[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 32 - Slaves of the Abyss

[Beroli]

Use the Spitting Fly.

[SGamerz]

He is a sitting target. Convulsed with laughter, he can do nothing to dodge the blade which flies from your hands. It catches him in the belly, and he is still laughing as he starts to topple...

Hey, at least he had the last laugh, right? Not a bad way to go.

(Btw, if we tried this without the Reaver's bottle, it's revealed that he also knows the Spitting Fly, and is better at it than us. He not only deflects our throw, but also kills us with his own.)

The Slave Master crashes to the ground, his body shattering as if made of china. From the shards emerges a wisp of black smoke, which grows and twists...into the shape of the man you just slew. He smiles confidently and drifts towards you. His arms encircle you and lift you off the ground. His blurred, smoky features are close to your face, and only his eyes retain their sharpness. "I am Bythos, Master of the Abyss," he says defiantly. "Though you have destroyed my earthly shell, yet I live on. Kallamehr is still mine, taken from within. You will not rib me of victory! I have the spirits of these people in thrall. They will remain trapped in the Abyss for eternity!" His smoky form dissipates and you fall to the ground. Around you stand the people of Kallamehr, empty and unmoving. You can do nothing for them.

Damn, this is one of those Bosses that we need to kill more than once!

Although if his gaseous form could lift us off the ground like that, why didn't he just bring us higher up and let us drop to our death?

You turn dejectedly back to your horse, but stagger as you feel something coiling round your leg. It is a large snake; angrily, you raise your sword to cut it down. Before you can strike, the snake speaks softly. "Don't you recognize me? I am Caduceus. Bythos has fled to the Abyss. You must follow him there if you wish to save these people, for Enthymesis has failed. The river in this valley flows underground and passes through a cavern in which there is a gateway to that region. Go now, lose no time. He slithers away and you hurry over to the river. Using a rotting log as a makeshift raft, you are soon racing with the current.

The river leads into a tunnel in the side of a mountain, and you are swept into darkness. After a short while, the river sweeps round a bend and you are washed up on a rocky shelf, which is worn smooth by the pounding water. As you lie these, sodden and panting, you take a look at your surroundings. A guttering torch has been driven into a crevice near by, and by its light you see that, once round the bend, the river runs beneath an arch. Iron bars are set into the arch, blocking entry. Behind you, leading from the rocky shelf, is a dark tunnel, with light flickering along its walls. If you re-enter the water and examine the bars, turn to 277. If you investigate the tunnel, turn to 362.

[Queen of Swords]

So we need to find a gateway to the Abyss. Let's try the tunnel.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to investigate the tunnel.

[SGamerz]

You set out, treading carefully, down the passage until finally you arrive at a fierce wall of fire which fully blocks it. If you go back to the river and investigate the bars, turn to 277. If you dive through the flames, turn to 157.

So the choices are...into the water, or the fire?

[Beroli]

Investigate the bars.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to dive through the flames in order to warm our hero up.

[Queen of Swords]

Something/someone doesn't want us going further down the tunnel, so let's try doing it.

[SGamerz]

You steel yourself and leap through. You feel no heat, and realize that the wall was merely an illusion. You land in a cramped chamber, surprising four silver-skinned humanoids. They are Murkurons, well armed and equipped for adventuring. As you burst into the room, three of them are struggling with a small iron-bound door, while the fourth is standing near by. If you attack immediately, turn to 195. If you wait for them to react, turn to 253.

Apparently, Dastan recognizes these creatures...although I'm not sure the players would know what Murkurons are, since I don't recall they ever appearing in any other books...

[Thaluikhain]

On the FF wikia, it says they are mentioned twice, in this book and also an entry in the Beyond the Pit Beastiary. Probably because they are in this book. Same picture as above is the one they use on the wikia.

(Also, came across a minor spoiler there so I won't vote here).

[Queen of Swords]

Hmm, the Murkurons, whoever they are, aren't immediately attacking us, and we're given the option to wait for them to react. So let's try this.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to wait for them to react, as I feel that we might gain useful information rather than acting like a psychopath here.

[SGamerz]

On the FF wikia, it says they are mentioned twice, in this book and also an entry in the Beyond the Pit Beastiary. Probably because they are in this book. Same picture as above is the one they use on the wikia.

