[Let's Play] GrailQuest 5: Kingdom of Horror

[SGamerz]

So, as of the end of the last book, Pip still had some unfinished business, and that business being the recovery of King Arthur's sword Excalibur. So I don't think anyone will be surprised at the back cover blurb here:

"Whoever holds Excalibur rules Avalon"

States the ancient lore. And now King Arthur’s fabled sword has been stolen. Avalon is in chaos, and Merlin’s strongest sorcery cannot discover the thief.

YOUR mission: to track down Excalibur through realms in time and space of incredible strangeness. Where you must use magic and solve cryptic puzzles to survive. Where creatures of hideous power will confront you. Where you will find the Kingdom of Horror--and adventure beyond your wildest nightmares...

As mentioned before during the playthroughs of the earlier books, the difficulty level of this series really took a huge spike after Book 3, as you guys found out in the last playthrough. For this book, Brennan didn't bother to pretend otherwise either, beginning the book with a WARNING on the very first page:

WARNING:

This is the most difficult GrailQuest yet!

To complete it, you will require exceptional patience, skill, courage and not a little luck.

Examine every possibility with care (and caution). Ignore nothing. And above all be certain to map your progress as you go along.

This latter point is especially important should you manage to enter the Kingdom of Horrors where the nature of reality is such that retracing your steps will not necessarily return you to the place you have just come from.

As mentioned before, I will probably implement some house rules to reduce the risk in what is probably the most consistently annoying mechanism in this book....which hopefully will mean that this book won't be more difficult than the last one, at least. I'll reveal more about that when we get to it.

First, as usual, we open with Merlin's summoning:

HERE BE MERLIN

Ah, there you are.

Don't panic--there's no crisis. No wicked wizards on the loose. No rampaging dragons. No invading Saxons. No crisis at all--just a small problem. Or smallish. Well, quite a big problem, really. A rebellion in Avalon.

You remember Avalon, don't you? King Arthur's realm. Knights. Heroes. Damsels in distress--all that sort of thing. And me. The Wizard Merlin.

The King has instructed me to send you this message.

COME HERE AT ONCE!

Got that?

COME HERE AT ONCE!

signed, Arturus Rex.

You'll need your usual equipment, of course. A pencil, paper and eraser and two six-sided dice. One will do if you haven't got two, but two is better. Get your equipment together then come back. Now pay close attention because this is important.

If you have never adventured in the GrailQuest before, turn to 1.

If you have adventured in the GrailQuest, but can't remember the rules, still turn to 1. You can of course refresh your memory with the cut-out rule card bookmark at the back.

If you have adventured in the GrailQuest and remember all about rolling up your LIFE POINTS, fighting and so on, turn direct to 2.

All the rules that are mentioned in Section 1 are rules that we've been through before: LP, Combat, Friendly Reaction, Bribes, Sleep, and Exp points. The only slight variation compared to the last book is that for some reason, we are only allowed to take 10 Permanent LP with us to the next book. I guess we'll see about that when we get there, but since the previous book says we can take up to 40, we're allowed to take all of our 15 Permanent LP with us for this quest.

Speaking of which, let's find out how much we start with for this playthrough:

1st roll = 7.
2nd roll = 5.
3rd roll = 9.

Pip's starting LP = 9x4+15 = 51.

Knock-knock!

Just ignore that--somebody's knocking at my door. They'll go away eventually--they always do.

Now pay attention. In a moment I'm going to call you back to my time. I'm going to cast a Net Spell which captures your mind and pops it back into the body of a young person here in Avalon. A young person called Pip, who is quite a hero. Pip has slaughtered wizards and dragons and monsters galore. Yes, indeed, a sturdy young person.

I have Pip's body here, all ready for you. It's in a wicker hamper underneath the table. In quite good order too. A few scars from old wounds, but sound of wind and limb. If you've used Pip's body before, you'll hardly notice any difference from the last time.

Except for the bolt through the neck. I'm sorry about that but there's nothing I can do about it now. It was a little experiment I was trying after I read an old diary by a Dr Von Frankenstein. He used lightning to animate bodies. Most ingenious approach. I tried it out on young Pip's body, actually. Iron bolt through the neck, propped Pip up against an oak tree and waited for a thunderstorm. There were seven lightning strikes directly into the bolt. It didn't animate the body, but it fused the iron into place and now I can't get the bolt out without removing the head.

