[Let's Play] Fighting Fantazine Adventure 9: Return to the Icefinger Mountains

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote no, as failing a item check does not sound good.

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, keep trying to remove it.

[Thaluikhain]

Half vote for no.

[Beroli]

Letting the bracelet go wins 1.5 to 1.

With no further options, you investigate the nearby tunnel entrance.

“Where are you off to?” asks Denati. You tell him you intend to explore further, and he shakes his head. “There’s no need. This pedestal has an inscription in Cyrantian script that says the rising sun will show the way we should go.”

He looks up through the hole in the roof. “It’s already starting to get dark outside, so I think we should make camp for the night here and wait to see what the light of dawn reveals. If you go wandering off, you risk going on some false trail and getting lost or hurt or even killed. Now we know we can get a sign, we’d best wait for it.”

You concede that he has a point.

You clear a patch of the floor from which you can get a good view of the eastern sky through the hole in the roof, but not directly beneath the hole, so you will have some shelter if it should snow during the night. You may eat again (if you had not eaten yet, you would have to do so now); with three preemptive votes, you automatically do so.

It is possible that these caves are still inhabited, or that some of the Snow Witch’s followers may have found another way into them, so you and Denati will take turns to stand guard while the other sleeps. You decide to take the first watch.

You have a bone die.

It occurs to you that Denati may be able to tell you something about what you have found down here, and before he settles down for the night you show it to him and ask if he knows anything about it.

The symbols carved into the die indicate it to be a Cyrantian artefact. Examining it, Denati becomes more excited than you have ever seen him before. “We’ve known for years that games and contests were associated with the god most widely worshipped by the Cyrantians, but this is the first time I’ve seen a gaming implement that is also a religious item. This face shows the name of their god.”

He turns the bone cube over, scrutinising its other faces. “I wonder what it was used for. Here’s the glyph that means ‘strength’ in their script....This could open up whole new areas in Cyrantian studies. Always assuming I ever make it back to Salamonis, that is.”

Muttering to himself, the aged scholar shuffles off to get some rest, leaving you to keep watch. Pocketing the die once more, you think about the undead Orc from which you acquired it, and begin to wonder how many more such horrors infest these caves. Your imagination peoples the darkness beyond the light of your lantern with all manner of terrors and, realising that you are making yourself jumpy, you try to focus on the fact that you mean to destroy the source of the evil that infests the mountain.

Your apprehension fades as you concentrate on the tasks ahead of you, and by the end of your watch, you have built up your confidence. No bad dreams trouble you tonight. You did not give away one of your blankets yesterday. You have a good night’s sleep for the first time in days (restore 2 Stamina points).

The next thing you know, Denati is crouched at your side. “It’s almost time,” he tells you.

You get up and quickly pack away the bedding, then join him to watch as the first hints of the coming dawn tint the sky. A worrying thought occurs to you, and you ask how likely it is that what is supposed to happen will still do so after all this time.

“It should still work. I mean, whatever magic preserved the inscription for the past few centuries is likely to have kept everything else functional as well,” the scholar reassures you.

A golden shaft of sunlight enters through the hole in the roof, falling upon the plinth and refracting through it to cast a small spot of light on the cavern wall beyond. Denati races across the floor to touch the place indicated, and a section of the wall slides smoothly to one side, revealing a third tunnel opening.

“Remarkable engineering,” gasps the old man. Turning back to you, he urges, “Now, come on. I don’t know how long this will stay open, or if it will work again once the sun has moved on.”

You hurry through the mouth of the new passageway, which splits into two a little further on. The turning to the right slopes downwards for around twenty metres before turning left, and the left branch has a gentle incline upwards, bending to the right after twenty-five metres or so. You ask Denati which way to go, and he shrugs. “There aren’t any city plans among the Cyrantian remnants we’ve collected together in Salamonis, so your guess is as good as mine.”

Go right?
Go left?

