The Gaming Den

I vote to open the chest.

You have drunk the Potion of Trap Detection.

Although you cannot see any visible trap, you have a strong feeling that the chest contains a hidden danger. The Potion of Trap Detection is working well. You stand to one side of the chest and lift the lid with your sword, holding it at arm's length. As the lid rises, an iron ball hanging on a cord swings back and breaks a glass capsule fixed inside the lid, instantly releasing a gas. Fortunately, you have time to jump back without inhaling the poisonous fumes. Once the gas has cleared,you walk back to the chest and look inside it. There is a pendant chain lying in the bottom, but somebody has taken the stone from its setting. You feel so annoyed that you throw the chain on to the floor and storm out of the room up the tunnel.

(So, either a Trialmaster recently baited this trap with a pendant chain with no stone, or the Ninja has the pendant stone and, by contrast to your interactions with Throm and the elf, felt malicious enough toward his competitors to deliberately bypass the trap and leave it still active.)

The tunnel starts to widen, and ahead you see it open into a huge cavern from where you can hear the sound of many high-pitched voices. You creep up to the entrance and take a look inside. There are about twenty tiny people with long noses and ears running in a circle around a large golden effigy.

Walk up and talk to them?
Try to sneak past them?
Drink a Doppelganger Potion?

Adventure Sheet:
Hai Tien
Skill 11/12
Stamina 18/18
Luck 7/9
Gold Pieces 2
Provisions 2/10
Sword
Leather armor
Shield
Backpack
Potion of Fortune
Doppelganger Potion
Rope
Hollow wooden tube
Left emerald eye
Ring of demon banishing
Dagger
Ruby
Mallet
10 iron spikes
Sapphire
Iron key
2 daggers
Mirror
Bone monkey charm
Grappling hook
Pouch with brass bell
Amulet of strength (worn)
Immune to melting-point temperatures
Will detect hidden traps

I vote to drink a Doppelganger Potion, as this is probably the reason why the potion exists in this adventure.

Blue option.

Drink the potion.

You pour the contents of the glass phial into your mouth and swallow the clear liquid. Although you do not feel any immediate change, you hope that the potion will create the illusion that you are a TROGLODYTE just like the ones in front of you. Taking a deep breath, you step boldly into the cavern. The Troglodytes continue their tribal dance, believing you to be one o{them. You walk past them casually and head north. Unfortunately, the effects of the potion are short-lived. Suddenly you hear a shriek behind you as one of the Troglodytes spots you, and you are forced to run across the cavern floor. Ahead you see an underground river running east to west through the cavern and a wooden bridge crossing over it.

Run over the bridge?
Dive into the water?

Adventure Sheet:
Hai Tien
Skill 11/12
Stamina 18/18
Luck 7/9
Gold Pieces 2
Provisions 2/10
Sword
Leather armor
Shield
Backpack
Potion of Fortune
Rope
Hollow wooden tube
Left emerald eye
Ring of demon banishing
Dagger
Ruby
Mallet
10 iron spikes
Sapphire
Iron key
2 daggers
Mirror
Bone monkey charm
Grappling hook
Pouch with brass bell
Amulet of strength (worn)
Immune to melting-point temperatures
Will detect hidden traps

I vote to run over the bridge, as being in the river is far riskier for our hero.

They're not likely to follow us if we dive into the river, so I'd rather do this.

Need a tiebreaker once again.

Run over.

After crossing the bridge, you run across the cavern floor. At last you see a tunnel in the far wall, which you race down until you reach its end at a heavy wooden door. The door is locked.

You do have an iron key.

The key turns in the lock and the door opens into a four way intersection of the tunnel. There is nothing to be seen either to east or to west apart from the now familiar ceiling crystals giving off their dim light. Suddenly you hear a voice calling you, 'This way, this way. You are on the right track.' It seems to be coming from somewhere directly ahead of you. Your curiosity gets the better of you and you decide to walk towards the beckoning voice.

The tunnel bends sharply to the right, and around the corner you see a little old man with a long beard, cowering behind a large wicker basket. The basket is tied to a rope, the other end of which disappears into the ceiling. The old man sounds very worried as he says, 'Do not attack me, stranger. I pose no threat to you. I am here simply to help you. If you would be so kind as to offer me some sort of remuneration, I will gladly haul you up in the basket to the upper level. And believe me, that is where you ought to be.'

Offer him an item from your backpack to haul you up to the upper level (if you vote for this, specify what; looking at your backpack items I'm saying that a single iron spike won't count, if you want to give him anything involving iron spikes it'd have to be all ten of them)?
Walk past him?

