Although we still have to fight the giant, biding our time means that she gets 2 points taken off her FP and Damage rolls due to fighting without a weapon. An FP of 6 means that she's extremely unlikely to hit a defending opponent.
COMBAT LOG:
Round 1 ... FIGHT!
Awareness 8 acts...
Trickster defends.
Warrior Moves to engage Giantess
Awareness 7 acts...
Sage shoots Giantess. Roll = 2. (Hits!) Damage = 6+1-1 = 6. Giantess has 59 END left.
Enchanter attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt. Roll = 5+5 = 10. Success! Damage = 22+7-1 = 28. Giantess has 31 END left.
Giantess fights Trickster. Roll = 11+1 (Miss).
Quick Thinking bonus:
Trickster fights Giantess. Roll = 5. (Hits!) Damage = 4+2-1 = 5. Giantess has 26 END left.
Round 2
Awareness 8 acts ...
Trickster defends.
Warrior defends.
Awareness 7 acts ...
Sage shoots Giantess. Roll = 6. (Hits!) Damage = 3+1-1 = 3. Giantess has 23 END left.
Enchanter prepares Nemesis Bolt.
Giantess fights Trickster. Roll = 12+1. Miss.
Round 3:
Awareness 8 acts...
Trickster defends.
Warrior defends.
Awareness 7 acts...
Sage shoots Giantess. Roll = 3. (Hits!) Damage = 2. Giantess has 21 END left.
Enchanter attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt. Roll = 8+5 = 13. Success! Damage = 25+7-1 = 31. Giantess is killed.
Giantess fights Trickster. Roll = 13+1 (Miss).
None of the party was hit in this fight. (Well, her FP was subpar anyway, so her dice rolls on average wouldn't have hit even if her opponents hadn't been defending)
Overcome at last by the wounds you have inflicted on her, the cyclops sinks to the floor. As she breathes her last, the baleful eye clouds over and goes dark. You notice with distaste that, in place of blood, her cuts ooze a greenish-black foam.
The old man is beside himself with excitement and simple relief as you release him. With tears running down his face he takes hold of your robes and kisses them, thanking you over and over again. 'She ate every one of my twenty-three companions,' he sobs. 'When she ate Epicurus she gave a great belch of satisfaction! Ah, me! Ah, my! If you had come a few hours later, I would have been a stew in yonder pot. How can I ever repay you?'
Give us all your loot an cash or we feed you to our genie instead!
After you have calmed him down a little, the old man is able to tell you his story. 'In the north of Kurland, set among the Drakken foothills, is the Monastery of Reawakening. My companions, who were all eaten by that pitiless cyclops, were the senior monks. I was their abbot.
'Our mission was one of great importance to all mankind, and we had been preparing ourselves for it for many years. As you may be aware, at the dawn of the new millennium it will be time for the Author of All to set aside His work - this earth - and begin anew. Evil will be pulled from the world like a weed; the Devil and his followers will be forever expunged; our descendants will find the coming millennium to be the era of God's kingdom on earth.'
You nod. It is also said that the year 1000 will be a time of storms and bloody battle. It is then that the gates of Spyte will open, and the True Magi are fated to return to the world ... 'This heaven-on-earth will not come about without a struggle,' you say.
'Quite so!' replies the abbot. 'You understand precisely! Many imagine that heaven is their birthright, but in fact God will judge Man's worthiness for such a state by the vigour with which we are prepared to fight for it. God can provide guidance, but it falls to mortal men to destroy the evil that has plagued us since the world began. If we cannot do that for ourselves, we can never inherit Paradise.'
'Peace,' you say, putting a hand on his shoulder to calm him. 'You are still distraught after your ordeal.'
'No!' he declares passionately. 'I am troubled by a greater worry - a danger that still exists. You see, we travelled so far in order to recover something that will be needed in the battle of doomsday: a sapling ash, nurtured through many generations by the monks of our monastery. It was grown from a key taken from Yggdrasil - the Tree of Life.'
'And where is this sapling now?' you ask.
