[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 71 – Shadow of the Giants

[Beroli]

Reach into the hole.

[Thaluikhain]

Penetrate random holes, yeah.

[JourneymanN00b]

Reaching into the hole already received 3 votes, so Lixx will do that.

12
You tentatively slide your arm into the hole and are excited when your fingers touch what feels like several coins. Whilst scooping them up, you feel a sharp pain on the back of your hand. You pull your hand out quickly, clutching 4 Gold Pieces. Your excitement is cut short when you see an angry-looking lump on the back of your hand where you have been stung by a SCORPION! Lose 1 SKILL point, 2 STAMINA points and 1 LUCK point. You curse your misfortune and set off again down the tunnel. Turn to 49.

49
You soon arrive at a wooden door which has been smashed open and hangs in pieces on its rusty hinges. You peer into the gloom and see a clay pit just beyond the doorway. Higgly ties one end of his climbing rope on to the door hinge before throwing it down the pit. He grins and says, ‘I’ll go first,’ and grabs the rope to slide down into the pit. ‘Nothing to see down here,’ he says, looking up. You tell him not to be so hasty and slide down the rope to join him. You inspect the pit wall carefully and notice a faint vertical crack in the clay. You tell Higgly to swing his axe at the wall and hear a dull clang as his blade strikes solid metal. You help him clear away the clay to reveal an iron door which is etched with figures of fire-breathing dragons. Higgly urges caution but you cannot resist trying the handle. Much to your surprise it turns, and you pull the creaking door open. You enter a small stone-walled chamber where you see an ancient wooden chest with thick brass edging on a marble plinth. Although it is quite dark inside the chamber, you can see that the far wall is decorated with a colourful painting of an old, bearded wizard in long robes holding a glass orb from which swirling bases are escaping. A huge dragon appears to be materializing from out of the gases. ‘That could be a painting of Zagor, the evil Warlock who used to live inside the mountain,’ Higgly says excitedly. ‘And this could be his long-lost treasure chest!’ You walk round the plinth looking for traps before inspecting the chest, which has two rows of interlocking dragon teeth securing the lid to the frame of the chest. You can’t find a lock, but there are two gemstone eyes, one emerald and one ruby, set in the lid, which is shaped like the top of a dragon’s skull. Higgly suggests that you should try pressing one of the gems, which might open the chest. If you want to press the emerald eye, turn to 327. If you want to press the ruby eye, turn to 139.

Please make your votes before 7:00 PM PDT or a choice receives 3 votes to guarantee that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
Lixx
SKILL: 8 Initial Skill = 9
STAMINA: 14 Initial Stamina = 16
LUCK: 10 Initial Luck = 11
EQUIPMENT AND TREASURE:
Broken Sword
Backpack
Map
Fire Sword
Shiny Dagger
GOLD: 34
JEWELS:
None
POTIONS:
Potion of Skill
PROVISIONS: 10

[Beroli]

Mary gave us the answer there. Green is life and red is dead. Press the emerald eye.

[deaddmwalking]

Agreed. I would be very surprised if there was a different puzzle that advice was supposed to apply to.

With the 4gp we earned do we have to deduct for Higgly, or does that only apply to loot after a fight?

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes acknowledged; pressing the emerald eye.

327
You hear a faint click when you press the emerald eye and watch the lid slowly lift open like a huge mouth. On a red velvet cushion inside, you see a polished iron crown adorned with four iron warriors spaced equally apart on the rim. The warriors are all standing to attention with their hands resting on the hilt of their downward-pointing swords. ‘What a fantastic-looking crown!’ exclaims Higgly. ‘It must have magic powers. I’m going to put it on.’ If you want to let Higgly try on the crown, turn to 166. If you want to try on the crown yourself, turn to 287.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a choice receives 3 votes to guarantee that they will be counted.

[Thaluikhain]

Half vote for letting them wear it.

