Necklace of Skulls [CYOAztec]

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Tuxedo Ted: Apr 24, 2007

We even have the bead. Let's go down them stairs, we can wrap this book up early!

# ? Oct 26, 2015 02:31

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# ? May 3, 2024 10:00

Sneaky Fast: Apr 24, 2013

Where did we grab the bead again? Gotta get those steps in we have a Fitbit

# ? Oct 26, 2015 03:31

Comstar: Apr 20, 2007; Are you happy now?

One CAN simply walk into HELL it seems.

# ? Oct 26, 2015 09:45

Rogue AI Goddess: May 10, 2012; I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?

Ratatozsk posted:

If you have no other option, seek the dragon Kawak who lies across the canyon with one of his two heads on either side. Others have passed through his jaws and emerged at the far end, and if you are dauntless you may be able to do this too.

Go down the steps and become the new conductor of the dragon poop train.

# ? Oct 26, 2015 09:56

Ghostwoods: May 9, 2013; Say "Cheese!"

Yay! Staircase to Hell!

# ? Oct 26, 2015 11:20

Wentley: Feb 7, 2012

Disappear into the dark, turn to 9.

# ? Oct 26, 2015 15:46

CzarChasm: Mar 14, 2009; I don't like it when you're watching me eat.

Sneaky Fast posted:

Where did we grab the bead again? Gotta get those steps in we have a Fitbit

We took a path early on to talk to our local priest who gave us the jade bead and the instructions prior.

forward, friend, toward the danger

# ? Oct 27, 2015 02:01

MysticalMachineGun: Apr 5, 2005

Going down, down, down to hell town

# ? Oct 28, 2015 02:02

Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Sneaky Fast posted:

Where did we grab the bead again? Gotta get those steps in we have a Fitbit

We grabbed it here after our meeting with the priest.

Page 9 posted:

Acquire the codeword Pakal. Also, if you have a jade bead you had better lodge it under your tongue as the spirit advised you.

You descend into the pyramid. The staircase is narrow, steep and dank. Lightning-strokes cast a guttering white glare from above, plunging you into darkness as they pass. The thundercracks in the sky resound ominously through the heavy stone blocks of the pyramid. The steps are slippery with damp, forcing you to make the descent slowly. At last you reach the bottom and pass through a doorway draped with thick fleshy roots. A tunnel stretches ahead which you have to feel your way along. No light penetrates this far down. The smell in the air is of damp soil and limestone.

The walls vibrate as another thunderbolt shakes the earth. Suddenly you are knocked off your feet by a heavy weight of rubble dropping on you. You realize the tunnel has caved in. Claustrophobia seizes you. Struggling in panic, you claw at the rubble in a frantic attempt to dig yourself free.

Your hands break through to the air and you push up, gasping for breath. You are no longer in the underground tunnel, though. You have emerged into an unearthly landscape. A barren plain stretches away in all directions under a sky of red-tinged darkness. In the distance you can see a haze of sulfurous clouds lit by fiery light: the lip of a volcanic fissure. You head towards it.

Turn to 80.

Page 80 posted:

You arrive at the edge of a canyon. Choking yellow vapor rises from the depths, obscuring a sullen fiery light from far below. You can hear distant rumblings, leading you to imagine a river of lava burning beneath the sulfur clouds.

There are thin spires of rock poking up out of the vapor at regular intervals almost two meters apart, leading in a straight line to the far side of the canyon. By jumping from one to another it might be possible to get across, but they would make precarious stepping-stones: the top of each spire is a flattened area no bigger than the palm of your hand.

If you have FOLKLORE, turn to 286.
If you have the codeword Pakal, turn to 309.
~~Otherwise, if you want to cross the canyon by leaping from one spire to the next, turn to 147.~~
~~If you have a blowgun and want to use it to cross more safely, turn to 170.~~

We'll take the slightly more scenic route which include both these options:

Page 286 posted:

This is the so-called Death Canyon which prevents spirits returning from the Deathlands by means of the underworld. The story goes that even the hero Jewelled Bird nearly fell when he tried jumping between the spires of rock, so you guess that such a feat would demand great agility. Dredging deeper into your memory you recall a legend of the dragon Kawak, a serpentine monster with a head at each end who is said to span this canyon, lying with one head on each side. The hero-twins Forethought and Afterthought returned from the Deathlands by walking into the open jaws of the dragon and making their way through its bowels. It goes without saying that such a route might not be so easy in reality as it was for such heroes of long ago. Kawak might just devour you!