Never mind: you'll look quite distinguished with a bolt through your neck. There are also certain benefits from lightning which...

Knock-knock-knock!

Go away! No, not you. Now where was I? Oh, yes, the Net Spell. When you get here, I'll have your spell books ready and your magic sword and some very special...

Knock! Crash! Crash!

Will you go away! Honestly, some people just don't understand the meaning of privacy. Of course, the whole of Avalon has gone to pieces since the rebellion started. But we'll soon sort out that little problem. It's only a question of getting back Excalibur for the King.

What was I saying? Yes--very special armour which will let you win all your fights without any chance of injury. And some excellent magical gear.

But first the Net Sp...

Crash! Crash! Splinter! Thud!

Those peasants don't know their own strength, do they? The door is half off its hinges. I shall have something to say to them all right when I've finished this spell.

Now you just relax and turn to 3.

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

The Net Spell snakes through Time from Merlin's outstretched fingers, reaching with invisible tendrils to capture your mind and bring it to the green fields and rolling countryside of Arthur's Avalon. You feel faintly disorientated. Your surroundings fade. No longer are you in the Twentieth Century. Instead...

This isn't right. No green fields, no rolling countryside. You may be in Avalon, but if you are, you're in a funny part of Avalon. Your trusty talking sword, EJ, is with you. Merlin must have left the body you'll be using for your adventure in a box, somewhere. And now you've arrived, you're trapped!

If you want to call for help, turn to 23.

Or you could try poking EJ through the gaps in the wickerwork to knock up the hasp, in which case go to 55.

Well, we start with EJ this time. That's some good news, at least....

how do we get out of the prison, though?

[Omegonthesane]

Poking first. For all we know evil people are in earshot.

[SGamerz]

Carefully you slide EJ, blade first, through a gap in the wicker hamper. Although you can't see what you're doing, after an age something clicks. At once the lid springs open, allowing you to stand up impatiently and bang your head against the underside of the table.

You extricate EJ from the wicker basket and crawl out.

The room is in a total shambles. Furniture has been smashed, cupboards overturned, an alchemical furnace pounded into scrap metal, books and parchment manuscripts torn into shreds. A door leading outside hangs drunkenly from broken hinges. There are marks on the dusty floor as if somebody had been dragged out and several damp bootprints throughout the room. Merlin is nowhere in sight; nor is anybody else for that matter.

'Where is this place?' you ask EJ.

'Merlin's new house, I think.'

You groan inwardly. Merlin is notorious for the odd places he picks as home. At various times he has lived in a log castle, a crystal cave, an old oak tree and a bubble at the bottom of a well. If this is his new house, it could be anywhere.

You hesitate a moment, taking stock of your position. Obviously something very nasty has happened to Merlin, probably related to the rebellion he mentioned. The marks on the floor suggest he has been dragged away bodily, so that the longer you wait, the greater chance there is that his assailants will get away,

As against that, without Merlin to meet you when the Net Spell worked, you have no magic or equipment for an adventure--nothing, in fact, but your LIFE POINTS, your skill and your trusty talking sword.

You can risk Merlin's attackers getting away and search this room in the hope of finding magic or equipment by going to 33.

Or you can risk running into Merlin's attackers without magic or equipment by going to 66.

Do we want to pause for loot?

[Omegonthesane]

Loot later. Kill now!

[SlyJohnny]

I trust Merlin to leave a trail for us, and we're not going to take on anything that rolled him without supplies. Search.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Search the room. If this book is more like the first three then I strongly doubt that we'll be expected to leave with just EJ.

[SGamerz]

Quickly you hustle through the room, desperately searching for something of use. But anything that hasn't been stolen has been smashed or torn. The only thing that seems to have survived is a small bronze mirror; and even that is badly dented.

You glance at your harassed reflection as you are setting the mirror to one side. Good Grief. Merlin wasn't joking! There is an iron bolt right through your neck!!

You pick up the mirror again and stare at it in mute astonishment. If you weren't such an incredibly handsome young person, you would be the spitting image of Frankenstein's monster. The bolt enters your neck just below the jawbone and emerges in much the same place on the other side.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, Merlin's let it go rusty!

'I've got a bolt through my neck!' you exclaim.

