Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2014 2:59 pm
I vote for the ship in the bottle and the kite.
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I don't like the sound of that codeword.... Down to 4 Life points, and 1 unit of provisions.Swept onwards, your little craft starts to spring leaks. If you earlier used CHARMS to keep it afloat then there is no cause for alarm. Otherwise, note the codeword Detrude.
Thirst, hunger and the heat become your bitter foes. Petty quarrels break out as conditions worsen. Each man is nearing the end of his tether. Lose 1 Life Point. If you have any provisions, cross one off and turn to 156; if you have none, turn to 175.
We haven't met any decent folk on the island, so far....but we probably need the provisions. Stop here or not?The most westerly of the islands comes in sight. It is a large golden-shored jungle island with many welcoming coves. 'Others have put in here, when blown north off the main shipping route,' Grimes recalls. 'The natives are said to be hospitable.'
You stare into the west. Leshand is still two hundred leagues off, and it might be wise to reprovision before you undertake that long haul. And
yet worry gnaws at your mind: 'Hospitable when faced with gifts and muskets and a sea-going vessel of ten cannon, perhaps. But how will they greet a handful of starving wretches in a ramshackle craft?'
It's up to you. You can put in here or sail on without stopping.
Much appreciated! Thanks!Starmaker wrote:SGamerz, please check your PMs asap, kthx.
Déjà vu? Scenario looks familiar.You row in towards the island, beaching your vessel on the deserted shore. Oakley gives a cry of delight as he spots a pineapple that has fallen from a tree at the top of the beach. Its juice stings his sun-cracked lips, but he chews ravenously at it all the same.
'Heads up,' Grimes says tersely. 'We got company, shipmates.'
You turn your head. A large group of Carab natives has emerged from the woods and is coming across the sand towards you. 'Welcoming party,' you mutter under your breath, noticing the spears.
If you have the codeword Scrip, turn at once to 253. Otherwise you can attack - either with a pistol and MARKSMANSHIP, or in hand-to-hand fighting. Or you might prefer to parley, or to put to sea before they reach you.
Whaddya know! Actually finding some decent folks on the island!The natives bring you baked root-bread, fruit and gourds full of fresh water. You can take enough provisions for two meals. Note these as possessions on your Adventure Sheet, and cross one meal off whenever you are told you need provisions.
They also take a look at your battered craft and help to patch up any damage, demonstrating amazing skill with no tools other than bamboo and woven leaves. If you have the codewords Detrude or Peccant, delete them.
With the help of sign language, the chief explains to you that not many ocean-going vessels visit this island. If you were to stay here you might be marooned for months. On the other hand, he offers to escort you southwards to the main shipping-lane, where you might meet up with a ship bound for civilization. You soon realize that this would not be a free service, however - he expects a gift of some kind.
If you give the chief a gift in return for being escorted south, turn to 310. If you'd rather head on towards Leshand without his help, turn to 177. Or you could stay on the island and wait for rescue, in which case turn to 329 if you have a book of charts, or to 348 if you do not.
Do we want to give them a gift in exchange for their help (now that I think about it, maybe we should have taken the useless wand and give it away here)? Strike out on our own (they already repaired our boat and gave us food, at least), or stay and wait?You must give the chief one of these items: a sword, a pistol, a wand, an amulet, a ship in a bottle, a conchshell horn, a bat-shaped talisman, a black kite or all your money. Delete one of these from your Adventure Sheet. (If you do not have one of these items, or do not want to give one away, turn to 272 and choose again.)
Looks like we might not need the extra meals after all...Then, with two well-stocked canoes accompanying you, you strike south from Pandanus Island. After only a few days, you are delighted to see a ship appear on the eastern horizon. Gradually taking shape out of the morning haze, she draws closer until you can make out her comely gilded figurehead and the name painted across her bows: the Jewel of Heaven. Grimes is more interested in the colours she's flying. 'A Gloriannic ship, by God's grace! We're saved!'
Bidding farewell to the islanders who have brought you this far, you are grateful to be taken aboard the Jewel of Heaven. Even so, Blutz speaks for you all as he watches your little craft, now abandoned, go drifting off across the swell. 'She brought us through it against all the odds, mates. You can never say more for any vessel.' And, to the. bewilderment of the sailors, you raise your arms to salute the ramshackle craft bobbing off into the distance.
Exposition time! What do we ask about?The captain of the Jewel of Heaven is a bluff good-natured man who roars at his crew with gusto. For their part they seem devoted to him - and perhaps a little overawed by his forceful nature and matchless knowledge of the sea. You spend several pleasant evenings sitting in his cabin, where the rum flows free after a good supper. 'Hark to that!' he is wont to say listening to the water lapping against the hull. 'Did you ever hear a mother with babe in arms sing such a sweet lullaby? Ah, the sweet sighing of the sea - it's a sound to seal the hushed casket of a man's soul, my merry lads!'
'Here aboard your fine ship, I'm happy to agree,' laughs Oakley. 'When we were drifting in our boat, though, the sea sang us a more mournful tune!'
