[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 23 - Masks of Mayhem!

[Thaluikhain]

I saw what you did there.

Yeah, check out the trees.

(Also, since I temporarily had a second account so I could report problems logging into my first account, it did occur that I might be able to pretend to be two people, and if somehow nobody noticed, get two votes. And then when we get something to vote for, everyone is probably going to agree with me anyway)

[Queen of Swords]

Investigate the trees. Wooden want to miss anything that might help later.

Oakay then, let's do this.

[pragma]

Investigate the trees.

I don't arbor any doubts about this course of action. Knot investigating them would be a branch we don't want to take.

[JourneymanN00b]

My vote will be to climb the hill and investigate the trees, as since we are already in the forest, we might as well go in. Also "oak for in" is a pretty obvious giveaway.

And could we see King Arthur's character sheet before we continue any further? I feel that it would be nice to have a refresher.

[SGamerz]

Compelled by the suffocating pun-laden voices in his head, Arthur heads for the oak.

If you can guess what you are supposed to do here, add together the numbers of the items involved and turn to the paragraph with that number. Otherwise, the trees shimmer mysteriously, but nothing happens to make you stay here. You carry on with your journey.

So, any of you have any idea what Arthur's supposed to do here? What items and numbers are involved?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: King Arthur Anric
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 15/15
LUCK 9/9
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Backpack, Potion of Fortune (+1 to Initial LUCK, restores LUCK to new Initial value), Helmet, sorrels, Iron Sceptre ("There should be just one ruler"), Copper Nugget, Pick-axe head, Snatta-cat's Tusk (11 dragons engraved), Apple Pips (x8), Water Flask, Tiger's Claws, Hever's Horn (-1 SKILL to opponents), rusty nail, Bejeweled Choker, Orb ("Twenty-one is the number of the ruler's sway.")
Provisions: 4
Treasure: Nil
Notes: 1) When allowed to call on Galrin's help, turn to section 100.
Number of failures:
1) Randomly shot in the back by a random Blackheart in some random mine shaft.
2) Fell down a chasm of unknown depths in the same random mine shaft

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote that we assemble the iron sceptre and orb to make a Rod of Portals. I then vote to zap this rod between the trees to see if a portal opens. After all, we were told by the bard that these two items were important for most of the quest, and I want to see why getting them was so important. Perhaps it is to enter the Sacred Realm.

[Omegonthesane]

Agreed with JourneymanN00b that the orb and sceptre should be combined somehow.

"There should be just 1 ruler" and "21 is the number of the ruler's way" could be any of 121, 211, or 22.

[Queen of Swords]

Since it says "add together", let's try 22.

[pragma]

Combine scepter and orb. Turn to paragraph 22.

[SGamerz]

Arthur uses the orb and sceptre...

Yeah, I still can't believe how much luck we've had for this game. First, we somehow successfully tracked down the Tiger for the Horn, and then we passed the random roll which had a 4/11 chance of success and got the good result to gain the Orb, which was necessary to pass this absolute vital item check! That roll was the biggest reason why this book has been ranked (though it's not even the only reason) one of the most difficult books in the series, because not only are the odds of making the roll low, but it's also so easy to miss. Choosing not to dive underwater below the Gator would have caused us to miss the roll completely, and I believe it's even possible to miss this encounter with the Gator as well!

When you raise the sceptre and orb, a shimmering screen appears between the oaks, and you step through. You immediately come face to face with Vashti the ageless. She nods gravely in recognition of you and the importance of your quest. "It is good that yo have come here," she says. "There are still perils for you to overcome, but it is certain that you have cone here," she says. "There are still perils for you to overcome, but it is certain that you could not complete your mission without seeing me. But I could not come to you, though I wanted to. For once - it would be a dozen centuries ago by your mortal reckoning - I left this timeless land, but was set upon by countless Greater Demons. During the battle, the lot the means of leaving my land again. I wonder if you know what I mean?" If you do know what she means, turn to the paragraph number is the same as the page of the book which have you the clue. Otherwise, turn to 329.

As usual for this book, the puzzles are vague, but at least the solution here is more straight-forward. I forgot to make the note on the Adventure Sheet, but the page of the Juja's book that gave us the solution is 208:

So, the Juja is still alive, is he?" she says. "Well, that's good to hear. What fun we used to have when the world was young! But knowing how to leave my domain, and actually being able to do so, are two different things, aren't they? Do you have the seeds?" If you do, multiply the number of seeds by the number of dragons depicted on the container, and turn to that paragraph. Otherwise, turn to 329.

And we have only 1 item that's associated with apples, and the references to the dragons on the container means that at least it's pretty clear which item is being checked (unlike the Orb-and-sceptre puzzle earlier) as long as we'd managed to find it:

11 dragons x 8 apple pips = 88.

"Excellent!" she exclaims. "We're all set, then, aren't we? You know about the sigils, the keys of power for which Morgana lusts. But do you know how they are portrayed? If you place six equally spaced marks around a circle and join them in any order, returning to the mark you begin with, you will find that there are twelve possible patterns. Now, people - those who are types of people - obey the laws of the sigils. Morgana has been seizing such people, dead or alive, and transforming their essence into masks for her Golems. You probably know that she's got the bard and the farmer, at any rate, and you'll now realize that the bard's brand, for instance, is a sigil. Now, look at your helmet." You do so, and gasp with astonishment. "It's one of the sigils!" "Precisely," continues Vashti. "It is the one we call the ruler, which is what you are, after all; it is the one which binds together all the sigils and confirm their power; and it is the one which Morgana is missing."

