[Let's Play] Fighting Fantazine Adventure #2 - Shrine of the Salamander

[SGamerz]

Deduct 1 STAMINA point. Do you have a Galehorn with you? If not, return to 26 and choose again. If you have a Galehorn, you cast your spell and blow a not on the instrument. Immediately, a tremendous wind rushes out from the end of the Galehorn and blows the Sand Golem completely apart, scattering its constituent grains of sand to the far corners of the cavern. You have defeated the magical creature - turn to 112.

You are in a cavern full of giant fungi clustered around a dark pool. Aside from the door you came through, the only other exit is an adjoining sinkhole that leads up to the surface and down to the depths. Rather than go back the way you came, you decide to ascend via the rocky walls of the shaft.

This time, we look for Zared...

"Zared!" you call out in the midst of the fungi cavern. "Zared the Hermit!"

"Yes! Yes! Settle down!" calls a grumpy voice that belongs to a peculiar figure who emerges from where he had been hiding behind a clump of giant mushrooms.

Zared the Hermit is a ridiculously scrawny old man who is completely naked, though his modesty is preserved by an incredibly long and luxuriant white beard that grows down to his knees. He has been in these tunnels so long that his dirt-stained skin appears to be made from the earth itself, and you spot tiny mushrooms growing in his beard.

"Thank you for rescuing me from my captor," says Zared, on seeing that you have disposed of the Sand Golem. "That will teach me to meddle with Animation Spells in future! Got any food? I'm starving!"

Zared will trade food for knowledge, or items. If you have no Provisions left, or do not wish to trade, turn to 69.

What do we want to trade for?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: John Constantine
SKILL 7/7
STAMINA 19/23
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Warhammer, Lantern, Cloth SkullCap, Small Pebbles (x11), Sand (x4), Stone Dust (x3), Rope (x2), Galehorn, Lumps of coal (x5), Jar of Bees, Potion of Healing (restores STAMINA to initial value), Potion of Transformation, Giant Tooth
Provisions: 7
Gold: 10
Boons: Galehorn, SkullCap, Giant's Tooth, Potion of Firewater
Notes:
1) Anyone entering the maze of tunnels that forms the Crystal Mine itself, must first turn left and then travel in a clockwise direction if they wish to remain safe.
2) The Horntoads' favourite food is the humble bee. If in future we find ourselves in the presence of a beehive and wish to try and catch some, deduct twenty to the paragraph number we have turned to, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
3) Xak may be the name of the Croaking Caves Salamander? If in future we have the chance to speak the name Xak, add twenty to the paragraph number we have turned to, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
4) Zared the sage dwells in a cavern full of giant fungi. If in future we find ourselves in such a place and wish to contact Zared, add fifty to the paragraph number we are on at the time, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I half vote to trade for knowledge.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, knowledge.

[SGamerz]

Cross 1 mean off the Provisions on your Adventure Sheet (which Zared greedily devours).

You tell the hermit that you have come to retrieve the Idol of Verlang and slay the Salamander that dwells in the shrine of the Frog God. Zared chuckles nervously.

"Admirable sentiments indeed, young adventurer, but allow me to explain. You see, the Salamander isn't the main problem. A while back, I was digging about these caves as I tend to do, looking for artefacts and the like. I found an incredible trident, an ancient weapon and yet unmarked by time. Its design and manufacture were completely alien to me and certainly not human in nature. I summoned up a Salamander from the Elemental Plane of Fire - renowned trident specialists of course - to help me identify it, and the ungrateful creature broke its bonds of summoning, stole the trident and fled to the halls of the Horntoads.

I have since learned that the trident itself is imbued with some kind of demonic intelligence from the Pit, perhaps[s a bound Demon of some power, and it helped the Salamander escape from my summoning. Most extraordinary, I think you'll agree. So you see, you may well defeat the Salamander, but then you will also have to destroy the trident."

"How?" you ask the hermit, with some degree of incredulity.

"Oh, it shouldn't be too difficult," says Zared. "The bound Demon is powerful but fairly crude in style. You probably just have to defeat the animated trident in combat. The trick is simply realizing that after you kill the salamander you then have to deal with its weapon immediately."

This is important lore! If in future you find yourself reading a paragraph that begins: "You have defeated the Salamander of the Croaking Caves!", deduct thirty from the paragraph number you are on at the time, and consult this new paragraph instead, in order to deal with the trident.