I didn't read BtP, but I'm sure whatever info they had there is based on whatever is found in this book anyway. The Bestiary book basically just tries to incorporate everything that has appeared in FF but hasn't been featured in a previous Bestiary book.

None of the Murkurons has seen you enter the room. You realize that three of them are holding the door shut, while the fourth is intoning a spell: a fiery glow is spreading from his fingers. Then he notices you and pauses, his face struck by panic. "Ylech' nya Pipphen!" says a voice in your head. If you attack the Murkuron, turn to 173. If you run to the door, turn to 48.

Well, Dastan may seem to recognize these creatures by sight, but he clearly never learned their language...

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to run to the door, as I still don't think that attacking is the wisest option here.

[Beroli]

Run to the door.

[SGamerz]

You join the Murkurons at the door and brace yourself against it. Then the fourth Murkuron squawks, "Isbech Pinzha!" His comrades dive away from the door, with you close behind. The door bursts open and squat reptilian shapes pile into the room. There s a flash, an intense burst of heat and when you open your eyes the floor is littered with charred Kokomokoa. The Murkurons spring to their feet and dash through the door, the magician bowing to you politely before joining the others. They charge down the tunnel ahead of you, only to return seconds later, shrieking. You dodge them as they pass and, nervously, follow the tunnel until it opens into a large chamber.

The cavern has a high celling, and a fine mist of sand falls from it. The middle of the flor is covered with sand, and quivers slightly. Strewn carelessly across the sand are an assortment of incredible relics and treasures - magical hoard the like of which you have never seen. With each tremor of the sand they sink deeper. A faint whistling, as of wind in a ravine, reaches your ears. Check the time boxes on your Adventure Sheet and turn to the paragraph given below for the number of boxes you have crossed off:

Fewer than 13 boxes
13-17 boxes
More than 17 boxes

We're at 5 boxes remaining, so we've crossed off 15.

Suddenly you hear a croak. You look about you and see a human face, embedded in green slime. "Beware!" it says. "Maijem-Nosoth will return. I, Enthymesis, have failed in my task, and will pay with my life; but you may yet live. Take the whistle that lie at your feet; it will aid you in your fight. Stay away from the sands - they lead to the Realm of Bythos! Now beware - the beast returns!" You pick up the small whistle from the floor. If you flee down the passage you came along, turn to 230. If you wait to face the horror, turn to 115.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Dastan
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 12/17
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Sword of Fangthane steel, leather armour, Sige's Pomander, Reaver's bottle, Blowpipe (used), Ghulsh' potion (turn to 258 when drunk), 'Zazzaz' potion (turn to 369 when drunk), Barolo's buckler (+1 SKILL during combat), Sealed Locket, Jheera torch, whistle
Provisions: 3
Gold & Treasure: 9 GP
Time remaining: 5/20 (turn to 57 when crossing off 18th time unit, and to 326 when crossing off the last time unit)
Notes: Learned the Spitting Fly from Barolo, received a wound that changes colour on left hand, Sige's pomander contains the herbs Paa, Maet and Teth.
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to wait to face the horror, as Dastan is no coward, especially not to beasts.

[Thaluikhain]

Kokomokoa also are apparently only in this book, the Out of the Pit Beastiary, and a 2020 book by Rihanna Pratchett. And they remind me of that Beach boys song

We were told to beware, so half vote for running from the thing we are supposed to be bewaring.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, let's run.

[Beroli]

Run.

[SGamerz]

You hurry down the tunnel, back towards the river, constantly looking over your shoulder. Then you stumble over something. Looking down, you see a tentacle.

Nooooo, not the Tentacled Thing, the bane of hentai comic girls!

You have no time to register your foe before it is upon you. You feel fetid breath, and hear a sound as of a stone rattling against a shell. The beast's shape is hazy, and it shifts as you try to focus on it. You swing your sword, but it clacks harmlessly against a carapace. Then, from nowhere, jaws spring forth at you, and you are lost.

I was starting to think that we might just make it after only 1 failure, but alas, it was not to be.

