[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 59 - Curse of the Mummy

[Queen of Swords]

Search the debris and crack a egg to see if we get a baby Rasaur that will imprint on us and be our new companion.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to search the debris in order to look for key items.

[SGamerz]

Buried under the piles of bones you unearth the remains of a backpack that you presume belonged to the unfortunate human. Looking inside the backpack, you find a small notebook. Opening it, you discover that it is a diary or journal. From what you can make out, its owner was among the band of explorers, one of whom tumbled into Jerran Farr s camp eight days ago; the diary contains information about their progress to the temple, but you also read something else of interest. On their journey the group came upon some ruins which they believed to be Djaratian. On one section of wall they found an inscription in a strange picture script; it is reproduced in the diary. There is nothing else of interest, but before leaving you decide to take the Rasaur's two eggs with you, each of which will provide a meal in itself (add 2 to your Provisions).

Well, no baby Rasaur. In fact, it looks like we're going to make sure no babies get hatched from them by using them for food.

There are no obvious options listed in the section, but we can use the scroll here to translate the inscription that was reproduced in the diary:

Slowly, using the Papyrus Scroll, you are able to translate the hieroglyphs copied into the diary. The inscription reads:

And all those who would despoil the shrine of Cracca, Lord of Rivers and Ferryman of the Gods, beware the wrath of the crocodile-headed one.

Now we leave the cavern...

Dusk falls and still you have not sighted the temple. Here, on the fringes of the Desert of Skulls, the nights are as freezing a s the days are scorching. If you have a Yokka Egg, turn to 83. Otherwise, do you want to build a fire to keep you warm, assuming you have some means of lighting one, or would you rather not risk attracting the attentions of any nocturnal hunters?

We didn't buy the eggs.

Do we want to light a fire?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Boris O’Connell
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 16/18
LUCK 12/12
Poison: 0/18
Equipment: Sword, backpack, Rope and Grapple, Firepowder (can be thrown at opponent at start of combat, hit after successful Skill test for 1D6 damage), Torch (x2), Lantern, Skins of Oil (x2), Oil of Lotus, Crystal Pyramid, Papyrus Scroll (subtract 20 from section number to translate hieroglyphic script), Statuette of Assamarra, God of the Sand, Ankh (Key of Life, set with 12 precious stones)
Provisions: 9
Gold: 3
Extra Lives remaining: 2
Notes: We received Cranno's Warning. "And all those who would despoil the shrine of Cracca, Lord of Rivers and Ferryman of the Gods, beware the wrath of the crocodile-headed one."
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Light a fire. It may well attract attention, but I doubt that's the kind of development which leads to "a passing orc spots your fire. You never wake up".

[JourneymanN00b]

I disagree, as attracting nocturnal hunters is probably going to be a game over for our hero. I vote *not* to light a fire.

[Thaluikhain]

If it's freezing, best to light a fire.

(Also, Green missed a trick there, if you are going to say that the ancient language is the same, just the script is different, he could have had a picture of a message in the ancient script and what it says in modern English, allowing you to identify characters, and had pictures of other ancient writings you had to work out yourself)

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, I expect weather to be a more likely game over than wandering monsters.

[SGamerz]

Having constructed your fire, you settle down to sleep. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, the night passes peacefully(restore 2 STAMINA points) and in the morning, having consulted Jerran's map once more, you head north towards the temple. If you are Unlucky, tum to 375.

I was actually wondering whether we're supposed to use up any fuel for lighting the fire (it did state we should have "some means of lighting" it), which might have made this not worth the cost, but there's no instruction to cross off anything, so I'm going to assume that lighting a spark doesn't cost us an entire unit of fuel.

Luck test roll = 8 (Lucky).

STAMINA is back to full (although we spent a LUCK point in the process).

You have not travelled many kilometres before you reach the top of a ridge of a line of hills and find yourself looking out over a wide valley. The land drops steeply down to the sand-covered valley floor and there, only a few hundred metres away, lie the fallen pillars and broken walls of a temple, half buried by the desert. At last you have found it! In front of the temple is a sparkling oasis, surrounded by palm trees, its dear waters looking very inviting after your days of hot and dusty travel. Here, you hope, you will discover the location of Akharis's tomb. Where will you make for first: for the oasis or the ruins?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Boris O’Connell
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 18/18
LUCK 11/12
Poison: 0/18
Equipment: Sword, backpack, Rope and Grapple, Firepowder (can be thrown at opponent at start of combat, hit after successful Skill test for 1D6 damage), Torch (x2), Lantern, Skins of Oil (x2), Oil of Lotus, Crystal Pyramid, Papyrus Scroll (subtract 20 from section number to translate hieroglyphic script), Statuette of Assamarra, God of the Sand, Ankh (Key of Life, set with 12 precious stones)
Provisions: 9
Gold: 3
Extra Lives remaining: 2
Notes: We received Cranno's Warning. "And all those who would despoil the shrine of Cracca, Lord of Rivers and Ferryman of the Gods, beware the wrath of the crocodile-headed one."
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Might as well check out the oasis first, though it'll probably be a mirage.