Now, do you wish to swap any meals for items that Zared has procured? If you have no Provisions left, or do not wish to trade, turn to 69.

We still have Provisions left. Do we want to continue trading?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: John Constantine
SKILL 7/7
STAMINA 19/23
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Warhammer, Lantern, Cloth SkullCap, Small Pebbles (x11), Sand (x4), Stone Dust (x3), Rope (x2), Galehorn, Lumps of coal (x5), Jar of Bees, Potion of Healing (restores STAMINA to initial value), Potion of Transformation, Giant Tooth
Provisions: 6
Gold: 10
Boons: Galehorn, SkullCap, Giant's Tooth, Potion of Firewater
Notes:
1) Anyone entering the maze of tunnels that forms the Crystal Mine itself, must first turn left and then travel in a clockwise direction if they wish to remain safe.
2) The Horntoads' favourite food is the humble bee. If in future we find ourselves in the presence of a beehive and wish to try and catch some, deduct twenty to the paragraph number we have turned to, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
3) Xak may be the name of the Croaking Caves Salamander? If in future we have the chance to speak the name Xak, add twenty to the paragraph number we have turned to, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
4) Zared the sage dwells in a cavern full of giant fungi. If in future we find ourselves in such a place and wish to contact Zared, add fifty to the paragraph number we are on at the time, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
5) If in future we find ourselves reading a paragraph that begins: "You have defeated the Salamander of the Croaking Caves!", deduct thirty from the paragraph number we are on at the time, and consult this new paragraph instead, in order to deal with the demonic trident.
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

Yes, I would like to see which items Zared has which could help our hero eliminate the trident.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, let's see the items.

[SGamerz]

Zared has the following items which he has made, dug up or found while scavenging through the back tunnels and refuse pits of Daddu-Yadu. He will swap one meal for each item.

- Potion of Fire Water: This can be used as a spell artefact when casting certain magic spells.

- Ring of Flame: This will halve the STAMINA cost whenever you cast the HOT spell.

- Shroomshine Gourd: Drinking this home-brewed concoction of Zared's will restore your STAMINA to its Initial level. However, it will also make you drunk and you must deduct 1 SKILL point for the remainder of the adventure. The gourd contains enough for one dose only, so when you drink it, remember to cross it off your Adventure Sheet.

If you wish to swap anything with Zared, cross the meals off your Provisions on your Adventure Sheet, and record the item details for future use. Now, do you wish to swap any meals for knowledge that Zared has acquired? If you have no Provisions left, or do not with to trade, turn to 69.

Are we interested in any of the above items?

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to get the Potion of Fire Water.

[Queen of Swords]

Sure, Potion of Fire Water.

[SGamerz]

John Constantine trades another meal for a Potion of Fire Water before he prepares to leave.

You say farewell to Zared the Hermit, and go to climb up the sinkhole and leave the Tunnels of Ooze,

"Wait, young adventurer," croaks Zared. "There's always an easier way."

He pulls on a length of liana which releases a vine and bamboo ladder that unrolls itself from the top of the sinkhole.

"I'm getting old," says the hermit. "I can't go clambering around the rocks like a Mungie up a tree anymore."

You thank the hermit and climb up the ladder to the top of the sinkhole. Soon, you reach the entrance of the shaft, which is on a cliff-top of the Earth End Coastline. You find a narrow path and follow it back down to the beach.

And with that, we make it back to the central hub without having to risk another tumble into the Horntoads' latrine.

Once again you find yourself standing on the sands of the Earth End Coastline, pondering a way onwards. You also notice plenty of material here that is useful for casting spells. Add any of the following to your Adventure Sheet if you wish: three small pebbles, stone dust, and some sand. Then, choose - where will you go? Bear in mind you cannot return to any place you have already visited, no matter how briefly.

The Under-Temple of Throff
The Crystal Mines
The Tunnels of Ooze
The Croaking Caves

Onward to the last location, this time by the front entrance:

The entrance to the Croaking Caves, lair of the Horntoads and shrine of Furkakk the Frog God, is a wide cavern-mouth that reeks with an especially foul odor. Yellow slime drips from the walls, and small crabs and black isopods skitter away into the darkness. No sooner have you entered the cavern than a deep, doom-laden voice croaks out: "Intruder! Intruder!". You have been spotted by Horntoad guards!

