[LP] Lesser-Known Gamebooks: The Cretan Chronicles.

[angelfromanotherpin]

You have dropped the jewel; this is what made the splash. You feel around and, after a time, you find it and put it back in the pocket of your tunic. You continue on to the town of Cleonae and find an inn.

The innkeeper welcomes you in when you knock, smiles and beckons you towards a room. You choose to have a meal first, and retire, contented, to a good night's rest. In the morning you eat a hearty breakfast, and carry on out of the town.

The sun, now well above your home in far-off Troezen, throws gentle light down on the earth below. Its warming rays play on the leaf-filled trees. The way out of Cleonae clibs gently to the crest of the foothills. Your legs, now fresh and eager for the journey, make light work of the ascent. As you reach the top, you gasp at the panorama below. To your left the Gulf of Corinth opens out in a vast expanse of wine-dark water. At its head lies the city of Corinth, standing like a watchtower, vigilant over the sea, in case the pirates come to carry off the crops and lay waste the well-stocked villages. At the foot of the hills to the right is little Cenchraea, sister of Corinth, as the moon is of the sun. Beyond the harbour the Saronic Gulf reaches out almost to Athens, city of the owl-eyed goddess. Between the waters, the Isthmus links the Isle of Pelops with the wilder lands beyond. You ponder your choice.

• Bustling Corinth?
• Quiet seafaring Cenchrea?

[Mr Shine]

Cenchrea for no particular reason.

[SGamerz]

Gotten over the stretch I knew by heart, now I can start voting again without having to think of ways to justify my votes without revealing metagaming spoilers.

I'll probably still be withholding votes from hint options (good or bad) that I remember too well, since most of them are so random that it's impossible to justify without pre-knowledge. The sole hint we've come across that could have been figured out from the text so far is when our Mother's Gem fell into the river. I'm glad everyone caught on to that one.

For now, I vote Corinth. "Bustling" fits a hero better than "quiet".

Oh, and by the way:

• Attack the woman and beat stony-hearted Hunger to it?

Best way to put an option to kill someone for no good reason, ever!

"OMG, she's starving to death! Can't let that happen! Let's prevent that by bashing her brains out with a club first!"

[Darth Rabbitt]

I think we should go to the big city this time. It's more likely to have cool stuff going on.

[Sirocco]

"οὐ παντός πλεῖν ἐς Κόρινθον"

The voyage to Corinth is not for every man, as it is said, but Altheus is a hero. Plus, it also had (has?) a big temple to Aphrodite.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Down towards the metropolis you trek, the hill paths, littered with rubble, forcing you to tread warily. Shepherds graze their sheep to the left and right, and as you come closer to the city, carts begin to pass you, plying between Corinth and its sister port Cenchrea.

• Proceed?
• Take a hint?

[Starmaker]

Nothing unusual seems to be happening, and there are [presumably horse-driven] carts around so the road is good now. Ignore the shamebait and proceed.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, let's ignore the hint for once.

[angelfromanotherpin]

The city is extremely busy. People flock to and from the vast market. You stand and shake your head at the tradesmen hawking goods from all parts of Greece. City life is so different from the tranquility of simple Troezen. Standing over the market and dominating it is a temple of Aphrodite, its columns carved in pure white marble, young women and priestesses languishing idly on the steps. You hurry by, and go up to a stall selling fruit. You buy some grapes, and the stall-keeper at once notices that your money is not that of Corinth. You fall into conversation with him. Thinking that you are travelling south, he warns you to avoid Epidaurus, and a man named Procrustes in Tiryns. When you explain your destination, he suggests that you go to Delphi, to seek inspiration from Apollo the prophet god. Another nearby stall-keeper suggests Crommyon as a suitable next stage on your journey. From there, he says, you could catch a boat to Athens.

• Go to Pagae through Delphi?
• Go to Crommyon?
• Stay in Corinth for the night?

[Mr Shine]

We have a mission to accomplish, waiting around will not please the gods. I'd like to see the Oracle at Delphi.

[Sirocco]

Stay for the night, visit the temple if we can.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Apollo is not Altheus' patron, so let's try to get his favor at Delphi.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Whoops, that was supposed to be 'through Pagae to Delphi.' But same dif.

The road to Pagae is strewn with the bodies of dead cattle and goats, wasted from the plague, and rotting from days in the sun. The smell is at times overpowering. Unperturbed, you press on, not to be turned aside by some farmer's ill luck. You pass a shrine to Athena, the owl goddess, protectress of this town. The streets seem strangely deserted. As you pass a particularly imposing building, a man beckons to you.

