[Let's Play] Fighting Fantazine Adventure 9: Return to the Icefinger Mountains

[Beroli]

I'm ambivalent about showing you things you didn't see this time but:

This and this have translations for runes you have as X.

[JourneymanN00b]

Okay, so I translated more of the riddle using the sources and some educated guesses, and this is what I have:

The one who lies here
Shall rise with great power
After thirty years have passed
And X X X X with an icicle
Turn to a hundred and forty four

I can now say for certain that section 144 is the true way to go. The fact that the fourth line started with an "And" probably meant that stabbing the Snow Witch with an icicle caused her to rise again. In my opinion, this was a badly designed puzzle, as the way to solve it was not too clear given the sources that were available.

So I will now make a full vote to turn to section 144 to see what the hidden path offers Edmund Pevensie.

[Beroli]

I can see that. I would also consider the Ian Livingstone path far harsher than Ian's average, still a little short of Crypt of the Sorcerer in the "difficulty" requirement but calling for even more psychopathy. For this, though, though you do need the Mayar/Switor puzzle to give you the numbers, as far as the actual writing goes, all you need to figure out is that the word he's translating as "unless" is actually "and."

Armed with that knowledge, which the plinth just inside the dungeon would give you, Edmund freezes...

You have learned enough to be able to tell that what you have just been told is not completely correct, and there is no way that it can just be a mistake. The implications are staggering, and for several seconds you remain where you are, staring at the carving which has told you so much more than just what it says.

Denati’s voice brings you back to yourself. “There are some icicles over behind you, where the cave roof slopes down.”

You look at him. He has lifted the coffin lid, which you now perceive to be hinged on one side, and with some effort pushes it up until it falls wide open.

“Don’t just stand there. We don’t know how much time there is left before...” He tails off, noticing your expression, and scowls. “You must be cleverer than you look.”

A single word forces itself out from between your lips: “Why?”

His eyes fixed on the supine form in the coffin, the traitor before you rambles, “This is my purpose. My Snow Queen shared her secrets with me, told me what to do if she should fall victim to some assassin. So when that black day came, I did as she directed. I found the way down here, placed her ashes in the coffin to await this glorious day. And then I devoted myself to learning all I could about this place, so I could unlock its mysteries for her. But the intensive study distracted me, caused me to lose sight of my goal. Until Reniso contacted me, seeking my help as he sought to slay my Queen, and then I knew what must be done. He should have struck the needful blow, sparing me from having to strike at my Queen in order to awaken her, but he recognised me and had to die. So that duty fell to you, the friend he had mentioned. But I wanted to show off my knowledge, and that vanity has cost me, exposing my deception.”

His gaze hardens, fixes on you. “Since I cannot get you to do what is necessary, I shall have to attend to it myself.”

While he has been talking, he has slipped the glove from his right hand, which he now begins to raise. Determined not to let him complete his plan, you draw your sword and lunge at him.

SERVANT OF THE SNOW WITCH Skill 8 Stamina 12

Denati is not trying to harm you, only to hold you off long enough to bring his right hand to his mouth. If he ever wins an Attack Round, something will happen. Bearing that in mind, vote on how to use Luck here.

Name: Edmund Pevensie
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 7/19
Luck: 9/11
Inventory: Sword, Winter clothing, Rucksack, Lantern, Blankets, Circular Disc, Bronze and Crystal Helmet
Provisions: 2
Deaths: Turned into an Ice Ghoul by the Snow Witch, turned into an Ice Ghoul by the Snow Witch

[Thaluikhain]

Use luck to increase damage twice.

[JourneymanN00b]

I also vote to use Luck to increase damage.

[Beroli]

Edmund Pevensie Attack Strength: 22, SERVANT OF THE SNOW WITCH Attack Strength: 18. Luck Test Failed with a 10. SERVANT OF THE SNOW WITCH's Stamina is 11
Edmund Pevensie Attack Strength: 19, SERVANT OF THE SNOW WITCH Attack Strength: 10. Luck Test Succeeded with a 4. SERVANT OF THE SNOW WITCH's Stamina is 7
Edmund Pevensie Attack Strength: 17, SERVANT OF THE SNOW WITCH Attack Strength: 11. SERVANT OF THE SNOW WITCH's Stamina is 5
Edmund Pevensie Attack Strength: 16, SERVANT OF THE SNOW WITCH Attack Strength: 19.

Evading your attack, the traitor brings his ring to his lips and blows into it. He is too intent on doing this to defend himself any more, and you strike him down where he stands. Behind you, you hear a sound that is all too familiar from your crossing the Chamber of the Four Winds (...which the author appears to have forgotten you might not have done [edit: this was unfair. You have to have been through the Chamber of the Four Winds to be able to identify runic numbers.]): an icicle breaking loose from the ceiling. Acting on impulse, you spin round and throw yourself in the direction of the coffin, desperately hoping to deflect the falling icicle before it can hit its target. Test your Luck twice.

6 succeeds and 5 succeeds.

Time seems to slow down as your leap propels you through the air across the coffin. You see your free hand, outstretched in front of you, the falling icicle in front of it, your fingers and thumb drawing together as the gap between your hand and the icicle narrows... And then everything is at normal speed again, and you have the icicle clutched in your hand, held triumphantly in the air, as you hit the ground. You roll onto your back, sit up, stand, and walk back to the side of the dying man, hurling the icicle to the ground in front of his face so that in his last few moments he can see it, and his hopes, shatter.