Fortunately, we had been on the right track before that, so there's no lengthy rewind needed. We just go back to the previous option, and this time choose to face the creature...except now we are down to 4 time units!

The creature appears in a shimmering haze, but rapidly scuttles towards you. Your eyes ache simply from looking at its foul, ulcerous body. Its single claw clacks against its slimy carapace and, with each movement it makes, a new tide of nausea sweeps over you. Remembering Enthymesis's words, you blow a shrill blast on the whistle. The creature flinches, but continue to advance slowly. You will have to battle it while blowing as hard as you can on the whistle!

MAIJEM-NOSOTH SKILL 10 STAMINA 10

If you do not have your sword, you fight at -2, and may not strike killing blows. If you defeat the creature, turn to 316.

Interestingly, there's no tentacles mentioned in the descriptions here, so was it even the same creature that killed Dastan in that alternate universe? Either way, this seems to be another Mason original monster, possibly alien by nature since it shares a similar weakness to the Symbiote in Marvel.

COMBAT LOG:
Maijem-Nosoth 19, Dastan 19. Tie.
MN 19, Dastan 16. Dastan is at 10.
MN 12, Dastan 20. MN is at 8.
MN 16, Dastan 17. MN is at 6.
MN 17, Dastan 25. Dastan scores a killing blow with his bling sword!

The buckler also contributed well in this battle. Dastan prevails due to having the the best gear.

The creature collapses in a heap and twitches. Slowly it dissolves into a greenish sticky mess which streams and hisses. You step back from its revolting remains, into the sand.

As you step into the sand you feel a tugging at your feet. You wade further into it, and sink up to your knees. A few seconds later, you cannot move your legs, and the sand is up to your waist. As your head sinks lower you take a deep breath, hoping it is not going to be your last.

Enthymesis warned us to stay away from the sand, but I guess there's no way we can complete our mission without going into Bythos' realm, so we had to go anyway. Curiously, Enthymesis seems to be completely forgotten about. I guess he must have died while we were fighting the creature.

The pressure of the sand as you are dragged down is almost unbearable. Unable to move, you await the inevitable. Just as you have given up hope, you burst into space and plummet down through air full of glittering sand and treasures. Below you are swirling mists. and around you thunder booms from the starry wastes. Have you escaped death by crushing, only to be dashed against the ground below? Your speed increases, and you lose consciousness. You wake in a heap on a smooth, cold surface. You wake in a heap on a smooth, cold surface. Around you, magical treasures of various shapes and sizes float gently to the ground. A thick mist swirls, obscuring all but your immediate surroundings, and strange shapes shift among it. If you have Sige's pomander and know what to do with it, turn to 8. If you examine the items, turn to 87. If you try to find your way through the mist, turn to 116.

Blue options checked!

You open up Sige's pomander and take the herbs out. You stuff them in your mouth and wince at the acrid taste, but are rewarded by a spreading warmth. Make note that you have eaten the herbs. If you now examine the items strewn about, turn to 87. If you make your way through the mist, turn to 116.

Look at the items?

EDIT: Picture of the Maijem-Nosoth now inserted1

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Dastan
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 12/17
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Sword of Fangthane steel, leather armour, Sige's Pomander, Reaver's bottle, Blowpipe (used), Ghulsh' potion (turn to 258 when drunk), 'Zazzaz' potion (turn to 369 when drunk), Barolo's buckler (+1 SKILL during combat), Sealed Locket, Jheera torch, whistle
Provisions: 3
Gold & Treasure: 9 GP
Time remaining: 4/20 (turn to 57 when crossing off 18th time unit, and to 326 when crossing off the last time unit)
Notes: Learned the Spitting Fly from Barolo, received a wound that changes colour on left hand, Sige's pomander contains the herbs Paa, Maet and Teth (herbs have been eaten)
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Examine the items. Useful stuff, I hope.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to make our way through the mist, as I have a feeling that items are simply deathtraps.

[Beroli]

I figured that him introducing himself with a croak, being embedded in green slime, and speaking of himself as doomed was enough to establish that Enthymesis had seconds to live.

I do not remember this part as well as I would wish. Half vote to examine the items.

[Thaluikhain]

Half vote for going through the mist, in the belief that the items might be time wasters.