'I know,' says EJ. 'Try not to touch it.'

'Why not?' you ask, involuntarily touching the bolt. At once a vicious shack jabs through your arm, making your hair stand momentarily on end and deftly removing three of your LIFE POINTS. (If this kills you--which is, admittedly, unlikely--go to 14.)

'Warned you,' sniffs EJ. 'I was watching when Merlin was messing around with that thing. It's full of lightning bolts.'

This is all you need. A bolt through your neck charged full of electricity, a wrecked room, Merlin kidnapped (or worse), a rebellion on and not a scrap of magic or equipment left intact.

'Come on,' you say, 'we've wasted long enough in here. Let's get after the people who took Merlin!'

'Aren't you taking the sleep-globe under the sofa?' asks EJ.

'Sleep-globe?' you ask stupidly.

'Little glass thing about the size of a cricket ball,' says EJ. 'It's got gas inside and that will put one enemy to sleep for 12 combat rounds or 12 enemies to sleep for one combat round or six enemies to sleep for two combat rounds or three enemies to sleep for four combat rounds or two...'

'Yes, yes, I get the idea. Why didn't you tell me about this before?'

'You didn't ask me. Incidentally,' EJ adds, 'you can only use it once. You have to break the globe to get the gas out.'

Grabbing the globe in one hand and EJ in the other, you race from the wreckage of the room through the broken door and outside into 83.

Nice loot, good thing we did stop to search.

And since the minimum LP Pip can possibly start with is 8, there's no way he can be killed by that electric shock. It does bring Pip's LP down to 48/51, however.

Now that you have a moment to look around, you quickly take stock of your surroundings. The building you have just left is a perfect cube (with slightly rounded corners) standing on what appears to be a rocky plateau on the top of a small mountain. Neat round windows have been set into the sides of the cube in such a way as to give it the appearance of a six-sided die. The effect is absolutely fascinating, but for the moment you have no time to worry about it.

At the edge of the plateau, a narrow path winds downwards and from your vantage point you can see a group of men hurrying along it. Their progress is being slowed substantially by the furious struggles of a tall, thin, white robed (and similarly bearded) figure whom they are, apparently, attempting to kidnap.

'You down there--stop!' you call bravely, waving EJ for added emphasis. The group halts and heads turn at the sound. For a moment they confer together, while you begin to wonder if stealth might not have been a better strategy since there are seven of them altogether, not counting the white robed figure who is certainly your crabby old mentor, Merlin.

The distance is a little too far to hear what they are saying, but in a moment three of the men break away from the group and rush back up the path towards you. All three are waving +3 clubs, so it seems unlikely they are coming back to invite you out to tea. Nonetheless, you stoutly stand your ground, legs akimbo, EJ trembling with suppressed excitement in your strong right hand. The men reach the plateau and the fight is on!

And a tough fight it will be for an adventure that has hardly started yet. Each one of these rough peasants has 20 LIFE POINTS and though they each require a 6 or better to hit, the clubs, as mentioned, do +3 damage. If they kill you in the encounter, go to 14. If you manage to put paid to them, the remainder on the path will release Merlin and run, allowing you to proceed (more or less peacefully) to 7.

This can actually be pretty painful, since Pip still doesn't have any armour, although he's still likely to come out on top.

Do we want to use the Sleep Globe yet, or do we save it for later?

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 48/51
Permanent Life Points: 15

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Excalibur Junior (hits on 4, damage +5)
Sleep-globe (puts x enemies to sleep for 12/x rounds)

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 0
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet

[MisterDee]

I'm going to throw in a vote for using the Globe, just so we move forward. Besides, due to this book's gimmick I think it's better to fend off our hoard-the-Elixirs instincts in order to benefit from maximum horrible deaths content.

I will not vote on actual route picks however.

[Darth Rabbitt]

While I agree that we shouldn't be too stingy with our resources, I don't think that we should use the orb right now.

[SlyJohnny]

Let's see if we can pull this off without using the orb.

[SGamerz]

Saving the globe for later...

Peasants roll 4, Pip rolls 9. Pip goes first.