You have prevented this servant of the Snow Witch from awakening her, but there are probably others still out there somewhere, and he may even have told some of them everything he knew about this place, or left notes that would enable them to rediscover the secret. You return to the coffin, determined to ensure that nobody else ever gets the opportunity to revive its monstrous occupant.

You do not have the Flame Sword.

The first thing that occurs to you is to try and destroy the ice coffin that seems to be key to the revival of the Snow Witch, but the mightiest blow of which you are capable does not so much as scratch it, and not even pouring lantern oil onto it and setting it alight makes any difference. Exasperated, you kick it, and while the principal outcome of this is that you hurt your foot, the coffin does move very slightly. Inspiration strikes, and you get down beside the coffin and begin to push.

The coffin is heavy, and moving it takes considerable effort. Initially you are also able to grab an edge and pull when more precision is required, but you have to close the lid once you get the coffin to the mouth of the passage leading out of the cavern, as it will not fit otherwise. Still, from that point onwards it is just one slow, arduous shove until you reach the bridge over the crevasse.

You are not wearing gauntlets.

It is at this point that you become aware of a problem you had been too intent on your goal to notice before. Prior to reentering the passage, you were repeatedly shifting your position relative to the coffin in order to manoeuvre it into position. For the final stretch, though, you have not had to move your hands at all, and the cold of the ice has subtly crept into your gloves, fingers and palms, all of which are now frozen in place at the end of the coffin. Pressing the sole of one booted foot against the coffin, and praying that that doesn’t get stuck as well, you attempt to break free. Test your Stamina on four dice; a 19 fails extremely.

Your struggles do nothing to break the grip of the ice on your hands, but they do gradually bring the coffin closer to the edge of the bridge. Preoccupied with your efforts to free yourself, you do not notice that this is happening until enough of the coffin is hanging over the side that its balance begins to shift, tipping over the edge. Realisation comes too late for you to do anything to stop the coffin from falling into the chasm below, or to prevent yourself from following it, your hands still frozen onto its end. While you have thwarted the Snow Witch’s plans to return, at least until such time as her remaining servants manage to find out what you did with her body and come up with a way to retrieve it from this massive ravine, your victory comes at the cost of your own life.

[Beroli]

And I am actually calling it over there; in terms of seeing the content, the only difference is that success on the final Stamina test, or having Mayar's metal gauntlets, would let you live to travel back home (and generally be more optimistic about no one retrieving the Snow Witch's buried body), and I think we've all had enough of this gamebook. Let me know if you have any questions.

[JourneymanN00b]

Thank you for running this, Beroli.

Who do we have to find and kill in order to get the Flame Sword, and how would the ending be changed for all the times that the game checked for it?

[Thaluikhain]

Thanks for running this.

That's an alright ending, I think. And, we have a companion who doesn't immediately die...but they are doomed to die at the end instead. Ok.

Otherwise...not one of the better books, I think. Not really bad, though.

[Beroli]

If you avoid any delays--so not the first time because you told the guards Reniso was dead, and not the second time because you waited for the wolves and Toa-Suo--you could potentially have to fight a pack of snow wolves and Toa-Suo when a warrior woman with a flame sword comes to your aid. If you choose the immediate option "I want that Flame Sword," followed by "yes I am willing to attack her for it," you have to fight her (Skill 11, Stamina 14, does 3 damage on hit). If you win, you lose 3 Luck for your foray into robbery-motivated murder, but gain the Flame Sword, which adds +2 to your Attack Strength and does 3 damage on hit.

If you just do what Denati says, but you have the Flame Sword, you're able to damage the Snow Witch and can fight her (Skill 12, Stamina 20, takes only standard damage from the Flame Sword). If you kill her, the Flame Sword breaks and Denati attacks you wailing that you were supposed to raise his queen, not kill her (Skill 9, Stamina 8, and since you're fighting with half a formerly-magical sword, you have -1 Attack Strength).

If you have the Flame Sword at the end you got, you can use it to destroy the Snow Witch's corpse, which also destroys the Flame Sword but saves you from needing to drag the coffin anywhere.

That's an alright ending, I think. And, we have a companion who doesn't immediately die...but they are doomed to die at the end instead. Ok.

It'd be a very rare gamebook where the villain didn't die at the end. (Possibly, looking at Bloodbones, also before the end, but still.)

[Thaluikhain]

If you avoid any delays--so not the first time because you told the guards Reniso was dead, and not the second time because you waited for the wolves and Toa-Suo--you could potentially have to fight a pack of snow wolves and Toa-Suo when a warrior woman with a flame sword comes to your aid. If you choose the immediate option "I want that Flame Sword," followed by "yes I am willing to attack her for it," you have to fight her (Skill 11, Stamina 14, does 3 damage on hit). If you win, you lose 3 Luck for your foray into robbery-motivated murder, but gain the Flame Sword, which adds +2 to your Attack Strength and does 3 damage on hit.

So...to get the seriously useful magic thingy, we have to murder someone that heroically came to help us in a fight against monsters that weren't affecting them? Jeez.

It'd be a very rare gamebook where the villain didn't die at the end.

Lord Azzur?

Or if you count Zagor, because the first few times didn't stick.

But ok, unusual to have a companion you have to kill...except Throm, I guess.

[Beroli]

Assassins of Allansia is indeed rare, unless a given reader/player found it aggravating enough to burn it in which case it is well done.

[Thaluikhain]

Assassins of Allansia is indeed rare, unless a given reader/player found it aggravating enough to burn it in which case it is well done.

*BOOM BOOM*