Name: Edmund Pevensie
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 16/19
Luck: 11/11
Inventory: Sword, Bone club, Winter clothing, Rucksack, Lantern, Rope, Blankets, Circular disc, Page from book, Bone die
Provisions: 3

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go left to reject the growing threat of fascism.

[Beroli]

A short distance beyond the corner, the passage passes beneath a large stone arch. Two faces have been carved on the right side of the arch, and another two on its left. On each side, one face is looking up, the other down, one to the right, the other to the left, so no two are facing the same way. Each face has distended cheeks and pursed lips, as if blowing hard. Several symbols have been engraved upon the central span of the arch, and a few more adorn a wooden sign in remarkably good condition which hangs to the right of the archway. Beyond the arch you can see what looks to be a spacious cavern, its floor strewn with what appears to be broken glass.

Chamber of the Four Winds.PNG (130.21 KiB) Viewed 1161 times

Beware falling icicles.PNG (134.76 KiB) Viewed 1161 times

“Can you hold the lantern closer to the inscription, please?” asks Denati, and you do so, enabling him to read and translate the symbols. “It says, ‘Chamber of the Four Winds’. Rather obvious, really.”

You ask about the wooden sign, and as the scholar reads it, his face falls. “That’s a good deal less poetic, but potentially a lot more useful. ‘Beware falling icicles’, it says.”

Looking through the arch again, you realise that what you took for broken glass is actually ice; the shattered fragments of dozens of icicles. Looking up, you can make out the points of many more icicles which still hang from the roof of the cavern, and even as you watch, one of them breaks loose and falls to smash on the ground below.

Risk crossing the Chamber of the Four Winds?
Return to the junction and try the downward-sloping passage?

Name: Edmund Pevensie
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 16/19
Luck: 11/11
Inventory: Sword, Bone club, Winter clothing, Rucksack, Lantern, Rope, Blankets, Circular disc, Page from book, Bone die
Provisions: 3

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to cross the Chamber of the Four Winds.

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, cross.

[Thaluikhain]

This seems dangerous, but at least in a cool and interesting way, so cross.

[Beroli]

You do not have a feather.

You have not drunk from a flask.

Denati observes your determination to cross the chamber, nervously clears his throat, and tells you, “I think I might be able to help here. I own an…item that could probably clear a safe path across for us. Provided that it works as it should. There is a small risk that it could do more harm than good, but that’s highly unlikely.”

Tell him to go ahead?
Tell him not to risk it?

Name: Edmund Pevensie
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 16/19
Luck: 11/11
Inventory: Sword, Bone club, Winter clothing, Rucksack, Lantern, Rope, Blankets, Circular disc, Page from book, Bone die
Provisions: 3

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to say "Go ahead."

[Thaluikhain]

Risk it, due to lack of feather or flask.

[Queen of Swords]

Go ahead.

[Beroli]

Your companion pulls off his right glove, and brings the jade ring he wears up to his lips. Seeing it close up for the first time, you can now make out that it is carved to resemble a singing face. Denati’s cheeks bulge as he blows into the ring, as if it were a whistle, and you are a little surprised to hear no sound.

No sound coming from the ring, at least. Loud cracking noises issue from high up in the chamber beyond the archway, and countless icicles drop to the ground. Roll two dice; the result is an 8.

After about ten seconds the sound of falling icicles ceases, and Denati takes his hand from his mouth and puts his glove back on. “That’s dislodged the loosest of them. We should be able to get across safely now.”

You step through the archway, fragments of icicle crunching beneath your feet, and are immediately buffeted by a strong wind. You warn Denati to be careful. He braces himself before following you into the chamber.

As you make your way through the Chamber of the Four Winds, you will be blown to the sides.

You roll one die; the result is a 5.

Blasts of wind from your left drive you to the right even as you press on across the floor of the cavern. Roll one die and advance that many metres, but also move one metre to the right.

The result is a 6. You have moved 6 metres forward and 1 metre to the right.

You roll one die; the result is a 5.