If you want to search for the two-headed dragon, turn to 309.
Otherwise, ~~you can use a blowgun to get across if you have one (turn to 170)~~, or you must try jumping between the spires of rock (turn to 147).

Page 309 posted:

You walk along the side of the canyon in search of the dragon Kawak. The sky slowly acquires a sullen red glare like the inside of a kiln. Through the clouds of gritty yellow vapor rising out of the depths, you begin to discern a rock outcropping just ahead. Then you take a step or two closer and you realize it is not a pile of boulders that you see resting at the lip of the chasm. It is a gigantic head.

Kawak�s snout reminds you of the temple pyramids of your homeland, with its size and bright patterning of carmine and bone-white. His mouth stands open like an ominous gateway, tongue leading up like a temple�s stairway to where his eyes burn darkly under brows like shields of stone. You can see the immense curve of his body, as broad as a city plaza, arcing off into the distance towards the other side of the canyon. His claws resemble the prows of ocean-going canoes hanging over the edge of the precipice.

�You wish to cross. To enter my mouth and pass into the world beyond.� His voice is the sound of birth and death, the dull titanic roar that is more felt than heard. �You must pay for your passage with a jade bead.�

If you have a jade bead and are willing to let Kawak have it, remove it from your list of possessions and turn to 33.
~~Alternatively you could employ the Man of Gold (turn to 79) or a blowgun (turn to 170), if you have either of those items.~~
Failing that, your only option is to try crossing via the line of stepping-stones formed by the tips of the rock spires (turn to 147).

: This early on and I'm already regretting my choices.

: How so?

: I could have had a MAN OF GOLD! How cool would that have been?

Character Sheet posted:

Evening Star 'Nesquik' Sherman the Acolyte

Skills: ETIQUETTE, FOLKLORE, SPELLS, and SWORDPLAY

Life Points: 10/10

Cacao: 0

Possessions: magic wand, sword, jade bead, waterskin, rope, salt

Codewords: Cenote, Psychoduct, Pakal

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd

# ? Oct 28, 2015 03:30

FredMSloniker: Jan 2, 2008; Why, yes, I do like Kirby games.

Ratatozsk posted:

The intro is a bit long compared to the rest of the book, so here's an obligatory tldr; we're out to avenge/rescue our Mayan twin. Also werewolves are involved, and Necklace of Skulls is a guy. Yes, I realize that Mayan=/=Aztecs, but I hit a creative block when titling the thread. :/

Maybe you could get it changed to 'Choose Your Own Mayadventure'? :v:

Hm. On the one hand, it'd be a shame to try to jump across after all our skills and codewords got us this far. On the other hand, it's been made quite clear that giving up our jade bead is Bad. On the other other hand, we don't have Agility, so... gently caress it, we'll pay the bead, and be extremely careful not to say anything.

# ? Oct 28, 2015 03:39

Thuryl: Mar 14, 2007; My postillion has been struck by lightning.

Yeah, I don't like the idea of giving up the bead before we're supposed to, but it seems like our best option.

# ? Oct 28, 2015 03:56

Ghostwoods: May 9, 2013; Say "Cheese!"

Looks like we need to pay the bead.

# ? Oct 28, 2015 13:08

SatansOnion: Dec 12, 2011

It sounds to me like not having the jade bead under our tongue is only a problem if we get found out. Hand over the bead at this, the first opportunity and let the future sort itself out! What's the worst that could happen? :agesilaus:

# ? Oct 28, 2015 14:36

dscruffy1: Nov 22, 2007; Look out!; Nap Ghost

This doesn't look at all like a crossroads. I say we leap valiantly from spire to spire. Even though it'll end predictably.