Two of them half-hope, half-run towards you on powerful limbs, brandishing immesne double-bladed halberds. They are disagreable creatures to look at, resembling enormous toads with brown-grey warty skin. A spiny crest runs down their backs, and a pair of horns grows outwards from the top of their heads.

You can fight them, offer them a Jar of Bees, drink a Potion of Transformation, or cast a magic spell:

PEP
TEL
HUF

This time there are multiple blue options available!

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: John Constantine
SKILL 7/7
STAMINA 19/23
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Warhammer, Lantern, Cloth SkullCap, Small Pebbles (x14), Sand (x5), Stone Dust (x4), Rope (x2), Galehorn, Lumps of coal (x5), Jar of Bees, Potion of Healing (restores STAMINA to initial value), Potion of Transformation, Giant Tooth, Potion of Fire Water
Provisions: 5
Gold: 10
Boons: Galehorn, SkullCap, Giant's Tooth, Potion of Firewater
Notes:
1) Anyone entering the maze of tunnels that forms the Crystal Mine itself, must first turn left and then travel in a clockwise direction if they wish to remain safe.
2) The Horntoads' favourite food is the humble bee. If in future we find ourselves in the presence of a beehive and wish to try and catch some, deduct twenty to the paragraph number we have turned to, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
3) Xak may be the name of the Croaking Caves Salamander? If in future we have the chance to speak the name Xak, add twenty to the paragraph number we have turned to, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
4) Zared the sage dwells in a cavern full of giant fungi. If in future we find ourselves in such a place and wish to contact Zared, add fifty to the paragraph number we are on at the time, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
5) If in future we find ourselves reading a paragraph that begins: "You have defeated the Salamander of the Croaking Caves!", deduct thirty from the paragraph number we are on at the time, and consult this new paragraph instead, in order to deal with the demonic trident.
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Offer them the Jar of Bees.

[JourneymanN00b]

I also vote to give the Jar of Bees.

[Thaluikhain]

Jar o' bees.

[SGamerz]

"A moment," you say to the Horntoad guards, who pull up sharply in confusion. "I bring a gift..."

You hold up your Jar of Bees. Instantly, both guards drop their halberds in a clatter, and start drooling, excited by the frantic buzzing of the bees.

"I am a simple pilgrim seeking access to the shrine of the Frog God," you tell the Horntoads. "I offer these bees as payment."

"I see no problem there," says one guard dreamily, licking his lips with a fat pink tongue.

"Me neither," agrees the other, panting with hunger. You give the Jar of Bees to the Horntoad guards. Cross it off your Adventure Sheet. Immediately, they begin squabbling as to how best divide the bees fairly between them, forgetting all about you. Chuckling to yourself at the creatures' stupidity, you leave the cave via a tunnel in the far northern wall.

The tunnel you are following reaches a junction. The main passage continue in a northerly direction. Another corridor leads eastwards. There is a lot of moisture here, and the floor of both corridors is covered in puddles of water. Do you want to go north, or east?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: John Constantine
SKILL 7/7
STAMINA 19/23
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Warhammer, Lantern, Cloth SkullCap, Small Pebbles (x14), Sand (x5), Stone Dust (x4), Rope (x2), Galehorn, Lumps of coal (x5), Potion of Healing (restores STAMINA to initial value), Potion of Transformation, Giant Tooth, Potion of Fire Water
Provisions: 5
Gold: 10
Boons: Galehorn, SkullCap, Giant's Tooth, Potion of Firewater
Notes:
1) Anyone entering the maze of tunnels that forms the Crystal Mine itself, must first turn left and then travel in a clockwise direction if they wish to remain safe.
2) The Horntoads' favourite food is the humble bee. If in future we find ourselves in the presence of a beehive and wish to try and catch some, deduct twenty to the paragraph number we have turned to, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
3) Xak may be the name of the Croaking Caves Salamander? If in future we have the chance to speak the name Xak, add twenty to the paragraph number we have turned to, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
4) Zared the sage dwells in a cavern full of giant fungi. If in future we find ourselves in such a place and wish to contact Zared, add fifty to the paragraph number we are on at the time, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
5) If in future we find ourselves reading a paragraph that begins: "You have defeated the Salamander of the Croaking Caves!", deduct thirty from the paragraph number we are on at the time, and consult this new paragraph instead, in order to deal with the demonic trident.
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I half vote to go north.