'Stolen. Taken from under our noses by cultists of the ancient Magian Sect of Opalar. They used witchery to penetrate our defences, then flew off with the sapling on a bridge of flame. We thought to pursue them using an Astral Gateway which was opened by my colleague Pereus, who had once been a pagan and practised sorcery. Unfortunately he must have miscast the spell: because, instead of leading to Opalar, the Gateway opened into this very hall. The moment we emerged, we were seized and imprisoned by that elephantine fiend! I might have been eaten - our quest doomed to failure - if God had not sent you to rescue me. Now I must ask one more favour of you. The sapling must be recovered. It is to stand for the new era just as Yggdrasil, which was the first tree in the Garden of Eden, stood for the era that is past. Help me retrieve it from the faithless Magians!'
Wait, hold on a second.....I thought you were supposed to
repay us for saving your ass, not burden us with another mega world-saving quest! We already have one of those ourselves, thank you very much!
You walk back out to the terrace with the abbot while considering his request. It seems from what he has told you that his venture is as important as your own. But should you give priority to helping him recover the sapling, or to travelling on to Hakbad and finding the last segment of the Blood Sword?
You are brought out of your reverie by the abbot's gasp on seeing the jinni. 'It is a Ta'ashim demon!' he shouts. 'Get back, before it sees us!'
'Ah, you have returned at last,' says the jinni, completely ignoring him. 'And you have a new companion. He appears to be a very excitable old man ...'
'Show some respect,' you reply. 'He is an abbot.'
The abbot is dazed. 'You ... you know this creature? You control it? By the hallows -'
The jinni stretches out his hand to the marble balustrade. 'Are you now ready to resume the journey?' he asks you. 'Say farewell to the lord abbot and we shall be on our way.'
If you have a gold mirror, turn to 367. If not, turn to 19.
No...
If you have used up all your wishes, turn to 307. If you still have one wish left, turn to 509. If you still have two wishes left, turn to 343.
We used up all of them. What, we're supposed to save them for another save-the-world quest? We already used one of those for a quest like that! Can't a hero get something for him/herself once in a while?
You explain to the abbot that it is impossible for you to help him. 'The jinni could have transported us to the stronghold of the Magian sect,' you say. 'But all three wishes have been expended.'
The abbot looks up at the jinni and speaks imploringly: 'Aid us out of self-interest, if nothing else. The sapling must be recovered as it represents hope, and without hope the next millennium will be blacker than the last.'
'Not for me!' says the jinni. 'I have spent seven-tenths of this millennium in a copper bottle not much bigger than your hand. Whatever the next thousand years have in store, I welcome them as a glorious new adventure.'
'Are you mad? It will be an era of such fearsome things - I know not what, but they will be the terrors of the earth!'
'As a "Ta'ashim demon" (in fact I was still imprisoned when the Ta'ashim religion was founded) I rejoice at these tidings. If the new millennium is one
where mortals grovel in blood-soaked mud and howl as flames char their flesh, so much the better. Do not expect me to show kindness, as the race of mortal men has never shown kindness to me!'
'Of course, that is because you're a creature of irredeemable wickedness,' you feel obliged to point out. But the jinni refuses to argue further.
You shake hands with the abbot. 'Good luck with your own quest,' he calls as the jinni raises you aloft. 'And do not worry about mine. I'll return
home through the Astral Gateway and recruit a new band of helpers. Five years still remain to us before the End; I may yet recover the sapling.'
'May God reward your courage with success!' you shout back. You watch until he is just a dwindling speck in the distance, then you turn your gaze
east, towards Hakbad . . .
Yeah, sorry, at least you still have 5 years. I'm pretty sure Susurrien isn't going to wait
that long for us. Sucks to be you.
You arrive at Hakbad in the early hours of the morning. From the air you can see the great palaces and peak-domed temples, separated by tracts of orchard, necropolis or dusty scrub. You, who are accustomed to the crowding of northern cities, can understand why some Coradian merchants find these sprawling cities of the Ta'ashim world so agoraphobic. Hakbad has more than a million inhabitants, you have heard - four times the population of Ferromaine, but covering an area nearly ten times as big. The idea is breathtaking.