# ? Oct 28, 2015 15:06

Tuxedo Ted: Apr 24, 2007

dscruffy1 posted:

This doesn't look at all like a crossroads. I say we leap valiantly from spire to spire. Even though it'll end predictably.

Pssh, we can make it. Get to leaping!

# ? Oct 28, 2015 15:09

Rogue AI Goddess: May 10, 2012; I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?

Pay the bead. Maybe we'll be able to acquire another one later on!

# ? Oct 28, 2015 15:25

Sneaky Fast: Apr 24, 2013

Leap

# ? Oct 28, 2015 23:09

Odysseus S. Grant: Oct 12, 2011; Cats is the oldest and strongest emotion
of mankind

Pay up!

# ? Oct 28, 2015 23:44

MysticalMachineGun: Apr 5, 2005

I don't like the looks of either of these options - I sense a rewind in our imminent future. In the meantime, pay the bead!

# ? Oct 28, 2015 23:53

Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 33 posted:

You walk into the jaws of the dragon and descend the long tunnel of his throat until the only light is a dim flicker in the gloom far behind you. Hot gases bubble up out of the chambers of his stomach, forcing you to hold your hand over your face as you proceed.

It gets hotter. You cannot see much of your surroundings, but you reckon that you must now be passing through the dragon�s bowels. This is the part of his body that lies in the lava at the bottom of the canyon. Such intense temperatures obviously do not bother the dragon, but you are getting weaker by the minute. You stagger on, head swimming from the stinking gases and the burning heat.

Lose 5 Life Points. If you survive, you realize that at last the passage is beginning to slope upwards again. You are climbing out of the canyon, towards the dragon�s other head. Sure enough, the awful heat gradually subsides. When you reach the top of your grueling ascent, however, a further shock awaits you. The dragon�s hind jaws are closed. You are trapped in here.

If you have SPELLS and a wand, turn to 439.
~~If you have CUNNING, turn to 428.~~
~~If you have a bag of chilli peppers, turn to 125.~~

~~If you have none of these, your days will end in the maw of the dragon.~~

: Oh, so that's how it's going to be? Eat sorcery, wyrm! And me, I guess, but mostly spellcraft.

Page 439 posted:

You conjure a swarm of little green ants which follow the motion of your wand. Pointing to the dragon�s tonsils, which dangle above you in the cavern of his mouth like a pair of giant gongs, you direct the ants to crawl up across them. The ticklish effect of thousands of tiny scuttling legs soon has the desired effect, and the dragon spits you out into the open with a gagging cough.

You get to your feet and wring the dragon�s saliva out of your robes. It could have been worse: he might have thrown up. Kawak hangs at the lip of the canyon, glowering as he spits out ants like a man spitting papaya pips. You hurry off before he turns nasty.

Turn to 263.

Page 263 posted:

You trudge on through terrain consisting of bare bleached rocks swathed in steam rising from fissures in the ground. Wet gravel crunches underfoot. Sweat soaks your clothes, and the air is so hot that you can hardly breathe.

You see someone sprawled atop a boulder. He is a gangling figure with a weather-beaten face and lazy heavy-lidded eyes. Your first impression is that he is asleep, but then he calls out in a sibilant voice, saying, �You are Evening Star, are you not? I might know a secret or two that could help you find your brother, if you can give me an answer to this riddle: �I�m a narrow fellow and I live in narrow spaces between the rocks. Born from a pebble, I�m as hard to catch as a flicker of lightning when my blood�s up, but in the cool of night I�m as sedentary as a stalactite.� �

What answer will you give?

�A lizard.� Turn to 376.
�A dragonfly.� Turn to 397.
�Water.� Turn to 10.
Or none of the above. Turn to 60.

: Time!

: Darkness!

: Nothing!

: Wait, those are the options?