[JourneymanN00b]

I say to make for the ruins and ignore the mirage that is the oasis, as it will probably lead to an instadeath.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, I suspect the oasis is both a mirage and a trap. Go to the ruins.

[SGamerz]

All that remains of the temple are sections of crumbling stone walls and the occasional colonnade of rounded pillars. Broken statues of strange, animal-headed deities protrude from heaps of drifted sand, while worn carvings adorn fallen stone slabs. An unnatural stillness pervades this place and the only sound you can hear is the desert wind keening through the ancient columns. Wandering among the ruins, you come to a part of the temple that is not in ruins. Entering the building, you discover that its interior is dimly lit by daylight streaming in through cracks in the roof. The walls of the temple are covered with stylized paintings of human and semi-human figures. A repeated theme appears to be that of a king praying, making offerings, or conversing with an assortment of gods and goddesses.

At last you come to a chamber in which, carved on one wall, is a map of the area round the temple at the edge of the Desert of Skulls; although it is recognizable as such, there are also several obvious differences. Pictures of buildings and other sites have been carved as part of the map and at the top of the wall there is a Djaratian inscription. You study the illustration to try to work out the location of Akharis's tomb. If you can, you will know how many kilometres it is to Akharis's tomb (tum to the paragraph with the same number to continue your adventure). Otherwise, your adventure ends here, as you have no idea where to start looking for the tomb. Soon you and many others will suffer the Curse of Akharis!

The map alone wouldn't have been sufficient to work out the location/distance to the tomb, but our Papyrus scroll allows us to gain more information by translating the inscriptions on the wall:

The translation of the inscription on the wall above the map is as follows:

The dead king's body was carried from the City of Tezra thirty kilometres to the edge of the hills wherein lie the alabaster quarries. South of the Pillars of Antep the evil one rested for three days within the temple before being carried to his tomb. The infernal king ordered its construction decades before, and within its depths were countless traps and unspeakable horrors to ensure his eternal sleep was undisturbed.

Their duties finished, the priests and embalmers left the rift in the hills between the Gold Tunnels and the Oasis of Iash but only one returned alive, the rest having all suffered the Curse.

Can you work out how far we are from the temple?

[JourneymanN00b]

Here are my assumptions:
The city of Tezra is at the bottom left corner with the alabaster quarries four squares east of the city.
The Gold Tunnels are located one square east and one square north of the quarries.
Boris O’Connell’s current location is right in the center in the map.
The rift in the hills where the king is buried is exactly between the oasis and the Gold Tunnels, which puts it two squares to the east of our hero’s current location.

This is a little tricky since the inscription says "to the edge of the hills wherein lie the alabaster quarries". So the thirty kilometres could refer to three squares if we are measuring from the right edge of the city to the left edge of the quarry, or four squares if we simply count four squares east. If the former is true then the tomb is 20 kilometres away from Boris O’Connell, since 30/3 * 2 = 20. If the latter is true then the tomb is 15 kilometres away, since 30/4 *2 = 15.

I am going to go with my gut regarding edges and say 20 is the answer. If that is not it, then I will vote for 15 as my second choice.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, twenty km away to the east makes sense.

[Thaluikhain]

Oh, a puzzle, 20km seems to be the right answer.

[SGamerz]

So now you know the location of Akharis's tomb! Without further delay, you begin to make your way out of the temple ruins so as to continue your journey eastwards. Walking between the columns, you suddenly catch a glimpse of a red-robed figure dashing behind a crumbling wall. Could it be...? You give chase and, rounding the comer, see the man standing, ten metres away, his scarlet robes bearing the golden image of a cobra. Swiftly you draw your sword, ready to deal with the evil cultist. However, before you can get any closer, the man strikes the sandy bank by him several times with the staff he is holding in his hands. Immediately you hear an angry buzzing as a cloud of desert wasps flies out of a hole in the bank, their nest having been disturbed. You watch as the hornet-like insects swarm towards the cultist, then suddenly stop, hovering in mid-air. The cultist has his fingertips pressed to his temple and appears to be concentrating deeply. The wasps mass together into a cloud which rapidly takes on the form of one of the insects, only many times larger. The swarm, looking like a gigantic wasp with a tapered abdomen and a sting half a metre long, tums on its massive wings and moves towards you threateningly. You are going to have to deal with the swarm; there is no way of escaping it. Will you defend yourself with your sword or will you use an alterative weapon?