COMBAT LOG:

Pip rolls 10 and hits for 6+5 = 11 damage. Peasant#1 is at 9.
Peasant#1 rolls 7 and hits for 1+3 = 4 damage. Pip is at 47.
Peasant#2 rolls 4 and misses.
Peasant#3 rolls 11 and hits for 5+3 = 8 damage. Pip is at 39.
Pip rolls 9 and hits for 5+5 = 10 damage. Peasant#1 is killed.
Peasant#2 rolls 4 and misses.
Peasant#3 rolls 4 and misses.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 2+5 = 7 damage. Peasant#2 is at 13.
Peasant#2 rolls 8 and hits for 2+3 = 5 damage. Pip is at 34.
Peasant#3 rolls 10 and hits for 4+3 = 7 damage. Pip is at 27.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 2+5 = 7 damage. Peasant#2 is at 6.
Peasant#2 rolls 10 and hits for 4+3 = 7 damage. Pip is at 20.
Peasant#3 rolls 5 and misses.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 2+5 = 7 damage. Peasant#2 is killed.
Peasant#3 rolls 5 and misses.
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 3+5 = 8 damage. Peasant#3 is at 12.
Peasant#3 rolls 6 and hits for 1+3 = 4 damage. Pip is at 16.
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 3+5 = 8 damage. Peasant#3 is at 4 and is knocked out.

Ouch! The peasant made some big hits due to some lucky rolls although Pip prevails.

'What kept you?' asks Merlin crabbily as you run down the mountain path to help him the last few remaining yards to the plateau. 'Haven't you realised Excalibur is missing?'

'Excalibur?' you echo. 'The King's sword?'

'Yes, the King's sword. Nicked by some scabby tortfeasor while you were sunning yourself in Ancient Greece. I meant to mention it after you've put paid to the Saxon invasion, but you skived off so quickly afterwards I never had the chance. And since it takes quite a time for me to prepare a Net Spell, half the country is in rebellion. Who holds Excalibur rules the realm--that's always been the way. And since Arthur doesn't hold it now, a lot of people are saying he's not fit to govern.'

'But what of the Knights of the Table Round?' you cry.

Merlin sniffs. 'They've stayed loyal for the most part. But they can't be everywhere. Although they're trying, of course. Lancelot is at Land's End, Galahad is at John O'Groats and King Pellinore is sailing up the Mersey. None of it is doing any good. As fast as one pocket of rebellion is put down, another one springs up. The only thing for it is to find the Sword. And quickly. Which is where you come in.' He brushes himself down and asks, 'Do you like my new house?'

You follow the direction of his gaze to the cubed structure. 'Oh, that--yes, very nice.' As an afterthought you ask, 'Where are we exactly?'

'Llaldoggogwent Tor,' Merlin replies. 'In the Welsh Mountains. I came here for a bit of peace, but the rebellion is everywhere. Never mind, now the Net Spell's done, I can set traps. But in the meantime we'd better get you ready for your search.'

As you walk together towards the cubical house, Merlin remarks, 'I really built this for you, you know. And a good job too. Those peasants ruined all the spells and most of the equipment I had stockpiled for you. So when you need a bit of magic, you'll just have to pop back for it. Have you noticed anything peculiar about the house?'

'It looks like a dice cube.'

'Most observant. And for good reason. Sympathetic magic. Like attracts like. As Above so Below. And so on. Any time you need to come back here, all you do is roll one die. It will transport you back to the house. So long as you don't roll a one or a six.'

'What happens if I roll a one or a six?' you ask.

Merlin regards you sternly. 'We won't discuss depressing things like that. Now don't hang about. You can help me repair the door, then I'll set you on the road to find the sword.'

Since Merlin is using magic, a throw of 10 or better on 2 dice will repair the door. After you've managed it, go to 28.

Let's fix the door:

Dice roll = 7 (Fail).
2nd roll = 3 (Fail).
3rd roll = 7 (Fail).
4th roll = 9 (Fail).
5th roll = 10 (Success!)

At least that didn't take too long....

Oddly enough, the interior of Merlin's residence looks completely different to the way you left it. Much the same size and shape, but no sign of broken furniture or wicker baskets or any of the mess left by the peasants breaking in.

'Can you read maps?' Merlin asks you abruptly.

You nod.

'Then take a look at this one.' He draws from a pocket a parchment scroll which he proceeds to unroll on a nearby table. 'It was discovered at the scene of the crime. It is my belief it contains a vital clue to the present whereabouts of Excalibur (see page 217). Do you recognize any of these placenames?'

