The Gaming Den

You have a few hours before your ship sets sail on the next tide. You may be able to acquire some gold by putting your hands to use, helping out with laboring work at the docks or you could try gambling in a tavern. If neither prospect appeals, will you now:

Buy some equipment?
Consult one of the king's sages?
Wait for the ship to take you to Tower Island?

In the markets and shops of the peaceable town of Sanctuary you can buy many things, but your most likely purchases may well be:

Chain mail armour - 7 Gold Pieces
Longbow and arrows - 4 Gold Pieces
Crossbow and arrows - 4 Gold Pieces
Potion of Stamina - 7 Gold Pieces
Magic Ring - 5 Gold Pieces
Vial of Plague Antidote - 6 Gold Pieces
Empty glass bottle - 1 Gold Piece
Rope (10 metres long) - 1 Gold Piece
Flask of herbal liqueur - 3 Gold Pieces
Potion of Fire Resistance - 5 Gold Pieces

If you wear chain mail armour this does not add to your Attack Strength during combats, but it does provide some protection against certain hazards you may encounter during your adventures. With either type of bow, you will be instructed when you can use it in later paragraphs. The Potion of Stamina, when drunk, allows you to regain STAMINA points equal to one-half of your Initial score (round fractions up). The Magic Ring stores 1 Magic Point. A vial of Plague Antidote will cure one (and only one!) form of plague which you may be unfortunate enough to pick up during your exploration of dire Castle Argent, restoring all losses from Initial (but not Current!) STAMINA due to the effects of plague. The flask of herbal liqueur is refreshing and invigorating: when you drink it, you regain 4 STAMINA points. The Potion of Stamina, the liqueur and the Potion of Fire Resistance can be drunk al-any lime, except during a combat. Once drunk, the effects of the latter last for the duration of the next combat in which you are attacked by fire (such as Dragon breath or a Fireball spell); during this time, you can halve the STAMINA loss such attacks do to you (rounding fractions up). When you have decided what to buy, amend your Adventure Sheet accordingly. Now, you can consult the king's sages if you want to, try to earn some extra gold if you haven't tried this before, or leave Sanctuary by ship.

The Glory of Amarillia is a fully armed war-galley, and to your amazement the captain is a Barrabang Centaur! Centaurs are hardly renowned for seamanship, but the magical iron shoes on the Centaur's feet allow him to walk on water, as you discover when he literally walks aboard after you.

'There is a fair northerly wind,' Captain Carannus says as he sniffs at the bitterly cold air. 'We should get to the end of the Icecap Islands without fog to worry about. Only icebergs and whatever monsters of the deep may wait in store, eh?'

The voyage bears out his optimism. The great vessel skirts the warm Stream of Zephyrs and, after some days, tums south-west past the coast of the Frozen Lands. But on the margins of the warm sea fronts, fogs begin to spring up as you head for Tower Island itself. You just keep your fingers crossed and hope that no predator of the deep are sensing the great ship above them. If you want to spend a point of LUCK Lo avoid even the chance of such an encounter, turn to 44. Otherwise, turn to 98.

Shortly after dawn, when you are stretching your legs on the deck, there is a sudden churning of the seas on the starboard side of the vessel. You draw your weapon but, just as you are looking over the side of the ship, the true danger swoops down from the foggy skies above. A great white reptile, many metres long, with ragged-edged, horny claws, a great mouth and a spiny, barbed tail is heading straight for you. You are surprised, and the monster's claws knock you down; deduct 3 points from your STAMINA. Now you must fight for your life!

FOG WYVERN SKILL 10 STAMINA 16

If you win, the captain and crew help you to your feet and bring food and healing draughts of a herbal brew to you (restore your STAMINA to its Initial level) as other men begin the work of getting the huge reptile's carcass off the deck. Carannus looks unhappily at the monster. 'That's not a natural monster.' he say. 'I know these Wyverns, and that tail's malformed. Look at that crooked claw and the way the bones of the spine protrude through its back. There's some bad magic at work here.' The Centaur's eyes harden and he turns lo help his men throw the carcass into the sea.