Unfortunate Messenger

Your nap is disturbed by a silent murmur of water. First, you try to ignore it, but as soon as your hand feels something wet, you open your eyes. It is morning, and you are lying on the river bank. It’s peaceful and quiet. The only thing that can be heard are the birds, tweeting in their nests and the tickle of the river. The river runs through the grove. There is no one around you. For a minute you try to get your thoughts together and find out what happened. But you don’t seem to remember anything. What do you want to do?

• [Cleverness] Try harder.
• Examine my body.
• Check my pockets.

You focus and try to remember what happened to you. With your best effort you finally remember. You were on your way to Tjolmar to deliver an important note to Ingerimm devotees. While traveling by ship to Norhus, the ship was attacked by a gang of robbers. They hit you on the head and emptied your pockets, but you are still carrying the note you were supposed to deliver. Now you should continue on your way.

• Go north to Norhus.
• Go south.

No matter how hard you try, you just can’t remember anything. What are you going to do now?

• Examine my body.
• Check my pockets.

You notice several fresh scratches, but nothing is broken. When you touch a back of your head, you feel sharp pain and see blood on your fingers. It seems that you’ve got hit on the head. What are going to do now?

• Try to heal the wound.
• Cast a healing ‘Balsam Salabunde’ spell.
• Cry out for help.

You bandage your head carefully with a scrap of cloth. It feels much better. What now?

• Check my pockets.

You bandage your head with a scrap of cloth, but it doesn’t feel any better. Actually, it feels even worse. You rip the bandage off and decide to leave this job to an experienced healer in the nearest settlement. What are going to do now?

• Check my pockets.

As you cast the spell, the pain in your head insensibly disappears. But you still don’t remember anything. What are you going to do now?

• Check my pockets.

Your spell fails. Maybe it’s because you’re too weak now. You decide to show the wound to an experienced healer in the nearest settlement. What are you going to do next?

• Check my pockets.

You start shouting as you walk along the river. Your voice echoes loudly through the grove. You’ve scared a lot of little animals, even the birds’ tweeting got silent. After several other attempts you hear the rustle of leaves as if someone is barging his way through the bushes. You turn your head in the direction of this sound and see a huge bear staring back at you. It is about 2.5 paces high. Your shouts obviously made it angry. What are you going to do now? You can’t fight it barehanded.

• [Meekness] Cast a ‘Meek you be’ spell to calm it down.
• [Horriphobus] Cast a ‘Horriphobus’ spell to scare it off.
• [Somnigravis] Cast a ‘Somnigravis’ spell to put it to sleep.
• [Paralysis] Cast a ‘Paralysis’ spell to immobilize it.
• Cast a combat spell.
• [Agility] Run!

Your spell worked! The animal settled down and disappeared in the bushes. You heave a sigh of relief and decide not to shout anymore. You think it’s time to move on your way.

• Check my pockets.

As you start to mumble your spell, the bear makes a loud resounding roar and brings you down to the ground. Game over.

• Restart.

You start running away from a rabid bear. It keeps chasing you for a minute or two, but then it becomes clear that you’re going to win this race. So the bare gives up. It stops, makes a loud threatening roar in your direction and disappears in the bushes. You slow down and get your breath. What are you going to do next?

• Check my pockets.

Your pockets are surprisingly empty. You don’t have any luggage or weapons either. Looks like you’ve got robbed. Finally, you find a thin piece of parchment in your inner pocket. Probably the robbers missed it or didn’t find it interesting. The inscription on the envelope is not in Garethi, but in Rogolan. What are you going to do with it?

• [Read Rogolan] Attempt to read it.
• Or put it back inside and move on your way.

The inscription says that this letter has to be delivered to Ingerimm temple in Tjolmar. Well, looks like you’re supposed to deliver it. What are you going to do now?

• Go north to Tjolmar.
• Go south.

You can’t read Rogolan, so you have no idea what it says. You decide to show it to a dwarf if you meet one. What are you going to do now?

