The Gaming Den

Agreed, enter.

You open the door. The hut is neatly laid out inside: someone fastidious lives here. Chairs are around a table. A mattress lies in one corner and a large kitchen area suggests whoever lives here is fond of cooking. You hear a cry from a corner hidden by a large cupboard, and as you move over to look you can see a cage in which a pretty young woman is imprisoned. 'Good sir,' she pleads, 'let me out of this cage! I have been locked in here for two days by those mischievous Elvins. Can you please help me?'

Help her?
Ask what's in it for you?
Look around the hut for things to steal?

Name: Jason Beckett Mordred
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 19/19
Luck: 9/10
Weapon: Sword
Backpack contents: 2 Meals, Blimberry Juice (+3 Stamina), Glandragor's Axe (-1 Attack Strength), spellbook page 102, beeswax, silver key, Borrinskin boots
Gold Pieces: 7
Libra's Favor: Used

Help them.

I vote to help the damsel in distress, of course.

Help her.

The cage door is firmly locked. You do have a key...

...it does not fit. You try breaking the lock.

To do this, you must Test your Skill with a -1 penalty. If you succeed, you will break the lock open. If you fail, you may try again as many or as few times as you like. Unfortunately, each time you attempt this, succeed or fail, the weapon you are using will be blunted and acquire a permanent (stacking, if applicable) -1 penalty to Attack Strength when used in combat.

You do have two weapons.

Use your sword?
Use Glandragor's axe (its penalty will increase to -2, as it is already -1)?

Also vote on how many times to attempt this, in case you fail the first time.

Name: Jason Beckett Mordred
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 19/19
Luck: 9/10
Weapon: Sword
Backpack contents: 2 Meals, Blimberry Juice (+3 Stamina), Glandragor's Axe (-1 Attack Strength), spellbook page 102, beeswax, silver key, Borrinskin boots
Gold Pieces: 7
Libra's Favor: Used

I vote to use the axe for as many times that it takes.

Sure, use the axe.

Use the axe, yeah.

You use Glandragor's axe. A 10 succeeds.

The lock breaks and she jumps from the cage. 'Stranger, I am indebted to you,' she says. 'Alianna will reward you.' She offers you spell components or an aid in combat; as you have very little use for spell components, you choose the aid in combat.

She hands you Ragnar's Armband of Swordmastery. While wearing it you have +2 Attack Strength, as long as you are using a sword. In addition, she hands you a bag containing 7 Gold Pieces. Then she chuckles. You turn to leave the house, but she stops you with a hand on your shoulder. 'But Alianna does not give up her prized possessions without a fight!' She casts a spell of some sort over a chair. The chair begins to crack and creak, moving violently in front of you. It forms itself into a WOOD GOLEM which now advances toward you.

WOOD GOLEM Skill 8 Stamina 6

Jason Beckett Mordred Attack Strength: 15, WOOD GOLEM Attack Strength: 10. WOOD GOLEM's Stamina is 4
Jason Beckett Mordred Attack Strength: 21, WOOD GOLEM Attack Strength: 17. WOOD GOLEM's Stamina is 2
Jason Beckett Mordred Attack Strength: 23, WOOD GOLEM Attack Strength: 20. WOOD GOLEM is dead.

(I'd think Alianna would have done better to simply thank you and not mention a reward; it's not like she promised she'd give you anything before you rescued her.)

Hurriedly, you leave the house and follow the path back to the junction where you may head north toward Dhumpus.

You follow the path for the rest of the afternoon until you stand on a hilltop. The path runs down the hill into a small village set on a river and you follow it down.

As you follow the path downwards you pass a sign. You are entering the village of Dhumpus.

Look for an inn for the night?
Look for villagers to talk to?

Name: Jason Beckett Mordred
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 19/19
Luck: 9/10
Weapon: Sword
Inventory: 2 Meals, Blimberry Juice (+3 Stamina), Glandragor's Axe (-2 Attack Strength), spellbook page 102, beeswax, silver key, Borrinskin boots, Ragnar's Armband of Swordmastery (+2 Attack Strength when using a sword)
Gold Pieces: 14
Libra's Favor: Used

I vote to look for villagers to talk to. Maybe they can provide extra help.

Agreed, villagers.

You pass along the main path through the village and stop outside a hut where several Hill Dwellers are sitting and eating. They are deep in discussion about something.

Introduce yourself?
Ignore them and continue?

Name: Jason Beckett Mordred
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 19/19
Luck: 9/10
Weapon: Sword
Inventory: 2 Meals, Blimberry Juice (+3 Stamina), Glandragor's Axe (-2 Attack Strength), spellbook page 102, beeswax, silver key, Borrinskin boots, Ragnar's Armband of Swordmastery (+2 Attack Strength when using a sword)
Gold Pieces: 14
Libra's Favor: Used

Hill Dwellers sound like they are enemies to our hero, so I vote to ignore them and continue.

I'd like to find out more, so introduce ourself.

Half vote for introducing.

Introducing yourself wins 1.5 to 1.

They stop and look at you. They invite you over but become agitated at the sight of your weapon.

Leave your weapon and join them?
Thank them for their offer of hospitality but press on?

Name: Jason Beckett Mordred
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 19/19
Luck: 9/10
Weapon: Sword
Inventory: 2 Meals, Blimberry Juice (+3 Stamina), Glandragor's Axe (-2 Attack Strength), spellbook page 102, beeswax, silver key, Borrinskin boots, Ragnar's Armband of Swordmastery (+2 Attack Strength when using a sword)
Gold Pieces: 14
Libra's Favor: Used

I'd rather not leave our weapon, so press on.

Press on, yeah.

I vote to press on, as I am definitely not comfortable having Jason Beckett Mordred being unarmed.

Further along the way, you come across a couple of merchants' huts and you browse through the items for sale. You may buy:

A finely crafted sword, 6 Gold Pieces
A woven skullcap (used for spellcasting and thus not directly useful to you), 4 Gold Pieces
Provisions for three meals, 6 Gold Pieces (total, not each)

Vote on what, if anything, to buy. If you choose to buy the sword (assuming it does not immediately turn out to be illusionary or cursed) you will have a backup sword, which may be useful if this or a future gamebook says "you lose the weapon you were using" but obviously won't if this or a future gamebook says "you lose all your weapons."

Name: Jason Beckett Mordred
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 19/19
Luck: 9/10
Weapon: Sword
Inventory: 2 Meals, Blimberry Juice (+3 Stamina), Glandragor's Axe (-2 Attack Strength), spellbook page 102, beeswax, silver key, Borrinskin boots, Ragnar's Armband of Swordmastery (+2 Attack Strength when using a sword)
Gold Pieces: 14
Libra's Favor: Used

Going to vote to buy the sword.

With only one vote, you buy the sword and nothing else.

You leave in search of the local inn.

The inn charges 3 Gold Pieces for a hearty meal of Hillfox broth and rice and 3 Gold Pieces for a bed for the night. The meal would restore 3 Stamina points if you were damaged.

Buy the meal and a room for the night?
Buy a room for the night but don't eat?
Buy a meal, then leave?
Just leave?

Name: Jason Beckett Mordred
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 19/19
Luck: 9/10
Weapon: Sword
Inventory: 2 Meals, Blimberry Juice (+3 Stamina), Glandragor's Axe (-2 Attack Strength), spellbook page 102, beeswax, silver key, Borrinskin boots, Ragnar's Armband of Swordmastery (+2 Attack Strength when using a sword), backup sword
Gold Pieces: 8
Libra's Favor: Used

I vote to leave the village this time.

Agreed, we don’t need the stamina.