'See how it sits at the confluence of several rivers,' remarks the jinni. 'Originally there were a number of smaller settlements here but, as they grew and merged, the city of Hakbad took shape.'
'You are well informed, it would seem ...'
The jinni begins to glide down towards a swathe of parkland situated between two canals. In olden times I would occasionally take the form of a dog or a merchant in order to stroll these very avenues.' He shrinks as he sets you down on the ground, and soon is no taller than the palm tree which stands behind him. 'I might amuse myself in such a way tonight, once all our business is concluded.'
If you have used up all your wishes, turn to 432. If you still have one or more wishes left, turn to 556.
Yes, our business is done with the genie.
Yeah, even if we didn't take the abbot's side-quest, we could still have waited on the wishes. The genie would grant us whatever remaining wishes we have left before he leaves (same options, riches, stat-enhancements, restoration, etc), but we'll need to make the final choice once we reach Hakbad since he won't stick around after that.
The jinni transforms himself into a large black hound with glowing coals for eyes. As he runs off across the park, he barks back over his shoulder: 'You can keep the copper bottle, by the way, if you picked it up. It might be worth something as an antiquity. I shan't be needing it again, that's for sure!'
You soon lose sight of the hound among the trees. Susurrien said that he would wait for you at the House of the Desert Breeze. You have no idea where that is, so you set off at random and eventually come to a gravel path which seems to lead towards the centre of the city. After a few minutes it brings you to a wide tree-lined avenue, and you see an old dervish coming towards you carrying a heavy pack.
If the Trickster is here and has a wooden doll, he or she should turn to 228. If not, turn to 134.
What,
doll? Benedict is surely too old to be playing with dolls!
'It is late to be on the streets,' you say as the dervish draws level with you.
'Or early,' he replies. He stops, but says nothing further by way of conversation.
'What do you have in your pack?' you ask, pointing to the obviously heavy burden on his shoulders.
'Books. Here I have the apocryphal sayings of the Illuminate; the ruba'i of the Five Perceptives; a number of treatises on ethics, law and arithmancy; volumes of Nascerine and Opalarian literature; some manuscripts out of a Kaikuhuran tomb ...'
'They must be of great value. Are you intending to sell them?'
He gives you a gap-toothed grin. 'Not at all! A fine dervish I would be with my pockets full of gold! No, I am going to make a fire with them to keep me warm until daybreak.'
This is madness! 'Surely you jest?' you say to him. 'The act would be nothing short of criminal.'
'It is better to live the Illuminate's teaching than to read it,' he replies, still smiling broadly. 'In every sense, action is superior to intellection. But if you wish, here is one manuscript you may save from the fire.' He draws a scroll at random from his pack and hands it to you. Record it on your Character Sheet if you wish to keep it.
Baffled by the dervish's oblique logic, you ask him if he knows the way to the House of the Desert Breeze.
'It is close by. Follow this avenue to the end, then look to your left. You will know the House of the Desert Breeze, as you will see its tower framed within the constellation called the Spider.'
Ominous. You thank him and set off in the direction he has indicated.
If you took the scroll he offered and want to look at it at any time (including now), turn to 518. Remember to write down the number of the entry you are at when you do this, as 518 will not direct you back there.
If anybody wants to take the scroll, you'd have to drop something....well, I guess you don't have to take it if you read it
now, but yeah, if you want to know the contents without sacrificing an equipment slot, please vote than you want to read the scroll immediately.
You readily identify the House of the Desert Breeze from the dervish's description. It is a low building faced in grey-green marble, enclosing a pair of courtyards. Stabling and dormitories occupy the outer wings of the enclosure, while the central building separating the two courtyards comprises the luxury accommodation. It is from this central building that the tower the dervish mentioned rises - a thin talon of a spire, covered with relief carvings and ending in a bronze-clad turret. The constellation known in Ta'ashim astronomy as the Spider does indeed seem to halo the tower. You have a nasty suspicion that Susurrien will be up there.