Blasts of wind from your left drive you to the right even as you press on across the floor of the cavern. Roll one die and advance that many metres, but also move one metre to the right.

The result is a 2. You have moved 8 metres forward and 2 metres to the right.

You roll one die; the result is a 2.

A powerful headwind slows your progress, making every step a struggle. Roll one die, halve the number rolled (rounding fractions up) and advance that many metres.

The result is a 4. You have moved 10 metres forward and 2 metres to the right.

You roll one die; the result is a 5.

Blasts of wind from your left drive you to the right even as you press on across the floor of the cavern. Roll one die and advance that many metres, but also move one metre to the right.

The result is a 1. You have moved 11 metres forward and 3 metres to the right.

You are now pressed against the right wall of the cavern, and thus roll on a different table.

You roll one die; the result is a 4.

The wind from behind is so strong that you are too focused on staying upright to change direction. Roll one die, add two, and advance that many metres.

The result is a 1. You have moved 14 metres forward and 3 metres to the right.

You roll one die; the result is a 3.

The wind propels you left, away from the wall. Move left one metre, and roll one die to see how many metres you advance.

The result is a 4. You have moved 18 metres forward and 2 metres to the right.

You roll one die; the result is a 5.

Blasts of wind from your left drive you to the right even as you press on across the floor of the cavern. Roll one die and advance that many metres, but also move one metre to the right.

The result is a 5. You have moved 23 metres forward and 3 metres to the right. You are once again pressed against the right wall.

The result is a 6. You step over the fragments of one of the icicles brought down by Denati’s ring. Add 1 Luck point. Each of the next (7) times you roll a 6, ignore it.

You roll one die; the result is a 3.

The wind propels you left, away from the wall. Move left one metre, and roll one die to see how many metres you advance.

The result is a 5. You have moved 28 metres forward and 2 metres to the right.

You are now close enough to the exit from the chamber to be able to see it. You will need to move 2 metres forward and 2 metres left to reach the exit, and you roll on a different table.

You roll a 5. The wind impedes you; subtract one from your distance number, which is 1. You stay where you are.

You roll a 1. The wind neither helps your hurts. Your distance number is 5.

One last dash takes you into the mouth of the passage that leads out of the Chamber of the Four Winds. You pause to catch your breath, and may also eat a Meal if you wish. Once you set off again, you soon notice that this passage slopes downwards. After about fifty metres you reach what was once a T-junction, but at some point the roof of the tunnel directly ahead has collapsed, so you must turn right.

You continue along the gently sloping passageway, and gradually become aware that there is some kind of light source up ahead. Proceeding cautiously, you advance until you reach what was once a gateway, though the actual gate is long gone. Running across the top of the gateway is a short inscription in symbols similar to those which adorned the arch leading into the Chamber of the Four Winds.

Beyond the opening you see a massive circular chamber. Directly ahead of the entrance is a flight of worn stone steps leading down to a central space, and to either side of it are terraces, the upper ones bearing stone benches. Scattered across the ground in the middle of the chamber are what look like bones.

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Arena Bottom.PNG (122.98 KiB) Viewed 1129 times

“The Arena of Contests!” gasps Denati. “Where Cyrantian gladiators fought to earn the favour of their god. And their patrons.”

You ask if that’s what the carvings above the entrance say, and he shakes his head. “No, anyone who knows anything about Cyrantis knows about the Arena. That’s just a warning.”

Biting back a criticism of his misguided priorities, you ask the scholar what the warning says.

“Oh, nothing to worry about nowadays. The seating up here must have been a gambling enclosure, and only people who had something to bet were allowed through. Hence the notice, ‘Turn back unless you have a disc.’ But the guards who’d penalise anyone who tried to sneak in here without the wherewithal have been dead for hundreds of years.

“If I’ve correctly understood what the Carsepolis remnants have to say about here, we need to go through the gladiatorial dwellings, which should be accessible from the central arena. After you...”

You step through the gateway, passing under the graven warning.

You do have a disc.