[Queen of Swords]

Sure, try north.

[Queen of Swords]

Sure, try north.

[SGamerz]

Unfortunately, we actually missed something good down the east path, although it's not essential.

The tunnel heads north and enters a gigantic chamber from which comes an indescribable din of booming, bellowing, honking ululations. Peering carefully around the corner you see the noise is caused by countless hordes of Horntoads - big ones, small ones, fat ones and scrawny ones - all splashing about in a fetid pool of muck. You could never fight them all! Or could you? On the opposite side of the cavern you spy another tunnel leading away again to the north. How do you propose to bypass the Horntoads and travel deeper into the Croaking Caves?

You could fight them, offer them a Jar of Bees, drink a Potion of Transformation, or cast a magic spell:

MUD
TEL
HUF

[JourneymanN00b]

I half vote to use the Potion of Transformation.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, Potion of Transformation. We already know we can defeat the Salamander without this, so we might as well use it now.

[SGamerz]

You drink the Potion of Transformation (cross it off your Adventure Sheet) and turn yourself into a Horntoad. With your heart beating loudly in your chest, you step out into the central living chamber of the Horntoads, but none of them so much as bat an eyelid at your appearance. Carefully you wade across the shallower parts of the pool, taking care to avoid bumping into any of the croaking brutes, while heading for the exit. Add 1 LUCK point for your success here! You leave the cave via the tunnel in the far northern wall, just as the effects of the potion begin to wear off.

We didn't even need that LUCK bonus, being still at max.

This was an essential item check. The 2 guards outside can be fought past (and also softened up with spells beforehand) if we fail all the item checks, but here we need either the potion or the bees to pass. The potion is the better option here, since there aren't enough bees to go around, so we'd still have to do some fighting. Reaching this point without either of the items gets us trapped in a classic Steve Jackson-style endless combat loop against endless waves of Horntoads instead of an outright insa-death, but it amounts to the same thing in the long run. So if we only had 1 of the 2 items, using it up on the 2 guards outside will actually doom us here!

The corridor you are following meets up with an intersection of many other passageways. Hornoads are generally illiterate, so there are no words to indicate where the passages lead, just crude symbols gouged into the rock. Where will you go next? Bear in mind you cannot return to any place you have already visited, no matter how briefly.

The flame-like symbol
The circle within a circle symbol
The half-full semi-circle symbol
The wavy lines symbol

And we're back in a familiar section! But in much better shape this time round.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: John Constantine
SKILL 7/7
STAMINA 19/23
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Warhammer, Lantern, Cloth SkullCap, Small Pebbles (x14), Sand (x5), Stone Dust (x4), Rope (x2), Galehorn, Lumps of coal (x5), Potion of Healing (restores STAMINA to initial value), Giant Tooth, Potion of Fire Water
Provisions: 5
Gold: 10
Boons: Galehorn, SkullCap, Giant's Tooth, Potion of Firewater
Notes:
1) Anyone entering the maze of tunnels that forms the Crystal Mine itself, must first turn left and then travel in a clockwise direction if they wish to remain safe.
2) The Horntoads' favourite food is the humble bee. If in future we find ourselves in the presence of a beehive and wish to try and catch some, deduct twenty to the paragraph number we have turned to, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
3) Xak may be the name of the Croaking Caves Salamander? If in future we have the chance to speak the name Xak, add twenty to the paragraph number we have turned to, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
4) Zared the sage dwells in a cavern full of giant fungi. If in future we find ourselves in such a place and wish to contact Zared, add fifty to the paragraph number we are on at the time, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
5) If in future we find ourselves reading a paragraph that begins: "You have defeated the Salamander of the Croaking Caves!", deduct thirty from the paragraph number we are on at the time, and consult this new paragraph instead, in order to deal with the demonic trident.
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go to the flame symbol, cast ROK, and eat the same food items as last time.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, we'd get four Stamina points from the food we picked last time, plus the Vittles as provisions.