Character Sheet posted:

Evening Star 'Nesquik' Sherman the Acolyte

Skills: ETIQUETTE, FOLKLORE, SPELLS, and SWORDPLAY

Life Points: 5/10

Cacao: 0

Possessions: magic wand, sword, waterskin, rope, salt, wad of dragon phlegm

Codewords: Cenote, Psychoduct, Pakal

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd

Ratatozsk fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Oct 29, 2015

# ? Oct 29, 2015 02:12

Sneaky Fast: Apr 24, 2013

Lizard Pebble being an egg and blood up during the day gotsta refer to lizards being cold blooded.

Dang I forgot! Say nothing

Sneaky Fast fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Oct 29, 2015

# ? Oct 29, 2015 02:33

FredMSloniker: Jan 2, 2008; Why, yes, I do like Kirby games.

SAY NOTHING. Seriously, we just had this talk.

# ? Oct 29, 2015 02:39

Bellmaker: Oct 18, 2008; Chapter DOOF

FredMSloniker posted:

SAY NOTHING. Seriously, we just had this talk.

Yup. No beady no talky. SAY NOTHING.

# ? Oct 29, 2015 03:08

Oblivion4568238: Oct 10, 2012; The Inquisition.
What a show.
The Inquisition.
Here. We. Go.; College Slice

Is this a crossroads? No? Then keep our mouths shut.

# ? Oct 29, 2015 04:57

Rogue AI Goddess: May 10, 2012; I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?

First they came for the knowledgeable, and I said nothing because I had no jade bead.

# ? Oct 29, 2015 07:29

dscruffy1: Nov 22, 2007; Look out!; Nap Ghost

A trick question of a riddle obviously. The answer is silence and a stern and withering gaze.

# ? Oct 29, 2015 16:15

Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 60 posted:

The stranger leaps up into the air, displaying a long thin body like a streak of lightning. Suddenly you realize you are not looking at a man at all, but at a large iguana. It crouches on the rock, gives you a last lingering glare, and then goes darting off into the mist.

You trudge on, and gradually the mist breaks up to reveal that the path has become a raised stone causeway which snakes down towards a jetty in the distance. Beyond lies an endless green lake. An icy breeze blows in off the water, making you shiver. As you make your way along the causeway, you notice writhing movement under the thin veils of mist that still lie in the hollows. You stoop for a closer look, then recoil in disgust as you realize that the ground off the causeway consists of filth and mud infested with thousands of maggots.

�You don�t like my pets?�

You look up. A bizarre creature is waiting for you a little way down the causeway. You could have sworn it wasn�t there a moment before. It has a large globular body supported on three strong clawed legs. Its eyes are bright narrow slits, and as it watches you it runs its tongue greedily across its lips. You realize that to reach the jetty you will have to get past that monster � or else wade through the mass of wriggling maggots.

~~If you have TARGETING and a blowgun, turn to 217.~~
~~If you have the Man of Gold and want to use it, turn to 241.~~
If you march on along the causeway, turn to 148 if you possess a jade bead, or to 194 if you do not.
If you head directly for the jetty by leaving the causeway and wading through the maggots, turn to 171.

: Isn't it just like the underworld to string you along with a clever sounding riddle and then just dump an iguana on you?

: ...

: Isn't it?

: This is your domain, death dude. You tell me.

: Well, yes. It's entirely par for the course.

: Then why did you try throw out answers for it?

: It sounded so clever!

Character Sheet posted:

Evening Star 'Nesquik' Sherman the Acolyte

Skills: ETIQUETTE, FOLKLORE, SPELLS, and SWORDPLAY

Life Points: 5/10

Cacao: 0

Possessions: magic wand, sword, waterskin, rope, salt, wad of dragon phlegm

Codewords: Cenote, Psychoduct, Pakal

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd

# ? Oct 30, 2015 04:16

dscruffy1: Nov 22, 2007; Look out!; Nap Ghost

We ought to boldly march onwards. This nerd can't possibly know we don't have a jade bead.

# ? Oct 30, 2015 08:34

Rogue AI Goddess: May 10, 2012; I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?

All you have to do is follow the worms.

# ? Oct 30, 2015 11:11

Thuryl: Mar 14, 2007; My postillion has been struck by lightning.