As you head down the steps, Denati continues to wax enthusiastic about the Arena. “It’s truly remarkable how many of the lighting crystals still work after all this time. Up there, see?”

You look up and behold a broken ring of glowing crystals set into the roof of the chamber. In places you can make out a blackened crystal midway between two shining ones, and you assume that the larger patches of darkness which break up the circle contain more of the broken crystals.

You are on one of seven stairways leading down to the centre, and at the top of each of the others you can make out an exit to some other part of this long-abandoned city. Perhaps after you have done what you came here to do, you will be able to explore the places to which they lead, and find out what treasures have survived down here over the centuries, but right now you have no time for any such distractions.

“I think we need to go through there.” Denati indicates a pair of studded gates set into the wall of the central arena between the two stairways to your left. One gate sags on a single hinge, and both show signs of considerable wear and tear. A thin layer of white sand crunches underfoot as you cross the arena towards them.

You drag open the more functional of the gates, which creaks loudly. The passageway beyond is not illuminated, so you must again rely on your lantern to light your way. You pass through several large rooms, and Denati comments on what must have been their function back when they were in use, based on the remnants of furniture or other items that they contain: one was an armoury, another a dining hall, a third a dormitory...

“And, if the account in the Vynheim remnant is correct, we should find our objective somewhere beyond here,” he tells you, indicating a low stone door with more Cyrantian symbols carved into its surface. “The Hall of Contenders, where all who had distinguished themselves in the Arena were laid to rest along with their treasured possessions after they died. Would you mind opening the door? It looks likely to be very stiff, and I’m not the man I once was.”

With some effort you manage to force it open, and descend a short flight of steps into a cold, echoey chamber containing rows of stone coffins, standing on end.

“I made some notes in case we found our way here. Would you mind letting me have that lantern while I check them?”

You are reluctant to hand over your only light source while in this mausoleum, and remind Denati that he has a lantern of his own. Once you have helped him light it, he pores over several sheets of paper, trying to work out where to go from this place. Impatient, yet unwilling to move too far away from him in case there is anyone – or anything – dangerous close by, you turn your attention to your immediate surroundings, and give a start as the radiance of your lantern reveals a scowling face close by.

[Beroli]

You start to reach for your weapon, but then realise that the man in front of you is just a life-sized carving on the lid of one of the coffins. You relax slightly, but remain on your guard, aware that inanimate objects can sometimes come to life and attack people.

The man depicted holds a sword and a shield, and wears some kind of armour. A symbol of Cyrantian script appears below his feet, and many more of them cover a low stone tablet to one side of the coffin. The coffin on the other side of the tablet is also carved with the image of a warrior, though his appearance and the character beneath his feet are different.

You also notice a column of Cyrantian script running down the side of each coffin lid. As far as you can tell, both of these inscriptions appear to say exactly the same thing, and you wonder if it could be a prayer for the dead, or possibly a warning not to disturb them.

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Mayar and Switor Second.PNG (187.54 KiB) Viewed 1129 times

Mayar and Switor Middle.PNG (144.61 KiB) Viewed 1129 times

[Beroli]

Mayar and Switor Fourth.PNG (181.61 KiB) Viewed 1129 times

Mayar and Switor Bottom.PNG (238.4 KiB) Viewed 1129 times

“Got it!” announces Denati, and blows out his lantern. “Shall we go? Or have you found something interesting?”

You ask him what the carvings say, and he comes to your side for a look. “The ones running down the edges are numbers – all the tens and units. At the men’s feet... ‘Mayar’...‘Switor’? Not words I’ve encountered before. Given the context, they’re probably the names of the men buried inside.

“The stone between them looks like it should tell us a lot more, though. Let me see... ‘Here rests’ – or ‘lies’ – ‘the mighty champion Mayar, with his son Switor’ – that might not signify an actual blood relationship: every seasoned gladiator trained a few new ones in the arts of battle, and would refer to the best pupil as a son or daughter.”