He is. You are kept waiting in the stairwell for several minutes, then a servant comes with a lamp to escort you up. Susurrien's chambers are at the very top of the tower, beyond a red-lacquered door carved with leering demon-faces. Dozens of thick candles cast a disturbingly uneven light around the room. A mural covering one wall depicts scenes of sybaritic abandon among the pre-Ta'ashim gods of Marazid. It appears almost alive in the flickering glow.
Susurrien flicks a curtain aside and steps into the room. He is dressed in a beige gown and a white satin overrobe bordered with gold and emerald green. A cabochon sapphire the size of a duck's egg glints in the centre of his turban.
He smiles languidly. 'I expected you sooner. You have the Hatuli's eyes?'
If you hand them to him, turn to 347. If you show them to him but demand some assurance before handing them over, turn to 194. If you don't have them, turn to 384.
Again, to save time, I'll show what happens if we ask for assurances, because:
'Assurance?' He spreads his hands. 'What assurance can I give you? We are allies. I have the Hatuli and you have its eyes, and only by co-operating can we hope to achieve what we desire. Our interests do not conflict in any way. I have no use for the Sword of Life, any more than you have for the Sword of Death. Our goals are diametric, and there is surely no better guarantee against treachery than that.'
You must decide now: do you give him the emeralds (turn to 347) or not (turn to 384)?
As you can see, choosing not to give him the Hatuli just leads to the same section as not having it, so that was a meaningless section.
Give him the eyes or not?
Adventure Sheet:
WARRIOR:
NAME: Dame Caecilia Wither-Stoat
RANK: 4th
Battle Order: 1
Fighting Prowess: 12
Psychic Ability: 7
Awareness: 8
Endurance: 32/33
Damage: 2 Dice +3 (+3 from Enchanted Sword)
*Extra Notes: Takes no FP/damage penalty when fighting unarmed, +1 Armour Rating from Potentiation on top of normal armour bonus
Items:
1 Enchanted Sword (+3 Damage)
2 Enchanted Chainmail armour (Armour Rating five)
3 Money pouch (98 gold pieces)
4 Silver crucifix (with finger-bone of St Ashanax)
5 Iron Bell
6 Bedroll
7 Shielding Charm (+1 AR)
8 Blood Sword Scabbard
9 Blood Sword Hilt
10 Eyes of the Hatuli
TRICKSTER:
NAME: Benedict of the Crimson Spires, Honourable Duelist
RANK: 4th
Battle Order: 2
Fighting Prowess: 8 (+1 from Enchanted Sword)
Psychic Ability: 7
Awareness: 8
Endurance: 25/25
Damage: 1 Die+2
Items:
1 Enchanted Sword (+1 FP)
2 Studded Leather Armour (Armour Rating two)
3 Golden Snuffbox
4 Jug of Milk
5 Gloves
6 Bow
7 Harp
8 Quiver (6 arrow)
9 Fur Cloak
10 Gilt-edged scroll
*11 Screebo the Raven
SAGE:
NAME: "Pepito" Cascadero, Master of the Mystic Way
RANK: 4th
Battle Order: 3
Fighting Prowess: 7
Psychic Ability: 8
Awareness: 7
Endurance: 21/21
Damage: 1 Die+1
Items:
1 Quarterstaff
2 Ringmail Armour (Armour Rating two)
3 Seafaring Charts from Hunguk's ship
4 Bedroll
5 Magic Bow (Damage 1 Die+1)
6 Quiver (3 arrow)
7 Skull Amulet
8 Blue Crystal Eyes
9 Money pouch (100 gold pieces)
10 Silver key to Fatima's garden
ENCHANTER:
NAME: Enchanter Reed, Ninth of the Inverted Tower
RANK: 4th
Battle Order: 4
Fighting Prowess: 1
Psychic Ability: 15 (+1 from Ring of Sorcery)
Awareness: 7
Endurance: 21/21
Damage: 1 Die +1
Items:
1 Brazier
2 Silver armour (Armour Rating two)
3 Bedroll
4 Magical Bread Crust of Infinity
5 Fur Cloak
6 Money pouch (88 gold pieces)
7 Ring of Sorcery (+1 PA)
8 Copper Bottle
9 Amber Tinderbox
10 Iron rations (7 days)