[Let's Play] Golden Dragon Fantasy Gamebook 6: Castle of Lost Souls

[SGamerz]

He is only too glad to be able to assist you in your noble undertaking. He holds out his gauntlet for you to take, but you point out that you need only a small fragment. Swiftly he shaves a sliver from his helmet with the sharp edge of his sword.

Another fairly effortless and painless success! We on a roll!

You return to the Faze mansion, now with the four of the six items you need for your quest. Only the saint's ashes and the hair of a nun remain to be found - but Jasper suggests that since the town is not an especially holy place, you may have more luck obtaining the last two items on your way to the Castle of Lost Souls.

You spend a couple of days studying maps and travellers' accounts, planning your route to the demon's keep. (If you are wounded, regain 2 VIGOUR points for the rest.) The evening before you are due to set out, you gaze from the library windows towards the setting sun. In that direction lies the Castle - but in this world, or in the next? You yawn and close the compendium of charts you have been studying. Whatever awesome perils await you, there is little to be gained from dwelling upon them now.

Unfortunately, the only wound we took cannot be healed in this manner...

You rise early and take breakfast with Jasper. His brothers are still in bed, and the mansion seems eerily quiet. Hardly a word passes between the two of you; Jasper knows he may be sending you to your death, and the coffers of gold he has promised appear a paltry reward now. The door creaks behind you and the butler enters with your weapons and backpack. 'I have had Mortlake pack some provisions for your journey,' says Jasper. 'And you will also find in your rucksack a small pot containing four applications of a magical Salve of Healing.'

The Salve of Healing is a rather foul-smelling preparation made from rancid milk, troll fat and rotting vegetables which actually has miraculous healing properties. Spreading it on your wounds after a fight will restore 4 VIGOUR points; the Salve will not increase your VIGOUR above its normal score, of course. Record the Salve of Healing on your Character Sheet - and remember you have only enough for four applications.

You take up your belongings and Jasper accompanies you to the mansion gates. 'I wish you good luck in your venture,' he tells you as you walk. 'I can offer you no help or advice save these two snippets of information. First, I have heard that the two principal goblin tribes of the Mungo Hills, through which you must pass, are the Drans and the Kabbagoos and that one or the other tribe are inveterate liars. Secondly, it is said that strange phantasms can appear in the mists enveloping the Swamps of Bosh which surround Slank's castle. These phantasms can cause a traveller no hardship so long as one disregards them.' He reaches up and removes a talisman from around his neck which he hands to you. 'Wear this, for if you find my father he will recognize it and know that you come to help him.' He swings the gate open and offers you his hand. 'Now, farewell!'

You make your way through the town towards the west gate. The streets are beginning to come alive with traders laying out their wares, Sunlight slants across the rooftops and there is a cool refreshing breeze. Somewhere on your journey you must find a saint's ashes and the hair of a nun - but for now all that occupies your thoughts is that it is a glorious morning and you are about to embark on another challenging adventure.

As mentioned, "provisions" in this book doesn't heal us in this series, and I don't think it's necessary to keep track of them on the Character Sheet. Fortunately, this book does provide us with a similar healing item, although with only 4 applications instead of the 10 we're used to in FF.

Do you have a sword? If so, turn to 72. If you lost your sword earlier, turn to 148.

We still have our sword, and we only got to use it once thus far...

You set out at a brisk pace and soon leave the fields and meadows around the town far behind you. After some time you come to a river and, seeing a bridge only a few hundred metres away, you stroll along the bank to it. As you are about to cross, however, a tall slim man in silver-grey robes appears from under the arch of the bridge and calls up to you that you must pay a toll of four Gold Pieces to cross here. Will you pay him the money, or will you ignore him and cross anyway?

We have the gold, but are we willing to part with some of it?

(Also, with no other suggestions for character name, JourneymanN00b's sole vote for the name 'Johnny' is now officially winner by default.)