You cannot help but wish that your companion could more effectively distinguish potentially useful information from facts that only hold significance for scholars like himself. Nevertheless, you keep quiet as he works his way through the translation, with muttered interjections and occasional corrections, before finally coming out with a rendition that satisfies him:

“Here rests the mighty champion Mayar,
with his son Switor,
who fought their last contest together.
On the day they died,
the sum of their years
was a hundred and forty-seven.
And the number of Mayar’s years
was twice the number Switor had lived
on the day Mayar had lived as long
as Switor ever did.
Tell their years
to receive their prizes.”

He laughs. “Typical Cyrantians. It’s a contest. Of wits. Calculate the ages at which they died, and you can have whatever treasure was buried with them. That would be the reason for the numbers on the sarcophagi – to give an answer. And there should be some kind of reward even for getting it wrong....Though not everything the Cyrantians considered worth having would necessarily be seen as a good thing to us.”

If you wish to accept the long-dead warriors’ challenge, you know what to say.

If you would rather not risk finding out what ‘reward’ has been reserved for anyone who gets the wrong answer, you may give up on treasure-hunting and get back to the true purpose of your quest.

Also vote on whether to eat.

Name: Edmund Pevensie
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 16/19
Luck: 11/11
Inventory: Sword, Bone club, Winter clothing, Rucksack, Lantern, Rope, Blankets, Circular disc, Page from book, Bone die
Provisions: 3

[JourneymanN00b]

Was the riddle typed correctly? Because I am getting decimal points when I calculated the riddle’s solution with Mayar at 88.2 years and Swiftor at 58.8 years. And I vote not to eat a meal here.

[Beroli]

The riddle is typed correctly.

[Dogopolis]

98 and 49

[JourneymanN00b]

I will change my answer to 98 and 49 for Mayar and Switor, as it appears that I misread the riddle.

[Thaluikhain]

98 and 49 doesn't seem to fit with:

"And the number of Mayar’s years
was twice the number Switor had lived
on the day Mayar had lived as long
as Switor ever did."

But I don't know what answer does.

[Beroli]

Whether Edmund says "98," "98 and 49," "49," "49 and 98," or indeed "88.2" or "58.8," the result is the same.

You tell Denati what you believe the answer to be, and he presses at two of the symbols that run down the edge of the coffin lid. A hollow wail issues from within the sarcophagus, and the scholar backs away, seeking shelter behind you.

“I pressed the number you told me,” he protests. “You must have got it wrong.”

An ethereally gleaming figure, roughly humanoid in appearance, drifts through the stone slab covering the coffin and begins to glide before you. Your ‘reward’ is evidently the opportunity to do battle with the spirit of the gladiator whose tomb you failed to open.

You do not have a Flame Sword.

An insubstantial hand passes through your body, and the touch of your opponent instantly paralyses you. Lose 4 Stamina points. You hear a metallic tinkle, like the sound of a coin being dropped, and see the translucent form of the Phantom fading back through the sarcophagus lid.

After a few minutes, Denati emerges from hiding and places the mouth of a stone flask at your lips. Much of the potent liquor dribbles down your chin and onto the floor, but what little does make it into your mouth helps dispel the numbness, and within seconds you are able to move stiffly.

As you take a few tottering steps, you again hear the metallic tinkling. Denati stoops to investigate, and with a bitter laugh picks something from the floor. “Your ‘consolation prize’ for being defeated!” He holds up a circular metal disc. “Given its age, it’s probably worth a lot more than its former owner thought, if you can find a collector willing to buy it. Still, it’s not much use to you right now.”

Movement comes a little more easily now, and you decide to leave the rest of the coffins alone and concentrate on finding what you came here for.

