Let's Play Secrets of Salamonis (#70) redux?

[deaddmwalking]

Sure. Might as well start there.

[Dogopolis]

‘You know about King Salamon's Mine, don't you?" the Guildmaster asks, without waiting for a reply. ‘It lies in the hills north of the city. Trouble is, when you start digging around underground, it's only going to be a matter of time before you disturb something that would have been better left alone.’
‘Do you know what sort of pests the miners are having trouble with?" you ask. ‘No idea. Could be anything from Ratmen to Rock Grubs. Who knows? Mind you, if you're planning on heading underground yourself, it might be wise to visit the Bazaar before you set off.”

-------------------------------------------

The mines do not lie too far from Salamonis, in the hills that form the southern border of Trolltooth Pass. All approaches to the area are patrolled by the Salamonis soldiery and your journey passes without incident. Some time later, you find yourself approaching the main’ entrance to King Salamon’s mine. The place is busy with miners, including Dwarfs as well as humans, with carts. being loaded with ore and rubble. You confidently stride up to the Half-Ogre who appears to be in charge and wave your Adventurers’ Permit at him when he asks what your business is here. ‘You here for the pest control job, then?’ he asks.

If you answer ‘Yes’....

Since this time we actually came here on the pest control job I'm going to assume.

That’s a relief,’ the Half-Ogre replies. “They've shut down production in the western galleries and none of the miners want to work those sections while they’re still down there.’ You ask the Half-Ogre foreman what ‘they" are. ‘Didn't they tell you? Rock Grubs, of course! But a brave adventurer like you will make short work of them, I’m sure. You just need to enter the mine there’ ~ he points to the entrance before you ~ ‘take the first left, then it’s left again, and then take the first right. just bring back evidence of anything you dispose of down there and you'll get paid 1 Gold Piece for each one.’

Do you want to enter the mine...

Also going to assume you don't just turn away without doing anything

The main tunnel into the silver mine is broad and tall and shored up with solid supports. It is very well made, and you feel safe as you head underground. You do not need a source of illumination either, since flickering lanterns are positioned at regular intervals, providing you with
plenty of light to see where you are going. You pass miners pushing carts of ore before them, and you cannot have travelled more than a hundred metres when the tunnel branches, You can hear voices and the sounds of pickaxes echoing from the right-hand tunnel, but nothing from the one to the left, Do you want to take the left branch or the right branch

There's another opportunity to visit the bazaar in case you want more stuff, so also vote on that if you want anything.

[deaddmwalking]

Provisions specify you cannot eat them in combat, bit potions do not say that. I have presumed that you cannot use a potion during a fight, but is that correct?

I think it would have been nice if we had money when we got the extended bazaar options, but since that ship has sailed might as well spend what we have - never know when something will be useful.

Recommend we buy
Bag of Salt (2 gp)
Copper Armband (2 gp)
Basilisk boots (10 gp)
Potion of Skill (5 gp)
Potion of Strength (4 gp)
1 provision (5 salacoins)

That'll leave us with only 3 salacoins, but we can make money if we kill any of the flying skulls...

[deaddmwalking]

Oh, half vote to go right. Maybe miners can tell us something useful before we repeat from last time...

[Beroli]

Left. We were told to go left first and there's no virtue in courting "you get hopelessly lost and auto-die" when we already died here the last time.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, go left.

[SGamerz]

Left

[Dogopolis]

Again with no objections I'll buy deaddmwalking's list in full.

As you proceed along the left-hand branch, it begins to slope downwards. Water drips from the ceiling to pool on the uneven rock floor of the tunnel, Rather than being lit ty regularly spaced lanterns, burning torches illuminate the ways onwards from here. Eventually you reach another junction. Neither of the tunnels that continue from this point are lit, so you lift one of the torches from its wall hracket and hold it aloft. As you are considering which way Ne go, you fancy you hear distant footsteps coming from the right-hand passage. This time, do you want to head left or right?

SKILL: 11/11
STAMINA: 10/12
LUCK: 6/7
AMONOUR: 17
MONEY: 10 Salacoins = 1 Gold Piece
3 salacoins

Possessions: spare clothes, short sword, Longbeard’s Legends of the Windward Plains, Holy Symbol, Strongman armband, Token, Dragon carnyx, glass bottle, ancient treasure map, brass ring, beeswax, noseplug, oil lamp, length of rope, potion of luck, Medusa grass, Bag of Salt, Copper Armband, Basilisk boots, Potion of Skill, Potion of Strength

Provisions: 3
Special Skills: Spelling, Brawling, 2nd chance rolls (x2), Instant Death roll(x2)

Today is: Earthday

[Beroli]

Left.