Character Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Johnny
VIGOUR: 27/27
PSI: 4
AGILITY: 7
Equipment: Sword, Lantern, Tinder-box, Dagger, Bow and seven arrows, Girl's teardrop, Four leaf clover, Luck Charm (can be used up to 32 times to pass any dice roll), Cornelian skull-shaped ring, Crystal ball, Fragment from the armour of a chivalrous knight, Salve of Healing (restores 4 VIGOUR per application, 4/4 applications remaining), Jasper Faze's talisman
Gold: 26 GP
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to pay the man his money, as I think the man will curse Johnny or something if we don't.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, may as well pay

(Using your sword to slice a bit off your helmet seems hard to do, unless your sword is much better than your helmet)

[SGamerz]

You throw the four coins down to him. He snatches them from the air and pockets them with one fluid sweep of his arm. You may now continue on your way or ask him if he knows where you can get the last two items you need.

Character Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Johnny
VIGOUR: 27/27
PSI: 4
AGILITY: 7
Equipment: Sword, Lantern, Tinder-box, Dagger, Bow and seven arrows, Girl's teardrop, Four leaf clover, Luck Charm (can be used up to 32 times to pass any dice roll), Cornelian skull-shaped ring, Crystal ball, Fragment from the armour of a chivalrous knight, Salve of Healing (restores 4 VIGOUR per application, 4/4 applications remaining), Jasper Faze's talisman
Gold: 22 GP
[/spoiler]

[Beroli]

1 point of permanent VIGOUR actually doesn't seem like too high a price for what is probably an essential quest item, although I'd certainly have appreciated it more if she'd asked whether we're willing to pay it beforehand...

Unsurprisingly, I agree that there's a problem but think it's on the opposite side. She can read the future and all the branching paths of your future involve trying to steal her crystal ball; considering that, her reaction was fair, if not extraordinarily generous. The thing that's off is that you have no option to ask to buy a crystal ball from her.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Ask him. Try to get as much out of our money as possible.

[Thaluikhain]

May as well ask.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to ask him if he knows where Johnny can get the last two items he needs.

[SGamerz]

He scratches the back of his neck. 'Don't know about the strand of hair,' he says after some thought - 'don't nuns shave their heads when they enter a convent, anyway? But there is a sort of shrine not too far from here where some old holy man was buried. Maybe he was a saint, who knows?' The toll collector gives you directions, and you set off in search of the shrine.

We automatically choose to follow his directions.

The shrine consists simply of a marble dome supported by three thick pillars. Within, on a table of rock, you can see a verdigris-stained urn. As you step between the pillars a silvery light appears out of nowhere and haloes the urn. If you wish to stay, turn to 82. You can of course flee from the spot and continue on towards the hills, in which case turn to 301.

I don't really see anything that warrants fleeing, since a halo seems like a positive sign that whomever that rests here is indeed a saint, but the choice is there, so do we want to stay?

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to stay.

[SGamerz]

You stand in a sacred place. The gods themselves look into your heart and see your past deeds. If you have slain anyone at all in your quest so far (except for a fat cutpurse at the fete), turn to 61. If you have got this far without killing a soul - apart from the fat cutpurse, if you encountered him - turn to 243.

We good!

You reach into the silvery glow and take the urn. Peeking within, you see that it contains a handful of ashes. Somehow you know that these are the mortal remains of a saint. You put the urn in your backpack and set off again towards the hills.

One more item down, and only one last one to go!

You trudge on for many miles. It is late in the afternoon and the sun is dipping towards the rolling Mungo Hills ahead of you. You are trying to estimate whether you will be into the hills by nightfall when you see a skirmish of some kind on the road ahead. Cautiously you advance until you can discern the details. A small robber band has attacked a group of wayfarers. Two guards lie dead in the dust and a third is battling against hopeless odds to prevent the robbers from getting to the coach he was accompanying. You see an old man cowering beside the coach. Will you:

Rush to help the guard?
Pick off the robbers with your bow?
Avoid getting involved?

Character Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Johnny
VIGOUR: 27/27
PSI: 4
AGILITY: 7
Equipment: Sword, Lantern, Tinder-box, Dagger, Bow and seven arrows, Girl's teardrop, Four leaf clover, Luck Charm (can be used up to 32 times to pass any dice roll), Cornelian skull-shaped ring, Crystal ball, Fragment from the armour of a chivalrous knight, Salve of Healing (restores 4 VIGOUR per application, 4/4 applications remaining), Jasper Faze's talisman, Ashes of a Saint
Gold: 22 GP
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to kill the robbers with the bow.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, sniping seems wisest.

