Let's Play Fighting Fantasy #19: Demons of the Deep

[Darth Rabbitt]

You search the face of the cliff for more secret doors like the one from which you emerged. You find no doors, but you do see a cavern big enough to admit one. You swim closer - and draw back from the snapping jaws of a huge MORAY EEL.

Do you enter the cave and attack with your sword or flee?

[Foxwarrior]

It's just an ordinary, nonmagical eel, right? Then it's surely not guarding treasure.

Run away!

[Korgan0]

nein, attack! It's amore at first sight!

[Darth Rabbitt]

(I think I have to go with Korgan's reasoning.)

You think you can handle a single ugly Eel. You slash at it with your sword, and it responds by striking at you with needle-like fangs.

MORAY EEL SKILL 7 STAMINA 12

The close confines keep you from trying to Escape.

Combat Log:

Eel 12, Peter 15. Eel is at 10.
Eel 12, Peter 9. Peter is at 15.
Eel 10, Peter 13. Eel is at 8.
Eel 14, Peter 16. Eel is at 6.
Eel 19, Peter 16. Peter is at 13.
Eel 11, Peter 19. Eel is at 4.
Eel 13, Peter 13. Tie.
Eel 16, Peter 11. Peter is at 11.
Eel 15, Peter 15. Tie.
Eel 13, Peter 13. Tie.
Eel 11, Peter 13. Eel is at 2.
Eel 16, Peter 14. Peter is at 9.
Eel 14, Peter 13. Peter is at 7.
Eel 12, Peter 12. Tie.
Eel 11, Peter 12. Eel is dead.

(I assume we eat a couple of Meals, that Eel was basically as strong as Peter Woody.)

The Eel thrashes and dies. You drag it out of the cave and watch it tumble slowly down through the water, twisting in the current. Returning to the cave, you search it, and find a single Gold Piece.

You swim down over the city. As you get closer, most of the buildings seem in rather poor repair. But several things seem worthy of closer attention. Will you investigate:

A huge palace with striped domes?
A large sunken galleon laying on its side?
An area that looks like an underwater garden?

First Mate Peter Woody
SKILL 7/7
STAMINA 15/17
LUCK 7/8
Equipment: Cutlass, Leather Armor
Provisions: 5 meals (+4 STAMINA each)
Black Pearls: 4
Gold Pieces: 5
Items: Lucky Charm (automatically succeed LUCK test once with no LUCK loss, one use only)

EDIT: Shame on me! I forgot to add our hard-won Gold Piece!

[Blade]

Garden first, with our low skill we'll need plenty of underwater coconuts to survive.

[Korgan0]

Garden.

[Darth Rabbitt]

The underwater gardens seem to be laid out just like a formal garden on land. You swim through the heavy iron gate, noting that it is not at all rusty. Inside the gate, you see many beautiful specimens of seaweed, coral and water plants. Instead of birds, the "trees" are filled with colored fish. It is eerie, but peaceful. A few yards from the gate, the path splits in two.

Do you go to the left or go to the right?

[Korgan0]

Right.

[Username17]

How many blind choices does this book have? Fine, right is right.

-Username17

[Darth Rabbitt]

As you go along the path, the small coral and plants are replaced by taller seaweed. Gradually, the garden becomes a forest. From ahead of you comes a sound like a bubbling roar. You stop and listen. A minute later the sound is repeated . . . from closer by.

Do you want to flee in the other direction or go forward to see what made the noise?

[Foxwarrior]

I guess we're playing a foolhardy brave hero again, so CHAAARGE!

I mean, investigate what is obviously just a series of deep sea vents.

[CapnTthePirateG]

ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK

[Darth Rabbitt]

You see a golden-yellow shape ahead - a large fish of some kind. It opens its mouth, and again you hear the bubbling roar. You draw your sword as it comes closer. Then it sees you. Fins around its neck stand up in a great mane; it yawns, showing sharp teeth, and swims towards you. It is a LIONFISH! What will you do:

Fight it with your sword?
Flee back down the path?
Swim to the top of the seaweed trees?

(Can't say it's any worse than D&D's Sea Lion; in fact, that's exactly what it is. Still a lame pun.)

[MisterDee]

Lionfishes actually exist.

Granted, they top out at two feet or so, and they don't do bubbly roars, but they're a thing. They even vaguely sort of look like the illustration.

[Korgan0]

ATTACK

[Darth Rabbitt]

You swing your sword at the Lionfish and it hisses with dismay.

LIONFISH SKILL 9 STAMINA 12

You cannot Escape; it is too fast.

Combat Log:

Lionfish 17, Peter 12. Peter is at 13.
Lionfish 16, Peter 14. Peter is at 11.
Lionfish 14, Peter 12. Peter is at 9.
Lionfish 16, Peter 17. Lionfish is at 10.
Lionfish 13, Peter 11. Peter is at 7.
Lionfish 14, Peter 14. Tie.
Lionfish 17, Peter 10. Peter is at 5.
Lionfish 15, Peter 17. Lionfish is at 8.
Lionfish 12, Peter 13. Lionfish is at 6.
Lionfish 13, Peter 18. Lionfish is at 4.
Lionfish 17, Peter 17. Tie.
Lionfish 19, Peter 12. Peter is at 3.
Lionfish 18, Peter 13. Peter is at 1.
Lionfish 14, Peter 17. (I'm going to Test our Luck here, since we'll most likely die if we don't.) Luck Test: snake eyes, (extremely) Lucky! Lionfish is dead.