[SGamerz]

The odour of wood-smoke comes trailing down the tunnel towards you. You have arrived at a kitchen of sorts. Herbs, vegetables, and meat are lying on tables around the centre of the cavern and hanging from the walls. At the far end of the cave is a fireplace, the smoke from which exits through a natural vent in the ceiling. Suspended over the fire is a blackened pot full of bubbling broth, and standing next to it is a very odd-looking creature. It has a humanoid torso and legs, but its head is a solid blob of quivering jelly and its eyes float loosely about in the front of its face. Hanging down from its head on all sides are numerous long tentacles. These appear to be its hands (as it has no others) and it grips a ladle and stirring spoon. It stares at you apprehensively, waiting for you to make the first move.

You can fight this strange creature, or cast a magic spell:

ROK
HOT
WOK

Or, you can leave it well alone, and return to the junction instead.

We cast ROK:

Deduct 1 STAMINA point. Do you have any stone dust with you? If not, return to 51 and choose again. If you have some stone dust, you throw it over the creature and cast your spell. Within seconds, its movements become slower and it starts to turn a pale grey in colour. Too late it realizes what is happening and before long, the creature has transformed into a rather bizarre stone statue. Cross the stone dust off your Adventure Sheet.

STAMINA down to 18.

With the inhuman cook out of the way, you are free to ransack the Horntoads' kitchen. There are no valuables here however, other than 1 Gold Piece, which you can add to your Adventure Sheet. On the other hand, there are plenty of different kinds of food, some of which you recognize. Which will you try first? Bear in mind you cannot try something more than once.

A bowl of Whortle Soup
A bag of Vittles
A plate of Gloister and bread
A haunch of Mutton Fish
Or will you leave this area?

Mutton Fish:

Mutton Fish are huge fish that live upstream in Lake Lumle, with flesh so tasty and tender that those who eat it soon become hopelessly addicted to its flavour. In your case, there are other practicalities to consider, such as finding the Idol of Verlang and escaping from the Croaking Caves. So, you manage to stave off a crippling Mutton Fish addiction and can restore 2 STAMINA points instead. Return to 73 and make another choice.

STAMINA up to 20.

Vittles are small balls of pastry with tough, chewy meat inside. They make ideal travelling provisions, and there are enough in the bag for 2 meals worth of Provisions. Add them to your Adventure Sheet if you take them. Return to 73 and make another choice.

And finally, Gloister and bread:

Gloister is runny, cheesy-like goo that tastes and smells absolutely awful. Served with bread, it restores not only 2 STMAINA points, but also returns your LUCK score to its Initial level! Make the necessary adjustments on your Adventure Sheet. Return to 73 and take another choice.

STAMINA up to 22, although we can't use the LUCK bonus.

The corridor you are following meets up with an intersection of many other passageways. Hornoads are generally illiterate, so there are no words to indicate where the passages lead, just crude symbols gouged into the rock. Where will you go next? Bear in mind you cannot return to any place you have already visited, no matter how briefly.

The flame-like symbol
The circle within a circle symbol
The half-full semi-circle symbol
The wavy lines symbol

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: John Constantine
SKILL 7/7
STAMINA 22/23
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Warhammer, Lantern, Cloth SkullCap, Small Pebbles (x14), Sand (x5), Stone Dust (x3), Rope (x2), Galehorn, Lumps of coal (x5), Potion of Healing (restores STAMINA to initial value), Giant Tooth, Potion of Fire Water
Provisions: 7
Gold: 10
Boons: Galehorn, SkullCap, Giant's Tooth, Potion of Firewater
Notes:
1) Anyone entering the maze of tunnels that forms the Crystal Mine itself, must first turn left and then travel in a clockwise direction if they wish to remain safe.
2) The Horntoads' favourite food is the humble bee. If in future we find ourselves in the presence of a beehive and wish to try and catch some, deduct twenty to the paragraph number we have turned to, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
3) Xak may be the name of the Croaking Caves Salamander? If in future we have the chance to speak the name Xak, add twenty to the paragraph number we have turned to, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
4) Zared the sage dwells in a cavern full of giant fungi. If in future we find ourselves in such a place and wish to contact Zared, add fifty to the paragraph number we are on at the time, and consult this new paragraph number instead.
5) If in future we find ourselves reading a paragraph that begins: "You have defeated the Salamander of the Croaking Caves!", deduct thirty from the paragraph number we are on at the time, and consult this new paragraph instead, in order to deal with the demonic trident.
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go to the wavy lines symbol, since I do not think the warhammer is worth the effort.