• Move on your way along the river.

You don’t know what dangers await you in the thicket of trees. Obviously, the safest way is to move along the river. What direction do you choose?

• North.
• South.

On your way south you notice a stream of smoke drifted from the thicket of trees. As you approach its source you see a small campfire with the flame just about to die out. Several tents are set around the fire. You don’t know if there’s anyone inside, you hear nothing suspicious. What would you like to do?

• I see no one around, so it seems safe to come closer and investigate the place.
• [Intuition] Listen to my intuition.
• Move on.

You approach the campfire and look around. You notice a pile of goods – clothes, footwear, even some weapons in scabbards. All this stuff seems to be robbers’ loot. As you bend over a pile to take a closer look at weapons, you hear a whistling sound and something stings you in the back. You turn around and see a rogue aiming a crossbow at you. And this is the last thing you see, as the darkness thickens, you fall on your knees and head out to Boron’s realm.

• Restart.

You think it’s not safe to approach the campfire. It could be set by robbers who attacked you yesterday. The tents are still here, so their owners can be around as well. And you don’t want any trouble.

• Move on.

You don’t feel anything special. So what are you going to do?

• Investigate the campfire.
• Move on.

As you continue walking along the river, the ground becomes more and more marshy. The mud squishes under your boots. Your feet are sinking deeper and deeper with each step. Do you want to turn back?

• Yes, I turn back north.
• [Intuition] Listen to my intuition.
• Move on anyway.

You think it’s not a good idea to march across the swamp alone. If you start drowning, no one can pull you out.

• So you turn back and move in north direction.

The waterside path has taken you to a big swamp. Large bubbles rise to the swamp’s surface, pop and release a foul smell. Suddenly the ground starts shaking and ripples appear on the surface of the water before a huge vine shoots up from the swamp and snatches you by the leg as it starts to pull you in. You are pulled into the water and start to drown, gasping for air. But it’s too late. The swamp has claimed another victim.

• Restart.

Several hours pass as you travel along the river. At last you reach Hilvalla. Hilvalla is a very small settlement, but you can find a healer, a blacksmith, a tavern and even a ferry station there. Where do you want to go first?

• I need a healer to examine my wound.
• My weapon was stolen. I gotta get a new one.

You enter a healer’s workshop. It’s filled with smoke coming from a big cauldron in the corner of the room. A huge wall cupboard is filled with fresh and dry herbs, leeches in jars and colorful elixirs. A woman with an apathetic look on her face greets you silently.

“Mother Peraine be with you, stranger. How can I be of assistance?”

You show her your wound on the back of the head. The woman examines it for a minute and says: “It’s a mere scratch. You’ll be fine.” Then she continues sorting her herbs. She looks as she doesn’t want to be bothered.

What do you do next?

• Visit the blacksmith.

The forge reeks with sweat and smoke. As you walk inside you see a row of finely crafted weapons hanging on the wall. The dwarf hammering away at an anvil notices your interest and addresses you: “Ka Angrosch garaschmox! Want to exchange your gold for my steel?”

“The robbers have all my gold now. Can I at least have a rusty dagger?”

“I’m sorry, lady,” the dwarf replies, “no gold – no steel.”

You know how stubborn dwarves are and decide not to argue. You fumble in your pocket for the parchment. Then you pull it out and show it to the blacksmith.

“Can you read this inscription?” you ask.

“Yep”, the dwarf nods. “It says it’s supposed to be delivered to the temple of Angosch in Tjolmar”.

You thank the dwarf and leave the forge. Where do you want to go now?

• To the tavern.

The local ‘Village Tavern’ is a dim place, lit by a few candles placed around the walls. The owner stands behind the counter busy with cleaning and refilling tankards. You walk inside and sit next to a drunken sailor at the counter. “Hey, captain!” the owner addresses him loudly, “More ‘Skull Mauler’?” The sailor drains his tankard dry and passes it to the owner. The owner fills it with beer and sends it back to the sailor skillfully.