Once again I don't like either of these options, but let's go for the causeway. I trust our swordfighting skills more than our maggot-wading skills.

# ? Oct 30, 2015 12:17

Ghostwoods: May 9, 2013; Say "Cheese!"

Thuryl posted:

Once again I don't like either of these options, but let's go for the causeway. I trust our swordfighting skills more than our maggot-wading skills.

Yeah, me too.

# ? Oct 30, 2015 15:10

Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 194 posted:

The monster charges along the causeway. Its three legs are short but thick with muscle, giving it a powerful lurching gait. You almost retch at the foul animal stench of its breath as it opens its jaws to snap at you. You dodge away, trying to move around to the side before counter-attacking. Your reasoning is that its tripedal stance will make it slow to turn.

Unfortunately you guessed wrong: it simply rears back onto its hind leg and whirls about to face you, ripping a hunk of flesh from your arm as you step in to strike it.

If you are fighting with SWORDPLAY (and a sword) lose 2 Life Points. ~~If you are using UNARMED COMBAT lose 3 Life Points. If you have neither skill, lose 4 Life Points.~~

If you survive that, you finally manage to fight your way past the monster and go running on towards the jetty.

Turn to 20.

: OW! That's my poktapok arm!

Page 20 posted:

There is a raft moored beside the jetty. It starts to move of its own accord once you have climbed aboard and cast off. You are conveyed across the lake. You are shivering because of the deep chill in the air here. The water stirs sluggishly in the raft�s wake, as though on the point of freezing.

Green light seeps into the sky, which you now see resembles the roof of an unimaginably vast cavern. Perhaps you are gazing up at the bedrock on which the living world rests. The notion sends a shudder through your whole body.

Your journey seems to take hours. Other than the faint sloshing of water past the sides of the raft, there is dead silence. At last you catch sight of something ahead. It is a steep pyramid built in the middle of the lake, with steps leading right up from the water to a shrine at the top.

The raft drifts to a halt beside the steps. You are puzzled. Is this the journey�s end? Here, surrounded by leagues of water in all directions?

If you have CUNNING, turn to 12.
If you have CHARMS and an amulet, turn to 35.
Otherwise, turn to 58.

Cunning? Nope. Charming? Nope.

Page 58 posted:

Perhaps you will find the answers to your questions in the shrine. You climb to the top of the steps, pausing for a moment at the threshold of the shrine. The entrance is a block of shadow, dingy with foreboding. But you have no choice. Bowing as every mortal must when in the presence of the gods, you go inside.

It is a shrine to the God of the Pole Star, as you can tell immediately by the striped glyphs on the altar. He is the celestial guide whom all travelers pray to when they have lost their way. You doubt if anyone has ever needed his help as much as you do now.

~~If you have any incense, you can offer it in prayer to the god (remember to cross it off your Character Sheet).~~ If you have no incense, the only other appropriate offering is some of your own lifeblood, in which case you must lose 1 Life Point.

Having made your offering, turn to 82.

: You know that stuff's supposed to stay inside of you, right?

Page 82 posted:

The god accepts your sacrifice and reveals the true path to you. You hear no words. Suddenly the knowledge is in your mind, where before there was confusion. You know that you must descend the steps back down to the lake � and then keep going. The route to the Deathlands lies under the water.

Backing out of the shrine, you respectfully retreat one step at a time until you reach the water�s edge. Now that you look closely, you can see that the stairway does indeed continue down into the icy green murk.

Turn to 105.

Page 105 posted:

The green-tinted stone of the staircase is almost invisible through the murky depths. You bite your lip as you consider the water of the lake. It looks almost resinous with cold. You cannot expect to survive long once you are submerged � you would freeze to death even before you had time to run out of air.

~~If you have a haunch of venison, turn to 440.~~
If not, turn to 150.

: Oh come ON! I've got rope and a block of salt, isn't that good for something?!?