You stare at the map, frowning. Mountains of Madness... Wilderness of Karn... Scroghollow City... None of the names is familiar. You shake your head.

'That's because these places do not exist,' Merlin tells you. 'At least not in our reality. This is a map of a small part of the Fairy Kingdom.'

'But who?' you ask. 'in this Fairy Kingdom would want Excalibur?'

Merlin shrugs. 'Who can say? Now,' he adds briskly, 'on the matter of equipment and magic: you can't have any. At least not at the moment. All smashed up by the revolting peasants. Yes indeed. I shall do my best to sort something out and you can pick it up later.'

'How?' you ask, alarmed at the prospect of setting off with no more than your faithful talking sword.

'By popping back to my new house when you feel the need!' snaps Merlin. 'I've already told you--when you want to return here, which you can do at any time except during a combat or when somebody has laid a spell on you, all you have to do is roll one die and turn to the Section headed MERLIN'S HOUSE. You'll only be able to take one thing at a time from here, of course, it's the best I can do in difficult circumstances. Now, are you ready to be off?'

'I don't even know where I'm supposed to be going!'

'No, but I do,' says Merlin, beginning to wave his arms in the intricate pattern which marks the start of a transportation spell.

'Wait...' you shout desperately, having discovered in the past how unreliable Merlin's magical transportation can be. But as always it is just that little bit too late. The room begins to spin around you, growing faster and faster until you are aware of nothing other than a swirling fog.

Fortunately you don't have to stay fogged. It will clear a little at 50.

The fog clears, although you may well wish it hadn't. You are standing, alone, on a broad Roman road running due north in one direction and branching southwest and south in the other. All around you is a sweeping plain. At the fork is a wooden gibbet from which hangs the smelly remains of a rotting corpse. Beneath the corpse a clump of yarrow plant is growing.

If this is the Fairy Kingdom, the fairies must be pretty funny folk. But something tells you it's nothing of the sort: all your instincts point to the fact that you're still in Avalon. But where in Avalon?

'I don't suppose you know where we are?' you ask EJ.

'Nope!' EJ replies shortly. 'I don't suppose Merlin remembered to give you that map of the place we're supposed to be going, did he?'

'No, he didn't,' you mutter sourly.

'Better pop back for it then,' remarks EJ with a self-satisfied sniff.

Well, possibly. But you do have several alternatives. one is to follow the Roman road north, by going to 4. Another is to take the southern fork at 37. Or the southwestern fork at 70. Or you might pick some of the yarrow at 18. Or examine that smelly corpse at 10. Or, as EJ says, you can throw a dice to get back to Merlin's new house, then turn to the MERLIN'S HOUSE section.

Merlin's House is the one location that is accessible from any location at any time, so most of the time it won't be actually listed in the text as an option. Just keep in mind that it's always an option.

Where do we start?

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 16/51
Permanent Life Points: 15

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Excalibur Junior (hits on 4, damage +5)
Sleep-globe (puts x enemies to sleep for 12/x rounds)

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 3
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
3 Peasants
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet

[SlyJohnny]

So what was on page 217?

The yarrow is probably going to heal us, let's go for that.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Pick the yarrow.

[SGamerz]

You pick some of the yarrow and stuff it into your pocket.

Now you'd better get back to 50 and make some sort of sensible decision.

Doesn't heal us, but doesn't harm us either, so not altogether a bad choice.

Next option?

Well, possibly. But you do have several alternatives. one is to follow the Roman road north, by going to 4. Another is to take the southern fork at 37. Or the southwestern fork at 70. Or you might pick some of the yarrow at 18. Or examine that smelly corpse at 10. Or, as EJ says, you can throw a dice to get back to Merlin's new house, then turn to the MERLIN'S HOUSE section.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Loot the corpse (or possibly get attacked by a zombie).

[Thaluikhain]

You pick some of the yarrow and stuff it into your pocket.

Now you'd better get back to 50 and make some sort of sensible decision.

Without wanting to give anything away, when you started running this series, I was immediately reminded of the yarrow, and the book condemning you for taking what is a genuine item. Grrrr...

[SlyJohnny]

Can we have the map at 217 that Merlin just showed us? Or have you already posted it?

I'd like to see that and see if we can figure out where we are before deciding, but in the absence of the map, southeast. I vote for not bothering the corpse, as any gibbet-corpse won't have loot, and will probably just give us disease or something.