Congratulations, you got the right answer to the puzzle!

But how do we deal with the insect swarm now?

[Thaluikhain]

Alternative weapon (firepowder, oil or lotus oil seem most reasonable).

[Queen of Swords]

I'd rather save the firepowder. Use a torch (I'm reminded of the Jheera-leaf torch vs the insects in Slaves of the Abyss).

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to use an alternative weapon, with a torch as the choice if we have the option of using one.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Alternative weapon; I doubt a sword will do much good against a swarm.

[SGamerz]

If you have a torch, tum to 240. Otherwise, you may use weapons such as Firepowder or a Yokka Egg against the swarm, but in the end you will have to resort to using your sword.

Sounds like Firepowder does do anything special in this combat, and just works as normal. Since there are 2 voters more inclined to use the torch, let's see what it does:

While you are lighting the torch, the wasps can sting you unopposed (deduct 2 points from your STAMINA and add 1 to your POISON score). However, wielding the blazing torch, you will be able to harm the swarm more effectively.

SWARM SKILL 9 STAMINA 7

Because you are using an unusual weapon, you must reduce your Attack Strength by 1 point for the duration of this battle. If the swarm wins an Attack Round, as well as losing 2 STAMINA points you must add 1 to your POISON score. If you overcome the swarm, turn to 302.

Despite the text saying that we can "harm the swarm more effectively", we actually don't get any advantage for using the torch in this battle, so this wasn't a good option, since we actually take a free hit (and of course use up a torch) for choosing this. Everything else is effectively the same as fighting with a sword - we even get -1 Attack Strength for both cases. I'm not sure whether there's an editorial error that means we're supposed to be able to inflict increased damage with our torch (or do reduced damage with a sword), but there's nothing in the wikia saying that this part was changed in later publications.

CONBAT LOG:
Swarm 12, Boris O’Connell 20. Swarm is at 5.
Swarm 17, BOC 21. Swarm is at 3.
Swarm 17, BOC 18. Swarm is at 1.
Swarm 13, BOC 20. Swarm is defeated.

At last the spell holding the swarm together in its wasp-form is broken by your spirited attack and the remaining insects disperse. As you pause for a moment to recover from your latest battle, you can see no sign of the cultist; however, you have the feeling that you will meet him again before your journey is done. Looking at Jerran's map, you calculate the general position of the tomb of Akharis and the distance you will have to travel to reach it. With renewed determination you set off in an easterly direction, away from the temple.

Eventually the sand-covered plain meets the barren hills to the east again and the way onward looks to be hard going. However, not far to the north-east the mouth of the valley opens on to the fringes of the Desert of Skulls itself. From Jerran's map it looks as if you could take this route to reach Akharis's tomb and, although it may take slightly longer, the going will probably be easier. Which route will you choose: the desert one or the path through the hills?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Boris O’Connell
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 16/18
LUCK 11/12
Poison: 1/18
Equipment: Sword, backpack, Rope and Grapple, Firepowder (can be thrown at opponent at start of combat, hit after successful Skill test for 1D6 damage), Torch, Lantern, Skins of Oil (x2), Oil of Lotus, Crystal Pyramid, Papyrus Scroll (subtract 20 from section number to translate hieroglyphic script), Statuette of Assamarra, God of the Sand, Ankh (Key of Life, set with 12 precious stones)
Provisions: 9
Gold: 3
Extra Lives remaining: 2
Notes: We received Cranno's Warning. "And all those who would despoil the shrine of Cracca, Lord of Rivers and Ferryman of the Gods, beware the wrath of the crocodile-headed one."
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to choose the path through the hills, as desert paths don't sound good in general.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I’d take the path through the hills.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, path through the hills.

[SGamerz]

These desolate highlands seem to be devoid of life in any form; you make your way further to the east under the glare of the blazing sun, but there is still no sign of the cultist. The route you are following climbs upwards until you are walking along a narrow path bounded on your right by a steep, rocky slope and on your left by a precipice. Without warning, a surprisingly cold wind begins to blow in from across the desert, swirling the sand round about you. As you watch, the spiralling current of air and sand becomes a focused column and forms a recognizable shape. Standing on the track in front of you is a humanoid, over two metres in height and composed entirely of the substance of the desert. With great clenched fists and a malevolent red glow in its eye-sockets, the Sand Golem advances on you. What will you use against this magical creation:

Your sword?
Firepowder or a Yokka Egg?
The statuette of a god?
A Sandworm's Tooth?
A Carved Bone Horn?