(We are literally at 1 health, and probably only won because of the Luckiest Luck Test Ever. That's actually kind of awesome. Seriously though, I have no idea how Peter Woody lasted so long as a sailor, given that he attacks every fish he sees. I assume we eat 4 Meals to get back to full.)

Having slain the Lionfish, you continue in the direction from which it came. The seaweed forest becomes darker. Then, abruptly, it falls away into a neatly-kept clearing. Within the clearing is a very ordinary-looking cottage, surrounded by a great iridescent bubble. Inside the bubble you can see everyday land-dwelling shrubs - and even a cat!

You swim closer and peer through the bubble into a window of the cottage. Inside you can see an old man sitting at a desk. Suddenly he becomes aware of you and looks up. Meeting your eye, he waves you towards the front of the cottage. His attitude is brisk and no-nonsense.

Do you swim back into the cover of the gardens or go to the front and meet the old man?

First Mate Peter Woody
SKILL 7/7
STAMINA 17/17
LUCK 6/8
Equipment: Cutlass, Leather Armor
Provisions: 1 meal (+4 STAMINA)
Black Pearls: 4
Gold Pieces: 5
Items: Lucky Charm (automatically succeed LUCK test once with no LUCK loss, one use only)

(Fuck, I forgot we had a Lucky Charm! Oh well, we were extremely Lucky for the sailor with the worst LUCK stat ever. And given how much this one is set up like City of Thieves, right down to the point where it all takes place near Port Blacksand and you collect shitloads of Black Pearls, talking to the guy who's most likely a wizard will probably give us some much needed information.)

[Foxwarrior]

Go and chat with the wizard's secretary.

[Korgan0]

yup

[Darth Rabbitt]

The door opens and the old man steps out. He introduces himself as Greylock and invites you in. Cautiously, you step through the protective bubble, feeling your skin tingle. Once inside, you find you are breathing air. He chuckles at your surprise: "Ah . . . you are no wizard, then." You tell him about the spell that bestowed the gills upon you, and he nods. "A powerful spell. Don't worry. My home here is under a different enchantment, which will not interfere with your protection."

You may have heard the name Greylock before. (Peter does not possess anything bearing that name.)

Old Greylock is full of questions, and you are not entirely sure you trust him. He is displaying a very keen interest in your doings and in the things you have found during your sojourn in Atlantis. Suddenly, from a pocket of his long robe, he produces a wand.

Do you attack him before he can use the wand or wait and see what he does?

EDIT: forgot image again, added it.

[Schleiermacher]

Wait and see.

[Korgan0]

Wait

[Darth Rabbitt]

He sketches a frame in the air around you and studies you as though you were a picture in a gallery, muttering to himself. "Bravery alone will do you no good," he states. "Cunning will bring victory. Bravery and cunning together will make your fortune." He studies you further. "Have you any Black Pearls?" he asks. (Peter does.)

He tells you that these Pearls are very powerful. If you throw a pair of them on the ground and say the magic word "Derd-nu-Heno", an animated skeleton will appear to fight for you. The word will work for up to 10 Pearls at a time, to produce up to five skeletons - an undead army! ("Though you shouldn't need quite that many," he comments.) If the skeletons are not destroyed in battle, the word "Derd-en-Parr" uttered by the spell-caster will make them vanish again, leaving the pearls unharmed. "Remember this!" says Greylock. "And there are more Pearls to be found, but most of them are guarded by monsters such as the Sea Dragon. Now, what about Silver pearls?" he asks. "Have you any of those?" (Peter doesn't.)

"Well then," says the old wizard," that is about all I can do for you. And you have to hurry, you know." You consider Greylock's advice.

Do you think you want to find the Sea Dragon or would you rather not meet the Sea Dragon?

[CapnTthePirateG]

Huh, so we just learned Animate Dead.

Let's go find the dragon.

[JigokuBosatsu]

We should totally find the Sea Dragon, because... speaking hypothetically, having a magic skeleton army could be very helpful.

Also, "Derd-nu-Heno"? Gee, I wonder...

[Darth Rabbitt]

You tell Greylock that you want to find the Sea Dragon. "Very well," he replies. "Good fortune to you." He escorts you back to the front door of his cottage. When it opens, you see, not the gardens, but a weed-lined tunnel. A glistening film holds back the water that fills the tunnel. You lower yourself through, feeling a tingling sensation as you cross the magical barrier. The door closes behind you.

The tunnel enters a large cavern. The walls have been cut and faceted to bring out the beauty of the rock. Little niches contain glittering crystals, attractive plants or anemones, and other undersea curiosities. You swim along, admiring the exhibits. Then you see a MERMAN swimming toward you, barbed trident at the ready.

Do you draw your sword and attack him or talk to him?