[SGamerz]

You level your bow and loose five arrows in rapid succession. Roll one die for each arrow. On a roll of 3 or better it finds its target, but on a roll of 1 or 2 it misses. If at least three arrows hit, turn to 233. If you miss with more than two, however, turn to 184.

1st roll = 6 (hit)
2nd roll = 6 (hit)
3rd roll = 2 (miss)
4th roll = 1 (miss)
5th roll = 4 (hit)

We hit exactly 3 times!

A shower of arrows find their mark, throwing the robbers into confusion. They do not wait around long enough to see that it is a lone archer who attacks them. They break in a mad dash for the woods, and are soon lost from sight. You walk to the scene of the ambush. The guard has taken a mortal wound, and he looks up at you with dimming eyes. 'My thanks, stranger,' he gasps. 'Your rescue came just too late for me, I fear...' His breath rattles in his throat and he falls back.

An elegant velvet slipper emerges from the coach and you glance over as a slender damsel steps down. She surveys the carnage for a moment, then turns a pouting frown on the broken axle of the coach. The old man gets up from where he lay cowering in the dust and approaches you, drawing his dignity about him like a cloak. 'We are indebted to you,' he says haughtily. 'Had you not intervened when you did, things might have turned out for the worse. I am Gorbran, servant of the worshipful Sisters of Pure Adoration. This lady is Norwena, whom I am taking to join the convent.'

You are not one to ignore the gifts of providence. Pointing out that Gorbran and Norwena now lack guards for their journey, you appoint yourself their escort until they reach the convent.

A lady just on her way to becoming a nun (and thus still has all her hair atm). How convenient for us!

You escort Gorbran and Norwena safely on foot to the convent. The Sisters of Pure Adoration are very grateful for all the help you have given. You receive a blessing from the Mother Superior herself, and if you are subject to a curse it is now lifted. Also, if you are wounded, they use their herbal remedies to restore your VIGOUR to its normal score. After a hearty meal you are given a comfortable bed for the night.

We don't need the blessing or the healing, but the book seems to have been pretty generous with bonuses thus far.

You arise before daybreak and join the nuns in the first service of the day - as much from politeness as from piety. You also notice a group of soldiers praying in the chapel. You did not see them when you arrived yesterday, and as you file out of the chapel you strike up a conversation with their captain. He confirms that they arrived during the night. 'Patrols on the western roads have been doubled,' he tells you over breakfast. The countryside hereabouts is rife with brigands and murderous monsters.'

Do you have a jade horn-shaped amulet? If so, turn to 40. If not, turn to 306.

We don't have any amulet...

You soon tire of the captain's monomaniacal ranting about law and retribution. You excuse yourself and go off in search of the Mother Superior. She is an altogether more agreeable person, and when you ask her if she could supply you with a nun's hair she laughs merrily. 'Norwena has just had her head shaved to join our Order,' she says. She glides away and soon returns with a long black strand of hair. You put this in your backpack as she shows you to the door. 'You are always welcome here,' she tells you. You turn at the gate to wave to her, and see the captain watching you like a mad hawk from an upper window. With an uneasy shiver, you hurry westwards.

It is a fine morning and you enjoy your walk up into the rolling landscape of the Mungo Hills. After a little while you come to a stream where a burly man sits fishing. If you wish to greet him, turn to 177. If you prefer to pass by, turn to 132.

Character Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Johnny
VIGOUR: 27/27
PSI: 4
AGILITY: 7
Equipment: Sword, Lantern, Tinder-box, Dagger, Bow and 2 arrows, Girl's teardrop, Four leaf clover, Luck Charm (can be used up to 32 times to pass any dice roll), Cornelian skull-shaped ring, Crystal ball, Fragment from the armour of a chivalrous knight, Salve of Healing (restores 4 VIGOUR per application, 4/4 applications remaining), Jasper Faze's talisman, Ashes of a Saint, Hair of a nun
Gold: 22 GP
[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

Greet him.

(And so far it has been suspiciously easily to get the random stuff. And the guy we gave 4 gold to was a legitimate toll collector? OK)

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to greet him.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Greet him.