The captain is glad to have educated company, and you can strike up conversations on various topics. You can ask for his opinion on pirates, on the war between Glorianne and Sidonia, on Queen Titania's visit to the New World colonies, or for information about Port Leshand.
He pauses in the act of raising his cup to his lips and glares at you from under beetling brows. 'Eh?' he demands. 'What do you know of that? It is supposed to be a secret, and you'd do well not to blab such delicate matters. A wagging tongue is a tongue worth cutting!' He fingers his sword-hilt, glowering at you sidelong.
If you explain about overhearing Skarvench's plan to kidnap the Queen, turn to 11. If you keep quiet about the matter, turn to 108.
'I see,' he says soberly when you have told him all you know. He sets his cup aside and goes to make sure no one is listening at the cabin door. Returning, he drops his voice and says, 'Keep this to yourselves. It may be that we shall yet foil Skarvench's scheme, but we'll have no hope of catching him if word gets out that we're forewarned. Listen now: once you are settled in Leshand, come to my house on Halyard Street. Ask for Master Capstick — that's me. There we'll make our plans to catch that sea rat!'
We're up to 6 Life points.....and we needed that.The days pass, balmy and full of ease after your long deprivation. With rest and food you recover quickly from your ordeal. You can now restore up to 2 Life Points (but your Life Points score cannot exceed its initial value).
At last you catch sight of land, and after tacking along the coast for a few hours you arrive at Leshand harbour. A forest of masts sways along the wharf, and the sharp smells of tar and fish waft on the air. As the Jewel of Heaven ties up at the quayside, you are anxious to gather your few belongings and go ashore. 'Dry land...' says Oakley, in the tone of a man greeting his long-lost sweetheart. 'I never thought to see it again!' The captain and crew are busy unloading their cargo. You thank them, shaking each man's hand as you press across the deck and make your way down the gangplank.
The dock is a confused bustle, with longshoremen and sailors teeming around and wagons trundling to and fro. Pushing through the milling crowds, you head along a narrow alley in search of an inn.
If you have the codeword Chancery, turn to 406. If not, delete all codewords and turn to 423.
And we're almost up to full Life points (9)!Leshand is a busy port of narrow half-timbered houses with small leaded windows and peaked roofs of olive-green tiles. The town is overlooked by the massive stone garrison fort on the hill above the harbour. It is well known that the governor prefers to rule the colony with a light touch, exercising his authority in as leisurely a manner as possible, openly encouraging buccaneers to put into dock here and spend their loot. But things are different at the moment, and you are struck by subtle but noticeable changes since your last visit. The buccaneers are here as usual, but in fewer numbers and on markedly better behaviour. The soldiers of the city militia are adorned in clean new tabards, which they wear with expressions of pride. There are even a handful of street-cleaners whom you pass scrubbing at the accumulated grime on the cobblestones.
A good meal and a bath go a long way to refreshing you after your weeks at sea. You can now recuperate 3 Life Points (up to the limit set by your initial Life Points score).
If you have STREETWISE, turn to 127. If you have met Master Capstick and want to pay a visit to his house now, turn to 69. Otherwise, decide what you'll do next: visit a chandler's for supplies (12), seek out someone who can identify strange items (31), apply for a letter of marque (turn to 50 if you have ROGUERY, 409 if not), or listen for rumours (88).
Ok, even though there's a blue option available, there's something about the way about this is structured that I don't like, so I'm going to post a little spoiler:You soon learn that the governor recently ordered preparations for a state visit by Queen Titania. Sitting in a harbour tavern with an old acquaintance of yours, Black Danny McClintock, you watch amazed as the scar-faced rogue orders a jug of spiced milk instead of his usual shot of strong rum. 'We've been warned off causing any affray, under threat of Moses' Law on our bare backsides,' he explains. 'I'm playing it safe by doing no drinking or gambling for the duration.'
You nod, hiding a smile. Moses' Law is thirty-nine strokes of the birch, but what this pack of dockside villains fear more than the pain is the public humiliation. After strutting like bantam cocks around Leshand's byways for so long, they hate having to knuckle under to the law. Doubtless that's why you can see your old friend Snake-Eyes Johnson in the street just outside helping an old lady with her shopping basket - and not even filching so much as an orange while he does it.
The others listen with interest when you meet up later to tell them what you've learned. "This state visit,' ponders Blutz. 'It must be someone pretty important to cause a clampdown like this.'
If you are to have any hope of catching up with Skarvench you will have to move on soon. He would never show his face around Leshand, with so many murders to his name. But you also have a feeling it might be worth spending a little while digging out more rumours. If you decide to do so, turn to 88.
Otherwise you can visit a chandler's to buy supplies (12), look for someone who can identify unusual items (31), apply for a letter of marque (turn to 50 if you have ROGUERY, 409 if not), or pay a visit to Master Capstick if you met him previously (69).
If you have now completed all your business in Leshand, turn to 107.