[deaddmwalking]

We trust him. Might as well let him put it on.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered; letting Higgly try on the crown.

166
‘Fortune favours the brave,’ Higgly says cheerfully as he places the crown on his head. You watch him lift the velvet cushion out of the chest in the hope of finding more treasure, but there is nothing else inside. ‘We might as well take these gems,’ he says, drawing his dagger. He begins to prise the ruby out of the eye socket when suddenly he drops his dagger. He looks alarmed and grabs the crown with both hands. ‘It’s crushing my head,’ he says with a look of fear in his eyes. He tugs at the crown but is unable to take it off, even with your help. It tightens even more around his head, causing him considerable pain, but he manages to climb out of the pit and stagger outside, still pulling on the crown before collapsing on the ground. Daylight has activated the evil magic in a spell that was cast on the iron crown years ago. It drops off Higgly’s head and rolls away as if being controlled. You watch on incredulously as the four iron warriors on the rim come alive. They jump down from the crown on to the ground to stand at attention in a circle, swords raised and tips touching. They grow quickly, and within seconds they are towering above you like a group of five-metre-high iron statues. Although unable to see you, the Iron Giants sense your presence. Their heads turn towards you in unison, and one swings its huge sword down at you. Roll two dice. If the number rolled is less than or equal to your SKILL score, turn to 146. If the number rolled is greater than your SKILL score, turn to 352.



Rolling the dice yielded a 10, which is greater than Lixx’s Skill.

352
You dive sideways, trying to avoid the sweeping sword, but the tip of the massive blade just catches you on the back of the leg. Fortunately, the wound is not deep. Lose 2 STAMINA points. You jump up and run back into the cave to escape the Iron Giants. Looking out from the safety of the cave entrance, you watch them continue to grow until they stand some ten metres tall. Without warning, they all turn round at the same time and slowly stride off west towards the Pagan Plains, their giant articulated limbs making grating metallic sounds as they walk, and their thumping heavy feet crushing everything in their path underfoot. As soon as they are gone, you run outside to where Higgly is lying motionless on the ground, barely alive. ‘It’s the Crown of Chaos. I am doomed,’ he whispers, struggling to breathe, his face contorted in pain. ‘The Iron Giants will destroy Allansia. Take the crown to Marik Om-Yash in Hamelin. He will help you. The magic items you’ll need to find in Hamelin are…’ But before he can finish his sentence, Higgly falls silent. His eyes close, never to open again. Lose 1 LUCK point. You place the rim of the crown in your backpack and set off south-east towards Hamelin. You look back momentarily to see the Iron Giants marching slowly on, towering above the trees. An hour later you arrive at the Red River, where you see an old man with a wizened face lying asleep in a rowing boat which has been pulled up on to the bank. If you want to talk to the old man, turn to 215. If you would rather keep on walking along the riverbank, turn to 58.



Please make your votes before 7:00 PM PDT or a choice receives 3 votes to guarantee that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
Lixx
SKILL: 8 Initial Skill = 9
STAMINA: 12 Initial Stamina = 16
LUCK: 9 Initial Luck = 11
EQUIPMENT AND TREASURE:
Broken Sword
Backpack
Map
Fire Sword
Shiny Dagger
Crown of Chaos
GOLD: 34
JEWELS:
None
POTIONS:
Potion of Skill
PROVISIONS: 10

[deaddmwalking]

Talk to old man.

Since we don't know what we need to find in Hamelin, I'll be voting to explore everything we can. Magic items may end up in weird places.

[Thaluikhain]

Talk to the old man.

(And, ok, that suddenly took an unexpected turn.)

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes acknowledged; talking to the old man.

215
You cough loudly to wake up the old man, who leaps up, looking startled. He grabs an oar and tells you not to come any closer. Will you:

     Ask if you can hire him to row you to Hamelin?       Turn to 257
     Draw your sword?       Turn to 92
     Apologize for waking him up and walk on?       Turn to 58



Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a choice receives 3 votes to guarantee that they will be counted.