“Hey”, you greet the captain, “can you take me to Tjolmar? I can’t pay, but perhaps I can do some work on your ship.”

“I’m heading to Norhus. And I’ve got plenty of moochers” he grumped. “Can you sing?”

• [Sing] Yes, I can sing!
• [Convert] Convince the captain.
• [Seduce] Seduce the captain.
• Beg the captain.

You sing a part from a famous sailor song. The captain seems to enjoy it, as he swings his tankard from side to side. Then he joins in to sing a final chord and bursts out laughing.

“That was good, lady. If you promise to sing all the way to Norhus, I can take you on board.”

“Deal!” you agree.

You wait till the sailor finishes his meal and accompany him out of the tavern.

• Go to ferry station.

You sing a part from the famous sailor song. The captain wrinkles his nose up as he drinks his beer. Then he pets you on the shoulder and says: “You have no ear for music, lady.”

What do you want to do now?

• [Fast talk] Convince the captain.
• [Seduce] Seduce the captain.
• Beg the captain.

For several minutes you try to convince the captain to take you to Norhus. You tell him your sad story, show the wound on your head and promise to repay him.

“Alright”, the captain sighs. “I don’t have many passengers anyway.”

You thank him, then wait till he finishes his meal and accompany him to ferry station.

• Go to ferry station.

For several minutes you try to convince the captain to take you to Norhus, but all your efforts fail. Would you rather:

• [Seduce] Seduce the captain.
• Beg the captain.

You put on your shiniest smile and say that a handsome strong man like him should not leave you in distress.

The sailor looks at you appraisingly. As his gaze settles on your backside, he winks at you and whispers: “I guess we’ll think something out.”

You wait till the sailor finishes his meal and accompany him out of the tavern.

• To the ferry station.

You put on your shiniest smile and say that a handsome strong man like him should not leave you in distress.

The sailor looks at you disapprovingly. “What do you take me for? I’m married!”

Would you rather:

• Beg the captain.

You beg the captain by goddess Travia to have mercy on you and take you to Norhus.

“Alright, alright”, the captain interrupts your plea. “Stop whining.”

You thank him, then wait till he finishes his meal and accompany him to ferry station.

• Go to ferry station.

At the ferry station you get on board of the ship and sail off to Norhus. There are no ferries travelling between Norhus and Tjolmar, so you have to go there on foot. The sunlight barely gets through the trees and reveals the path splitting up in two. One of them stretches along the shore and another one leads into the forest. The first one seems safer, but the second one can be a shortcut to Tjolmar. Which path do you take?

• The safe along the shore.
• The short through the forest.

After you walk several miles deep into the forest, you notice an odd smell. You don’t see or hear any animals around. It could be a bad sign. Would you like to:

• [Wisdom] Analyze this situation.
• [Intuition] Listen to my intuition.
• Turn back and take the safe path.
• Or just move on.

You suddenly realize that a foul smell can be a sign of a Basilisk. And you don’t want to meet one, so you:

• Turn back and take the safe path.

You try to remember what this suspicious smell can mean. But nothing comes to your mind, so you:

• Turn back and take the safe path.
• Move on.

You think that nothing good can smell like that. You subconsciously feel that it is dangerous to move on, so you:

• Turn back and take the safe path.

You don’t really feel anything. So you have to decide whether you:

• Turn back and take the safe path.
• Just move on.

You bravely move on to the source of the stench. The trees loom over as if they are trying to escape this foul smell. You no longer see grass or leaves. The trees and the bushes seem to be scorched by a powerful Ignisphaero fireball. The farther you go – the spookier the landscape becomes. Then suddenly you notice something moving in front of you. You look up and meet the steadfast gaze of a gigantic snake. It’s too late for you to realize that this is a basilisk, a venomous serpent who kills all leaving things with a single gaze.

• Restart.

Finally your reach the city of Tjolmar. It doesn’t take you long to deliver the letter to Ingerimm’s devotees.

• Receive and save your AP.
• Reset AP and restart adventure!