The boy leads you off through some winding streets and up a steep flight of steps. You are just about to ask the boy whether he is sure where he is going when two black-robed figures wearing dark hoods leap out of a doorway and rush down the steps towards you. They whirl double-handed scimitars above their heads. You whip out your sword, preparing to take on both of them, but to your amazement the small boy sticks out a foot as one of them closes with you and the man trips and goes flying past you down the stairs. You hear a series of sickening bumps and the clatter of his sword as he tumbles down the near perpendicular steps behind you. You are left with only one opponent now.
I'm not sure if these pictures do as much for the narrative, but I guess you're entitled to them
ASSASSIN VIGOUR 9
Roll two dice:
Score 2 to 6: You are hit and lose 3 VIGOUR
Score 7 to 12 The Assassin loses 3 VIGOUR
If you win, turn to 195.
Round 1: 5 (2,3)
Round 2: 12 (6, 6)
Round 3: 8 (5,3)
Round 4: 5 (2,3)
Round 5: 2 (1, 1)
Round 6: 9 (5, 4)
Fight Narrative:
The assassin leaps down the steps swinging the dangerous looking scimitar with two hands directly at your head. You raise your broad sword and carefully place a palm under the blade to deflect the attack. Sparks fly as you absorb the powerful blow. Your sword is pushed back but the attack grazes your shoulder instead of slicing you in twain. As the assassin raises his sword again for another swing your straight blade slashes twice. The man totters, his eyes shining white behind the black hood. Despite his blood dripping on the steps between you he seems to focus. Rather than trying to overwhelm you with a single blow his sword slashes back and forth as he takes advantage of the higher ground. You're forced relentlessly backward and now you have a half dozen small cuts where the scimitar blade has found its mark. Realizing the danger you drop to one knee as the scimitar whispers death inches from your scalp. Leaping up under the assassin's guard your broad sword stabs through the black turban under his chin and through his skull. His eyes flash with surprise before glazing over. Your sword makes him look like a head on a pike, but you pull it free.
195
The body of your opponent rolls down the steps to join that of his companion. You can see even in the gathering gloom that they both remain utterly motionless. You turn round and see the boy grinning at you, and you thank him for his help.
The houses on either side of you are eerily quiet now and you decide to press on as quickly as possible. The boy leads you to the top of the street and slips through the wooden door of an inconspicuous-looking house. You follow and find yourself in pitch darkness. The boy leaves you for a moment and you hear whispering from another room. Then you hear the sound of returning footsteps. Suddenly a light is struck and you find yourself staring into the tired old eyes of a white-haired man. Turn to 199.
199
‘l am Gabbad,’ he says. ‘My nephew’ — he indicates the boy — ‘tells me that you want to find me. Well, here I am; speak your mind.’ You feel that you can trust the old man, so you pull out the stone fragment from the pocket of your tunic. Turn to 105.
105
‘This stone was apparently found by you somewhere in the desert. I believe that you must have discovered it somewhere near the location of the Lost Tomb of the Pharaoh, Kharphut the Mighty.’ You hold the stone up for the old man to look at. He surveys it through rheumy eyes, and nods his head slowly.
‘Aye, I remember this stone. I sold it to a nomadic trader ten, or maybe twelve years ago. I suspected even then that it might have magical powers, that it was accursed. My apprentice died on the trip that discovered it, and not long after my wife was butchered by assassins in the street. After that my shop was constantly broken into and ransacked. I decided to get rid of the stone as soon as possible. Sure enough, my sorrows soon ended. Now you have brought it back to me, and by doing so have brought back all my bitter memories.’