[SGamerz]

Ask to hire him.

[Thaluikhain]

Makes sense to hire, yeah.

[deaddmwalking]

I would prefer to apologize but NOT walk on - but that's not an option. So let's go with hire him.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered; asking if Lixx can hire him to row our hero to Hamelin.

257
The old man relaxes and says, ‘Hamelin is far too far away for me to row to. In the old days, I used to run a ferry service across an underground river inside Firetop Mountain, but people stopped coming. I’ve retired now, but I’ll sell you my boat if that is of interest? Pay me 5 Gold Pieces and it’s yours!’ If you want to buy the ferryman’s rowing boat, turn to 360. If you would rather decline his offer and walk on, turn to 58.

Please make your votes before 7:00 PM PDT or a choice receives 3 votes to guarantee that they will be counted.

[deaddmwalking]

I really want to hear about the underground river. Maybe buying the boat will keep him talking? I guess that's my vote.

[SGamerz]

Yeah, when the only alternative is to walk away, I guess I'd vote to buy the boat.

(Also, if he used to be the ferryman in Firetop Mountain, doesn't that mean he's actually a Wererat?)

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes acknowledged, buying the ferryman’s rowing boat.

360
You give the old man 5 Gold Pieces, after which he hands you the oars. He smiles and says, ‘You should reach Hamelin before nightfall, but keep an eye out for the Giant River Snakes.’ You put the oars on the boat and push it into the river and jump on board. You turn the boat upstream and pull on the oars as the old man hurries away. You have only gone a few metres when you notice the boat is taking water on board. The bottom of the boat is rotten and has sprung a leak. It rapidly fills up with water and begins to sink, and you have no option but to swim back to the bank. You have been swindled by the old ferryman, who has sold you a rotten boat. You scramble up the bank, soaked to the skin. Three of your Provisions are lost in the river. Lose 1 LUCK point. You look left and right, but the ferryman is nowhere to be seen. All you see are the Iron Giants in the distance marching steadily west. There seems little you can do but to set off on foot again. Turn to 58.



58
It’s not long before you come to an old log cabin which has a small vegetable patch in front of it. Smoke drifts up from the chimney and you see there are two saddled horses tethered to a post nearby. If you want to knock on the door of the cabin, turn to 388. If you would rather keep on walking along the riverbank, turn to 6.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a choice receives 3 votes to guarantee that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
Lixx
SKILL: 8 Initial Skill = 9
STAMINA: 12 Initial Stamina = 16
LUCK: 8 Initial Luck = 11
EQUIPMENT AND TREASURE:
Broken Sword
Backpack
Map
Fire Sword
Shiny Dagger
Crown of Chaos
GOLD: 29
JEWELS:
None
POTIONS:
Potion of Skill
PROVISIONS: 7

[Thaluikhain]

Knock.

[JourneymanN00b]

Vote recognized; knocking on the door of the cabin.

388
You walk up to the front door of the cabin and bang on it with the pommel of your sword. You hear dogs barking ferociously from inside. ‘Go away or I’ll set my dogs on you!’ a man’s angry voice calls out. If you want to knock on the door again, turn to 121. If you would rather continue walking east along the riverbank, turn to 6.



Please make your votes before 7:00 PM PDT or a choice receives 3 votes to guarantee that they will be counted.

[Beroli]

Knock again.

[Thaluikhain]

Knock knock.

[SGamerz]

Knock the door off its hinges. Then knock the guy's head off.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered; knocking on the door again.

121
You knock rapidly on the door and hear the man call out in an even angrier voice, ‘Did you not hear me? I said go away or I’ll set my dogs on you!’ If you want to ask him if you can buy one of his horses, turn to 348. If you want to leave him alone and continue walking along the riverbank, turn to 6.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a choice receives 3 votes to guarantee that they will be counted.