Adventure Sheet:
Hai Tien
Skill 11/12
Stamina 18/18
Luck 7/9
Gold Pieces 2
Provisions 2/10
Sword
Leather armor
Shield
Backpack
Potion of Fortune
Rope
Hollow wooden tube
Left emerald eye
Ring of demon banishing
Dagger
Ruby
Mallet
10 iron spikes
Sapphire
Iron key
2 daggers
Mirror
Bone monkey charm
Grappling hook
Pouch with brass bell
Amulet of strength (worn)
Immune to melting-point temperatures
Will detect hidden traps

Could we give him the iron key, since that's already served its purpose?

You can, yes.

Yeah, give him our iron key in case he wants to visit the Troglodytes next door.

I also vote to give him the iron key.

After paying off the old man, you climb into the wicker basket and watch as he tilts his head back and shouts, 'Pull it up, Ivy!' The rope goes taut and the basket rises jerkily off the ground. As you are hauled higher and higher, the old man calls out to you, saying, 'You'll like Ivy, she's a nice girl. We call her Poison Ivy!' He starts to laugh uncontrollably and you wonder somewhat apprehensively just who is hauling you up. The basket goes through the ceiling and you find yourself in a small chamber, face to face with an ugly old female TROLL. Her face is hairy and covered with warts. With a huge hand she reaches forward and hauls you out of the basket, which she then lets fall to the floor below. She grabs you round the throat and says in a husky voice, 'I want paying too!'

Offer her something from your backpack (again, if you choose this, specify what)?
Try to talk your way out of giving her anything?
Attack her with your sword?

Adventure Sheet:
Hai Tien
Skill 11/12
Stamina 18/18
Luck 7/9
Gold Pieces 2
Provisions 2/10
Sword
Leather armor
Shield
Backpack
Potion of Fortune
Rope
Hollow wooden tube
Left emerald eye
Ring of demon banishing
Dagger
Ruby
Mallet
10 iron spikes
Sapphire
2 daggers
Mirror
Bone monkey charm
Grappling hook
Pouch with brass bell
Amulet of strength (worn)
Immune to melting-point temperatures
Will detect hidden traps

I vote to try to talk her way out of giving her anything, as I don't see any obviously expendable items remaining in Hai Tien's inventory.

Or we could just cut to the chase and attack her.

Need a tiebreaker.

I’d be in favor of giving her one of our daggers (the one we got from the giant fly is listed separately from the two we got from the elf) but between the two options we’re tied between I’d suggest bluffing. She could easily be packing a skill of 10 or more, and a failed bluff will probably just lead to a fight anyways.

You gaze round Ivy's room. Seeing a painting of another Troll hanging on the wall, you ask her if he is any relation. Suddenly her mood and expression change. She loosens her grip on you and smiles, saying, 'Oh yes. That is my dear beloved brother, Sourbelly. He has done very well for himself down south in Port Blacksand. He is now an Imperial Guard in Lord Azzur's elite troop. I'm very proud of him.' Ivy stares at the painting and continues to praise her brother.

Slip out of the chamber through the door in the east wall?
Continue the conversation?

Adventure Sheet:
Hai Tien
Skill 11/12
Stamina 18/18
Luck 7/9
Gold Pieces 2
Provisions 2/10
Sword
Leather armor
Shield
Backpack
Potion of Fortune
Rope
Hollow wooden tube
Left emerald eye
Ring of demon banishing
Dagger
Ruby
Mallet
10 iron spikes
Sapphire
2 daggers
Mirror
Bone monkey charm
Grappling hook
Pouch with brass bell
Amulet of strength (worn)
Immune to melting-point temperatures
Will detect hidden traps

Continue talking to her about the troll slain by Dirk von Facestabber III.

I vote to continue the conversation.

Smiling, you tell Ivy that you think she and Sourbelly look very alike. Then, while she stares admiringly at the painting, you pick up a broken stool, creep up behind her and smash her over the back of the head with it as hard as you can. To your immense relief, she slumps unconscious to the floor.

Search her room?
Leave by the sole door, which is in the east wall?

Adventure Sheet:
Hai Tien
Skill 11/12
Stamina 18/18
Luck 7/9
Gold Pieces 2
Provisions 2/10
Sword
Leather armor
Shield
Backpack
Potion of Fortune
Rope
Hollow wooden tube
Left emerald eye
Ring of demon banishing
Dagger
Ruby
Mallet
10 iron spikes
Sapphire
2 daggers
Mirror
Bone monkey charm
Grappling hook
Pouch with brass bell
Amulet of strength (worn)
Immune to melting-point temperatures
Will detect hidden traps

Search the room.