There is a silence as the old man casts back in his mind, reliving the past. ‘It was curious how my apprentice Aktan, may he rest in peace, and I found the stone. We had been looking for antiquities near the Great Necropolis in the desert for over a week without success. We decided to move further to the West into the emptiness of the Lost Quarter where not even the nomads go. We wandered about in the area for a day or so. Suddenly we spotted a figure ahead lying in the sand. How that man had crawled anywhere I will never know. Every bone in his body seemed to have been fractured, yet he was still alive. He muttered in his delirium of how he had dared to risk the Lost Pharaoh’s curse, yet he had failed because he lacked the other half of this stone. He
died soon afterwards. My apprentice and I, our greed excited by the rich rewards we knew awaited anyone who discovered the tomb, followed the man’s blood-stained trail through the sand for about a mile. We saw a large hill in the distance but then, out of nowhere, a sandstorm engulfed us. I never saw Aktan again. The storm kept up for two days and nights. Half-dead through thirst I eventually stumbled back into the town, stupidly blabbing out my story. Evil men heard it, I am sure, hence my miserable existence for the months that followed. Eventually in my despair I sold the stone to a passing merchant. I hadn’t thought of the accursed thing for years.’
Gabbad looks at you. ‘I am old now,’ he says, ‘and have nothing to live for. My brother, this boy’s father, will look after the shop. I will come with you through the desert tomorrow and act as your guide. If I do so,. maybe I will at last lay to rest the ghosts of my poor wife and the unfortunate Aktan. Who knows? We must act fast though, rival groups in the town have probably heard of your arrival. Believe me, they will stop at nothing to obtain this stone.’ You tell him of your recent narrow escape and he looks at you darkly, shaking his head. He gives you a meal of fruits and wine and then shows you to a sleeping pallet laid on the floor. Restore up to 4 VIGOUR, then turn to 297.
297
The next morning you are woken early by the old man. He is dressed in a desert cloak and has a water flagon strapped to his belt. He hands you a similar cloak and flagon. Note these down on your Characer Sheet. The water may be especially important to you in the desert. The merchant hands over the keys to his shop to his young nephew and you step outside. A washerwoman is coming towards you down the narrow alley, otherwise it is deserted. Suddenly the ‘washerwoman’ whips out a dagger and you see that she is actually a man in disguise. You barely have time to lift your sword in defence before the assassin is upon you. You cannot FLEE.
ASSASSIN VIGOUR 9
Roll two dice:
Score 2 to 5: You are hit; lose 3 VIGOUR
Score 6 to 12: The Assassin loses 3 VIGOUR
If you win, turn to 139.
Round 1: 10 (5,5)
Round 2: 8 (5, 3)
Round 3: 6 (4,2)
Fight Narrative:
Perhaps it was the old man's words last night, but you had your eye on the approaching washerwoman - among your people it is not especially uncommon that a woman should be an assassin. As the dagger flashes your sword is already drawn. Taking advantage of your longer blade the fight is over almost before it has begun. The man's life blood dribbles down the same stairs that saw the deaths of the pair of assassins the previous night.
139
Gabbad kneels beside the corpse and rolls back the man’s cloak over his forearm. You see a coiled serpent tattooed on it. Gabbad looks up at you, his face creased with worry: ‘It looks like the assassins are already after you: we must hurry to find the tomb before they do.’ You set out for the desert and soon you are tiny dots moving over the huge, undulating surface of sand.
You travel for two days, eventually arriving at the end of a rocky gorge. You can see a pile of human bones in the middle of the pass. Your water is getting low and you will need to replenish it soon. You can see what looks like an oasis over to your left: a pool of blue surrounded by some date palms. Do you want to go over to the oasis? Turn to 158. If you want to carry on through the pass, turn to 36. If you have one and would like to use it now, you may use your flying carpet here; turn to 4.
**********************
Yami Yugi chose not to purchase the flying carpet, so he may only choose between visiting the oasis or ignoring it and continuing through the pass.
**********************
CHARACTER SHEET
Name: Yami Yugi
VIGOUR: 22 17
PSI: 7
AGILITY: 10
Treasure: 18 Gold Pieces
Items:
-Sword
-Half a Stone Tablet
-Torch
-Gloves
-Potion of Levitation
-Potion of Swiftness [x2]
-Bottle of Water
-Desert Cloak
-Flagon of Water