The implications of this are enormous. "But that means I'm walking into a trap!" you cry. "She wants me there, to turn me into a golem too!" "That is true," says Vashti, "but it is also true that you are the one to prevent this evil plot. You must continue with your mission." You are fired with grim resolution, and immediately take your leave of Vashti. She plants two of the seeds you have given her, and they spring up as full-blossomed apple trees. You walk between them back into the world of time, and find yourself right by the oak trees, as if you had just stepped between them. The sun is exactly where it was when you entered Vashti's realm.

I guess going back to Arion and hiding in our castle to deny Morgana her prize isn't an option. When your kingdom is as impoverished as that, and the king has to do everything by himself (including this mission to begin with), it goes without saying that the security in the palace probably sucks too (or maybe even non-existent). And what happened to poor Kevin is probably a testament to that.

You camp on the northern side of the hill. During the night, the first snow falls. If you have a Wildcat's pelt or an Antifreeze Potion, turn to 344; otherwise, turn to 227.

Nope, didn't buy the potion, since we spent all our money on a cool cloak which we then wasted almost immediately after.

From now on, as you progress towards and into the mountains, the snow gets deeper and icy winds moan. Because you have little protection against the cold, your Provisions will restore only 3 STAMINA points, instead of the usual 4.

If we never managed to replace our water bottle, we'd still have been under this same penalty, so I wonder what would have happened here. The text doesn't say that the penalties stack...

You can see the five peaks of Krill Garnash in the distance ahead, even though you are not yet in the mountain range itself, but on the borders. One morning, you see some extraordinarily large, sliding footprints in the snow. Images of Yeti or Bigfeet enter your mind, but you soon know better. You are confronted by two hill tribesmen, wearing snow-shoes. They are dressed in skins and look rather formidable, especially with their short but sturdy thrusting-spears. If you have the Cloak of Temporary Invisibility and wish to use it, turn to 390. Or will you approach the tribesmen peacefully, or attack?

Attack or not?

[Thaluikhain]

Approach peacefully.

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, let's try the peaceful approach. Hopefully attacking will still be an option if that doesn't work.

[pragma]

Approach peacefully

[Darth Rabbitt]

Give peace a chance.

[JourneymanN00b]

If we didn't waste our powerful cloak at the first opportunity, we could have used it here. My vote is to try approaching them peacefully, as the picture shows that they don't look too hostile. Hopefully this doesn't result in a "screw you" death.

[SGamerz]

This may be a mistake. The tribe to which these men belong has long been under the rule of Morgana. They pay her tribute. because they fear her; but they would rather be free. When you approach them with your sword still in its sheath, they seize you roughly and tie you against a tree. They search through your pack. If they can find a set of Sabre-toothed Tiger's claws, turn to 155; otherwise, turn to 194.

This cat king's got claws!

This find convinces them that you are a great warrior, and for the first time they speak to you, asking why you are trespassing their land. Will you tell them you have come to kill Morgana or that you are a hunter?

Are we an honest ninja king?

[Thaluikhain]

Tell them we are here to kill Morgana (that might be what we are doing, I forget).

[Omegonthesane]

Yeah, they look like they'll believe we are capable of killing Morgana and the exposition fairy says they would rather be rid of her.

[pragma]

Because they respect us, say we're here to kill Morgana.

[Queen of Swords]

If they fear her and would rather be free, sure, say we're here to kill her.

Fingers crossed, though, because if we're still tied to that tree, there's not a lot we can do if they decide they'd cravenly remain in her service.

[JourneymanN00b]

My vote is to tell them that we have come to kill Morgana, as I think we might be able to gain an ally or two with this path.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Since they know we're a great warrior and we know that they specifically "would rather be free" of Morgana's iron fisted reign, it seems reasonable to tell the truth.

[SGamerz]

One of them wants to take you as their prisoner to Morgana; the other wants to free you. They argue, and harsh words soon turn to blows, and then a fight to the death. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 271; if you are Unlucky, turn to 50.

Dice roll = 2 (Lucky)

The winner is the one who approves of your mission. He releases you and lets you carry on with your journey.

You travel deep into the mountains. The slopes are quite thickly covered with pine trees; occasionally, as the days pass, you hear low, ominous rumblings from the mountains on either side. One after noon you see a figure ahead of you, black against the white glare of the snow. If you are alone, turn to 287; if you have one companion, turn to 210; if you have two companions, turn to 176.

Most of the time, passing a companion check leads to a positive result in these gamebooks, but in this case, "companions" actually mean captors, so not so much...

Your voice will carry well in the crisp, clear mountain air. Will you call out to the distant figure, or carry on trudging though the snow?

Do we try to attract mystery guy's attention?

[Thaluikhain]

Low rumblings sound like an avalanche warning, so keep trudging.

[Queen of Swords]

Too bad we can't take the surviving tribesman with us. He approves of our mission and he just won a fight.

Don't call out. What would we say, anyway, and why should the distant figure want to listen to some rando yelling at him?