As you make your way down the aisle between the rows of coffins, it occurs to you that if a necromancer has preceded you through here, any – or all – of the tombs could contain undead monstrosities, just waiting for the right moment to emerge and attack. The light from your lantern only extends so far, and every sarcophagus on which it falls casts a shadow that could hide the restless dead. But for the sound of your and Denati’s breathing and footsteps, the hall is silent, and a sense of dread grows within you as you anticipate the grating of a stone lid being pushed aside, the shuffling of feet that have not trodden the ground in hundreds of years, but now move once more, driven by an overwhelming compulsion to destroy the living beings which have profaned their final resting place…

“Down this way now, I think.” The scholar speaks softly, but the sound of his voice still startles you. It is all you can do to keep from crying out in terror, and you have to wait for your heart to slow to something near its normal rate before you feel ready to move on. The path you now follow is much narrower, and you must tread carefully to keep from brushing against the stone caskets to either side of you and, perhaps, disturbing their mouldering occupants.

At last you reach the mouth of a low tunnel, and you have to resist the urge to dash through it, heedless of what might lie beyond, in order to escape the oppressive atmosphere of the hall. Caution prevails, though, and as you draw closer, you can make out alcoves at either side of the tunnel mouth. An armoured skeleton stands in each alcove. Test your Luck; a 6 succeeds.

The glow of your lantern illuminates something else: a narrow wire running between the two alcoves at about chest height. Suspecting that nothing good will happen if you break it, you indicate it to Denati and then duck beneath it. The scholar follows your example, and you continue to keep an eye out for potential threats as you advance into the unknown.

The passage leads into a spacious chamber with a stone pillar in its centre. The pillar. is pentagonal with inscriptions on it, and grouped around it are several carved stone benches in varying states of disrepair. Each side of the pillar is lined up with one of the many exits from the chamber.

Examining the pillar, Denati excitedly tells you, “It’s the Cyrantian equivalent of a signpost, and indicates that we’re almost where we need to be. Just through there.” He indicates one of the passages that lead out of the chamber.

Unless the Snow Witch’s followers have perished on their way here, it is likely that you will end up confronting them soon, and this is likely to be your last opportunity to stop for a meal before facing your foes and avenging Reniso’s murder. You may eat a Meal here if you wish.

You can make out a faint gleam of light at the end of the passage, and press on towards it. As you draw closer, and see what lies ahead of you, your pace slows.

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A hole in the roof of the cavern ahead – if it can be called a cavern – allows enough daylight through that you can see as far as the tunnel entrance in the far wall. However, this light does not penetrate to the bottom of the fissure that gapes before you, stretching as far as you can see to either side. A narrow bridge appears to be the only way across, and not a remotely safe one, by the look of it. For starters, it has no sides, no handrails, nothing whatsoever to prevent its users from falling off if they should misstep. Or even just slip, for the other alarmingly distinctive thing about it is that it is made of ice. Thick enough that you have few doubts about its structural integrity, but that does not make the thought of crossing it any less alarming.

You do not have Dragonskin boots.

You do still have your rope.

You return to the chamber you just left and, with some difficulty, drag part of a broken stone bench along the tunnel leading to the bridge. Deduct 2 Stamina points for the exertion. With the broken bench anchoring the rope, you tie the free end around your waist and set out across the bridge, trying hard to focus on the solid ice beneath your feet rather than the drop into darkness on your right and left. Test your Skill with a -1 penalty; a 5 succeeds.

You cross to the far side of the chasm without incident and quickly undo the rope. Denati reels it in and ties it around himself before following you. Though clearly terrified at the prospect of falling, the scholar likewise makes a safe crossing, and it only takes him a short while to regather his wits before the two of you can carry on down the passage that leads onwards. This time you will have to leave the rope behind, of course.

Pause here for votes on whether to eat a Meal before the ice bridge.

Name: Edmund Pevensie
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 10/19
Luck: 10/11
Inventory: Sword, Bone club, Winter clothing, Rucksack, Lantern, Blankets, 2 circular discs, Page from book, Bone die
Provisions: 3

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, eat a meal.

[JourneymanN00b]

Yes I vote to eat a meal, as well as another one if we have another opportunity to do so.

[Thaluikhain]

Yes, eat.