[MisterDee]

As I recall the map is not useful right this instant.

[SGamerz]

Can we have the map at 217 that Merlin just showed us? Or have you already posted it?

Sorry, somehow I thought I already did.

Here's the map:

MAP OF FAIRY KINGDOM

Examining the corpse now:

If you survive this operation without developing some noxious disease, it will be a miracle. The corpse has obviously been hanging here for a very long time and what bits of it haven't already fallen off soon will by the look of it.

The clothing is largely gone to rags, but by dint of holding your nose, you do manage a reasonably thorough search. It reveals only two items of interest. One is a small gold coin, the other is a scrap of parchment.

The coin is not a standard gold piece: it is too small for one thing. Nor does it carry Arthur's sovereign insignia, nor the head of any Roman Emperor, as some old coins in circulation still do. In fact, it is perfectly blank and featureless, so that it is perhaps not a coin at all, but a small golden disc.

The scrap of parchment has something written on it in spidery writing--a foreign language or possible a code of some sort. To make matters worse, the parchment is obviously old, badly torn and certainly only a small bit of a much larger sheet so that only fragments of the original writing are left. But for what it's worth, this is what you can read:

ZMXRVMG OLIV
HVVP GSV TRZMGH WZMXV
TLOW WRHX ZXGREZGVH

Yes, well...

And with those useful finds, you may now go north at 4; south west at 70; or south at 37.

And don't forget Merlin's House is still an option too!

As usual, if anyone deciphers the message, Pip gets a puzzle point!

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 16/51
Permanent Life Points: 15

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Excalibur Junior (hits on 4, damage +5)
Sleep-globe (puts x enemies to sleep for 12/x rounds)
Yarrow
Small golden disc
Scrap of parchment ("ZMXRVMG OLIV HVVP GSV TRZMGH WZMXV TLOW WRHX ZXGREZGVH")

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 3
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
3 Peasants
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet

[SlyJohnny]

Assuming that the disc is relevant to this and is therefore one of the four-letter words, and that the three letter word is "the", I make it:

"ancient lore
seek the giants dance
gold disc activates"

But "lore" could also be "lobe" or something.

Let's go south, towards the giants wall, because maybe there will be some dancing giants there that we can activate with the golden disc.

[SGamerz]

The reason Merlin's map isn't relevant right now is because

we're not actually inside the Fairy Kingdom yet

Anyway, Pip gets the Exp for decoding the message on the parchment!

Heading south:

Looks like the Romans ran out of paving stones. The road ends less than half a mile along here. Or at least dwindles into what looks like a cattle track.

You can follow the track at 21. Alternatively, you can return to the fork where you can search the corpse at 10, go north at 4 or south west at 70.

The most basic option: continue or backtrack to one of the other options?

[SlyJohnny]

Well, if there are no giants to be found, let's try south west rather than this dubious "cattle track".

[SGamerz]

Ah, the joys of life on the open road! Trudging along without the slightest notion of where you're supposed to be going or what to do when you get there. But it's a lovely day, the birds are singing, the air is fresh and the only thing you have to worry about is that huge group of ugly looking peasants with pitchforks bearing down on you.

In a moment they have completely blocked your path. There must be at least 25 of them, looking grim and suspicious, not to say threatening.

'Stand aside,' you say bravely, fingering the hilt of your sword (although in truth you know you wouldn't stand a chance against so many in a fight).

'Not until ee shows us your Right of Passage token, properly inscribed,' growls their leader, hefting his pitchfork menacingly.

If you have a Right of Passage Token, simply hand it to the leader and you will be allowed to pass on without hindrance to 111. Alternatively, you might just be in a position to fight all these idiots using magic. (Or, if you're really nuts, you could tackle all 25 without using magic and hope EJ is in good form: each has 30 LIFE POINTS, strike on 6 and does +2 damage with those pitchforks.) If you succeed, go to 111. If they kill you, go to 14.

Finally, you can always return the way you came. When you reach the fork, you can go north at 4, south at 37 or search the corpse at 10.

We don't have the Right of Passage Token.

Do we want to get ourselves slaughtered risk the 25-on-1 fight? If not, where do we go for now?

[SlyJohnny]

Back up and try north.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Go north.