you have the Power of Storm-bringing, turn to 47. Otherwise, you must turn back and go the other way: turn to 369.

The specific mention of the window indicates that, yes, the power does require the storm itself to be a more "natural" outdoors form, so it's not likely to be helpful if we find ourselves underground. Still, it should serve its purpose well here...

You summon a great storm of thunder and forked lightning which crashes through the window and makes the Dungeon Beasts scuttle off into the distance. You pass unhindered into a richly furnished part of the Fortress; you must be mearing the inner sanctum. The passage ends in two doors, one marked with the sign of Segrek and the other with the sign of a panther. Which do you choose to enter?

Hey, how are we supposed to employ our political biases determine our choice when there's no left or right directions given!

Given how many parallels there have between our journey and Black Panther's (competing with other tribal champions to inherit the throne, drinking a potion to get superpowers), I think we should take the panther door.

The sign of Segrek seems safer, but that might also be too obvious. So, half a vote for this.

I vote to take the one marked with the sign of Segrek, as I feel that is the door for Segrek's Select to take in order to assume the throne.

That makes sense, I vote for the Segrek door.

Segrek.

You open the door to a room containing three Gremlins; they comprise Chingiz's bodyguard. Suddenly, a fourth, which had been hiding behind the door, strikes you in the side with a shortsword, then runs off as the others attack. If you have the Power of Invulnerability to Sword-Strike, fight as normal. If not, then deduct 1 point from your SKILL. Fight each in turn.

First GREMLIN SKILL 4 STAMINA 4
Second GREMLIN SKILL 4 STAMINA 6
Third GREMLIN SKILL 4 STAMINA 6

If you win (mark off 2 Poison units on the Adventure Sheet), the fourth Gremlin has busied himself, locking a great door with a massive key and then, with difficulty, managing to swallow it. He now stands with his back to the door. If you have the Power of Persuasion, turn to 347. If not, turn to 54.

This guy employs Trolls, Orcs, Mamliks and undead Necromancers (and of course Kanaid humans too), and he uses Gremlins as his bodyguard??

And weirdly, the sword-stab would have reduced SKILL and not STAMINA, although we don't have to worry about that either way because of our Invulnerability.

Unfortunately, since we still have to fight the other 3 normally, I guess this means they're armed with something else other than swords, although once again Luke Sharp neglects to mention details like what weapon they're using.

COMBAT LOG:
Gremlin#1 7, Qulan Gal 13. G1 is at 2.
G1 16, QG 18. G1 is killed.
Gremlin#2 8, QG 18. G2 is at 4.
G2 12, QG 17. G2 is at 2.
G2 12, QG 19. G2 is killed.
Gremlin#3 10, QG 16. G3 is at 4.
G3 13, QG 13. Tie.
G3 8, QG 19. G3 is at 2.
G3 8, QG 16. G3 is killed.

Qulan Gal disposes of the puny bodyguards with little problems....then keels over because his Poison unit goes up to 24! Right at the doorstep of his quarry, too! Fortunately, he still has some extra lives left to allow him to continue!

As mentioned earlier, I do believe there's a possibility that we're not supposed to gain Poison units during the encounters with the clan animals, so let's see if he can actually complete this if I keep it at 22 upon revival.

We don't have to Power of Persuasion, so we can't get the key, and have to do things the hard way:

You have to expend a lot of effort to smash open the door (deduct 4 points from your STAMINA). When finally you do enter the room, you come face to face with a woman holding a dagger. On seeing you, she rushes away through another door. You are just dashing after her when you spot a small statue of Segrek, lying in a corner of the room. You stoop to pick it up...and you hear the voice from the Heart of the Throne: "Brave adventurer, you have fought hard - but remember that it is not just the power of the sword that holds a kingdom together. Remember this when you mount the throne." You hurry on through the gleaming gold door in front of you.

We're down to our last 4 STAMINA (with 0 meals)! But I guess we should be thankful that Chingiz not only employs weak bodyguard but also uses mundane, breakable doors, unlike inconsiderate FF antagonists like Balthus Dire and Earl of Drumer who have the audacity to use magically-protected ones that require obscure numerical codes or numbered keys.

You open the door to a plush bedchamber. Sitting in the middle of a large fourposter bed is Chingiz. There is no one else in the room. With a rather strange look on his face, he murmurs in a weak voice: "So, you have made it, Select of Segrek...I suppose to you want to know where the Throne is?" He starts to keel over and puts out a hand to steady himself. Quick as a flash, you draw the Dagger of Darkness hidden from your boot, where it has been safely hidden throughout your journey, and put in in his hand! He looks at you and smiles. "You are clever...if you can defeat my deadly daughter, then..." He tips over and you see a large dagger sticking out of his back. He is dead. You suddenly feel much better (add 4 points to your STAMINA and do not mark off any more Poison units).

So, yeah, we were literally 2 steps away from success when we died to poison earlier!

I guess when you get stabbed in the back, you don't get the opportunity to save yourself by returning the dagger back to the stabber...but I wonder what happens if he'd died before we got here. Do we still get to break the spell by putting the dagger in his dead hand? If that won't work, then his daughter might have killed 2 birds with 1 stone by ensuring there's no way we can cure ourselves!

You open the next door, to find a woman sitting on the Throne of Sharrabbas, surrounded by four chained Ogres. The woman smiles. "Welcome, brave adventurer. My father and his Mamliks found you a difficult foe, but you shall not take possession of the Throne - it is mine! He wouldn't let me have it, so I had to kill him. Now I must kill YOU." She rushes towards you, dagger raised. You stop her arm and squeezes her wrist; the dagger drops to the floor and begins to burn. She collapses in a heap and calls out, "Go on then, sit on the Throne - and let my Ogres tear you limb from limb!" The Ogres are suddenly released from their chains and leap forward to attack you. Do you fight them or put your sword away and walk straight to the Throne?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Qulan Gal
SKILL 10/10
STAMINA 8/18
LUCK 11/11
Poison: 22/24
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Potion of Fortune (+1 to Initial LUCK, restores LUCK to new Initial value), Flower, Treffilli (2 sprigs)
Provisions: 0
Gold: 1 (sewn into boot, lucky piece)
Abilities: Darkfight, The Power of Stormbringing, Invulnerability to Sword-Strike
Medallions:
Extra Lives unlocked: 4/10 remaining
No. of deaths/failures: 6
[/spoiler]

There has to be a reason we're given the option to walk empty-handed to the throne, and we were just told "it is not the power of the sword that holds a kingdom together". So although it seems incredibly risky, I'll go with this.

The Heart of the Throne just said that it is not just the power of the sword that holds a kingdom together. I vote to put Qulan Gal's sword away and walk straight to the throne.