'Stranger,' he calls, 'for you are obviously such, and have not heard of this town's affliction. There is plague here, caused by rats. All our efforts to drive them out have been unsuccessful. Many of our folk have been bitten, and died. Perhaps you could help us.'

• Leave Pagae as quickly as possible?
• Agree to help Athena's town?

[Darth Rabbitt]

Help out. We're a hero, after all.

[SGamerz]

We are favoured by the god of healing, we can probably do something about the plague.

Help out.

[angelfromanotherpin]

The lord of Pagae takes you to a derelict barn on the outskirts of the city. 'Here,' he says, 'the rats are nesting. I am sure that you can deliver us. You have some of the marks of a hero.' With this he ushers you into the barn and closes the door behind you. It is dark and musty, and as your eyes grow accustomed to the gloom, you think you see small shapes scurrying around. There is the sound of squeaking and scrabbling.

• Are you in favour with Asclepius? √

The healer god, in repayment for your earlier servie, lights up the barn with a healing glow. The rats, harbingers of death and disease, cannot bear the touch of Asclepius, and they perish, withered where they stood, as the golden ears of corn die at the scorching touch of Sciron, the wind of the north-west. Your task is done, and the town of Pagae is set free from the plague. You are in favour with Athena, if she was not your patron. In any case, you may have 4 Honour points. The lord of the town, seeing what has happened, greets you, but hurries you out of the town, with only a loaf, afraid of the works you might perform in his domain.

Ungrateful sod.

Quickly on your way from the disease-ridden town of Pagae, you come to a fork in the road. Placed just where it begins, is the triple-formed statue of Hecate, queen of the underworld and goddess of night, one head pointing in each direction. In one of her six hands, she carries a headless jet-black puppy. In another, she holds a torch.



• Pass the statue to the right, on towards Eleusis?
• Pass the statue to the left, on towards Delphi?

[SGamerz]

We were on our way to Delphi, let's continue that way.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Continue on to Delphi, even though the headless cat being on the left looks like a bad sign to me.

[Starmaker]

Continue on to Delphi, even though the headless cat being on the left looks like a bad sign to me.

And the moon, and turning to the left, and the western direction.
Bring it on, Hecate. To Delphi.

[angelfromanotherpin]

The road to Delphi is long and hard, and you soon realize that you will not make it in a single day. Late in the afternoon of the fifth you see ahead a small band of travellers and you hurry towards them trying to catch up. By their plain garb, you can see that they are pilgrims, most probably making, as you are, for the archer god's sanctuary at Delphi. You see that they are carrying gifts of jewellery, gold and silver for the god. You realize that you have no comparable gift.



• Try to force the pilgrims to give you something by attacking them?
• Join them and try to buy something from them?
• Press on regardless, trusting in your heroic prowess to impress the god?

[SGamerz]

Attacking them sounds like a Shame-bait.

See if we can buy some plot coupon.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Try to buy from them.

[angelfromanotherpin]

I love how money in this book is completely abstract.

The pilgrims are friendly, and are indeed on their way to Delphi to worship at the archer god's shrine. They tell you something of the road ahead. You must pass through Cirrha, but this is within the sacred plain of Delphi, where nothing should be cultivated. You admire one of the effigies of the god, and a fair-haired woman offers it to you, but you insist that she takes some money for it. She accepts and you carry on down the road. The sky darkens, and it seems there might be a storm. The other pilgrims stop at a roadside hostel which caters for travellers on their way to Delphi; but you press onwards to Cirrha, anxious to get as far as you may before nightfall.

In the dim light of dusk, you see a small number of pilgrims at one side of the road, in conversation with a large group of men carrying what look like iron-shafted javelins. The pilgrims seem to hand something over and then carry on their way. As you come closer to the spot, one of the men bars your way.

'Halt, pilgrim!' he shouts. 'You must pay for your passage in coin or labour.' He explains that, to get past through Cirrha to Delphi, you must either pay or must plough a certain amount of the field behind, first catching the bull.

• Submit and agree to pay the money?
• Try to fight the men?
• Agree to yoke the bull and plough the field?
• Take a hint?

[Mr Shine]

Hint. We definitely don't want to plough the field, we probably can't take them in a fight, and I don't really want to give them money, however abstract it is. Hint for the 4th option.

[Starmaker]

I love how money in this book is completely abstract.

That's great. Epic heroes shouldn't have to count coins.
---
Take a hint.