[SGamerz]

And the guy we gave 4 gold to was a legitimate toll collector? OK)

Yes. And we could possibly have gotten into trouble if we kill him. That amulet check earlier was actually something we could have looted from him, and passing the check would not have been a good thing.

****

'Ho there!' he cries, struggling with the fishing rod. 'A fine one has taken the bait this morning, but I need a net before I land him. Will you hold the rod a few minutes while I fetch one from my cottage?

Will you do as he asks, or decline and go on your way?

[Thaluikhain]

Help, I guess.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to do as he asks.

[SGamerz]

You take the rod from him and soon find that you are barely able to hold on to it - the fish is putting up quite a struggle. Shortly the big man returns with a net and takes hold of the rod. With a mighty effort he draws up a spined vicious-looking fish the size of a dog. 'Quite a whopper!' says the man, showing a set of sharp white teeth as he grins. 'How rare to find a person in these days of selfishness and antagonism who is prepared to lend a hand to a fellow creature!' He takes a ring from his finger. 'Allow me to offer my Ring of Light as a gift for your assistance. Moreover, as a special favour to you, today I shall dine on fish.'

You are not quite sure what he means by this last remark, but you accept the magic ring and thank him before going on your way.

About mid-morning you are passing between two hills when you come face-to-face with a Mountain Lion. It makes no immediate move to attack. You recover from an instant of petrifaction and consider your next action. Will you:

Draw your sword and fight it?
Climb the cliff out of its reach? Turn to 67
Wait to see what it does?

Character Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Johnny
VIGOUR: 27/27
PSI: 4
AGILITY: 7
Equipment: Sword, Lantern, Tinder-box, Dagger, Bow and 2 arrows, Girl's teardrop, Four leaf clover, Luck Charm (can be used up to 32 times to pass any dice roll), Cornelian skull-shaped ring, Crystal ball, Fragment from the armour of a chivalrous knight, Salve of Healing (restores 4 VIGOUR per application, 4/4 applications remaining), Jasper Faze's talisman, Ashes of a Saint, Hair of a nun, Ring of Light
Gold: 22 GP
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to wait to see what it does, as mountain lions aren't usually aggressive, if my memory from reading the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook holds.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, wait.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Wait. No need to fight an animal that isn't doing anything.

[SGamerz]

The lion holds up its paw to show you that there is a large thorn stuck right through it. Then, to your amazement, it speaks. 'Um, I seem to have this thorn...' You realize that the poor creature means you no harm, and resolve to help it.

'Awfully decent of you,' says the lion as you draw the thorn from its paw. 'Rather embarrassing really - can't think how I came to tread on the damned thing! If you're heading west, let me give you some advice. There are two tribes of goblins in these hills, the Drans and the Kabbagoos. You can never tell the difference between them because they mix freely and wear the same outlandish clothes. The only thing is that the Drans always tell the truth and the Kabbagoos always lie. I hope that's of some help to you.' After thanking you again, the lion goes on its way. You consider what it has told you as you head further west.

I have to wonder what particular sort of clothes a lion (even a talking one) would consider outlandish, considering they don't wear any themselves and are probably not likely to live in areas where there are a lot of dressed folks in any case...

You walk on, maintaining a good pace. Pausing only briefly for lunch, you are on your way down out of the hills by mid-afternoon. Ahead of you, the trail forks in two. One way will take you into the Swamps of Bosh (where you are headed), but the other presumably leads to the notorious Dragonbreath Canyon (where you definitely do not want to go). Beside the fork there is a large flat rock on which squat two tiny shrivelled goblins with large heads and a shock of white hair over their sharp, wily faces.

'Are you a Dran or a Kabbagoo?' you ask the first goblin as you stride up to them. He answers so indistinctly that you cannot hear him, but then the second goblin pipes up: 'He said he's a Kabbagoo. Are you deaf or something?' Ignoring his disrespectful attitude, you demand of the second goblin which route you should take to reach the Swamps of Bosh. 'Swamps of Bosh?' he replies. 'You want to go left.' As you set off, he calls after you: 'Go on, push off to Bosh!' Both goblins start giggling, but you cannot be bothered to go back and teach them a lesson. Which path will you take now - the left-hand one as suggested, or the right-hand one?