[SGamerz]

Left again. Even if we want to check the footsteps, we know from the last attempt that we'd still have the option to do so after killing that Rock Grub.

[Dogopolis]

You descend still further, as the tunnel corkscrews down through solid rock, until you finally arrive at a rough-hewn circular chamber. Leading off from it are two tunnels, but you notice that some strange markings have been chiselled into the rock above each tunnel entrance. The angular shape etched into the rock above the left-hand tunnel looks a bit like a skull. The one above the right-hand tunnel looks like a set of jagged fangs. What do you want to do now?

Enter the left-hand tunnel?
Enter the right hand tunnel?
Retrace your steps and go the other way at the last junction?
Retrace your steps and leave King Salamon’s Mine?

[Beroli]

Right into the fangs tunnel.

[deaddmwalking]

Right sounds right. Bet the skull has a lich or a wight or something that would kill us straight up.

[Dogopolis]

As you proceed further along the tunnel, and head deeper underground, you notice that the walls appear less chiselled and more … chewed? You are just wondering whether you should turn back when your flickering torchlight reflects from the polished shell of a huge, grub-like head that is possessed of a massive pair of mandibles, powerful enough to cut through solid rock. You have no choice but to draw your sword and defend yourself.

ROCK GRUB SKILL 7 STAMINA 11

Code: Select all

RG 12 LMJ 20 RG at 9
RG 15 LMJ 17 RG at 7
RG 11 LMJ 17 RG at 5
RG 15 LMJ 21 RG at 3
RG 17 LMJ 18 RG at 1
RG 16 LMJ 19 RG dead

If you win...

--------------------------

Severing the Rock Grub’s head from the rest of its disgusting body, you secure it to your backpack with a piece of twine before setting off, back up the spiralling tunnel to the junction where you thought you heard footsteps echoing from the passageway to the right. Do you want to follow that passageway now, to see where it leads or do you want to leave the mine?

[Beroli]

Follow the passageway.

[Thaluikhain]

Follow.

[Dogopolis]

You follow the sound of footsteps along the tunnel but without managing to catch with whoever is making them. And then the tunnel branches once more, but now you cannot hear any footsteps at all. Will you:

Take the left-hand branch?
Follow the right-hand branch?
Retrace your steps and leave King Salamon’s Mine?

[Beroli]

Go right.

[deaddmwalking]

Might as well.

[Dogopolis]

As you hurry along the tunnel, you do not hear the footsteps again, but you do hear a sound like the skittering of pebbles on a beach, as if you had just kicked a pile of Stones and sent them tumbling across the floor. But you are not responsible for making the noise. Scuttling across the ground in front of you, picked out by the guttering flames of your torch, are half a dozen curious creatures You could easily mistake them for small boulders, were it not for their scorpion-like legs and tails. their mouths full of sharp teeth and their burning-orange eyes. These creatures are Grannits and the bane of miners everywhere Drawing your sword, you prepare to deal with the pests.

Fight them three at a time,
(skill, stamina)
First GRANNIT 4, 3
Second GRANNIT 4 4
Third GRANNIT 4 3
Fourth GRANNIT 4, 2
Fifth GRANNIT 4, 3
Sixth GRANNIT 4,4

Code: Select all

(attack strengths, us last)
8, 10, 14, 19 g1 at 3
13, 13, 7, 20, g1 dead
12, 8, 10, 17 g2 at 2
14, 10, 9, 16 g2 dead
12, 9, 6, 15, g3 at 1
10, 11, 9, 21, g3 dead
8, 14, 12, 17, g4 dead
13, 9, 19, g5 at 1
10, 12, 17 g5 dead
13, 20 g6 at 2
14, 20, g6 dead

If you kill all of the creatures

-----------------------------

If you want to, you may sever the creatures’ tails and take them with you, as evidence that you have dealt with the pests. Having done that, do you want to keep following the tunnel through the chamber and on into the darkness or do you want to retrace your steps and leave the mine?

[Beroli]

Cut off their tails and keep following the tunnel.

[deaddmwalking]

Might as well.

[Dogopolis]

Eventually the tunnel curves around and joins up with another – probably the one from the other branch you didn’t take. They become one tunnel again that soon ends abruptly on one side of a vast, natural fissure in the rock. The crevasse is spanned by a rickety rope bridge. Holding your torch high, you can just see that it links to another tunnel mouth on the other side. Standing on the other side of the bridge at the entrance to the other tunnel, you can just make out a figure. It is a man. He has a dishevelled appearance and a hunched posture, and he appears to be shaking.

Do you want to step out on to the bridge, with the intention of approaching the shivering man or do you want to double back and follow the tunnels that brought you here and exit the mine?

[Beroli]

Approach the man.

[SGamerz]

Approach