Page 150 posted:

Bitter life-sucking cold envelops you the moment you enter the water. The shock almost stops your heart. Lose 2 Life Points ~~unless you have WILDERNESS LORE, in which case your hardiness inures you to the extreme cold and you lose only 1 Life Point~~.

Half in a swoon, assuming you still live, you stumble weightlessly down the stairway towards a submarine glimmer of icy green light. If you stay in this water for much longer you know you are doomed.

Turn to 173.

Death: the standard attrition to be expected from facing down a globular beast, offering up of one's life blood, and taking a cold swim

OK, so I'm going to offer a bit of an alternative approach to this death. We chose a rather...poor entrance to the underworld given our load-out and loot load. So please vote on one of the following:

Head on overlands towards Ashaka (turn to 8), follow the river to the coast (turn to 30, both seen at this update and as alternatives to walking down in the spirit tube), go south towards the forest from Yashuna (turn to 165, from this update), or simply replenish our LIFE POINTS and keep on trucking.

Character Sheet posted:

Evening Star 'Nesquik' Sherman the Acolyte

Skills: ETIQUETTE, FOLKLORE, SPELLS, and SWORDPLAY

Life Points: 2/10

Cacao: 0

Possessions: magic wand, sword, waterskin, rope, salt, wad of dragon phlegm

Codewords: Cenote, Psychoduct, Pakal

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd

# ? Oct 31, 2015 02:43

CirclMastr: Jul 4, 2010

Go south (165) like I said to forever ago.

# ? Oct 31, 2015 03:54

FredMSloniker: Jan 2, 2008; Why, yes, I do like Kirby games.

I vote against refilling our life points. I'm okay with whatever other course we take, but I'd rather see how we could legitly beat the book rather than simply turning on godmode.

# ? Oct 31, 2015 07:12

Rogue AI Goddess: May 10, 2012; I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?

Take me back to my coast via the river, and I won't die out anymore.

# ? Oct 31, 2015 07:56

Ghostwoods: May 9, 2013; Say "Cheese!"

Route 8 towards Ashaka.

# ? Oct 31, 2015 12:21

MysticalMachineGun: Apr 5, 2005

Head to the coast, why not. Let's find ourselves a man of gold.

# ? Oct 31, 2015 14:12

Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

MysticalMachineGun posted:

Head to the coast, why not. Let's find ourselves a man of gold.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the Man of Gold is picked up in the very early game. But I can grant the other half of your vote, so there's that. Wait, you were around for the Skyfall river, weren't you? Why in the world are you voting for a river after that catastrophe?

Page 30 posted:

Nachan is the busy hub of trade up and down the river, so there are hundreds of boats bobbing up and down at the jetty waiting to unload their wares. You wend your way between bales of grain, fruit, feathers, jade and animal pelts. Most of the traders� vessels are dug-out canoes, but you see one crescent-shaped boat constructed of interwoven reeds. You guess that the owner is not from the wooded country upriver, but must be a native of the fens which lie between here and the coast. Seeing you approach, he straightens up from the task of loading clay pots aboard the boat and winces as he rubs his aching back.

�Good morning,� you say to him. �If you�re going downriver, I wonder if you have room for a passenger?�

He looks you up and down. �If you have two cacao to spare.�

�Two cacao!� you cry in outrage. �That is an exorbitant sum. I will offer��

The fenman holds up his hand to interrupt you. �Haggling is pointless,� he says. �You would take up as much space as two large pitchers, and the profit I make on each pitcher is one cacao. Consequently you must pay a fee of two cacao to compensate me for my loss of earnings if I take you aboard.�

~~If you have SEAFARING, turn to 332.~~
If not, ~~you can either pay him 2 cacao (deduct them from the total on your Character Sheet and turn to 355)~~ or else make your way north on foot (turn to 264).

VA CYOAs #1 and #3 didn't make use of their respective monetary systems. Morris's books, on the other hand, have repeated opportunities throughout the adventure to spend money. There are uses to just about every item, so it's not necessarily BAD to spend everything early on, but it may end up with you coming up short at a later date like this.

Page 264 posted:

You fall in with others who are traveling in a group for safety. Since the collapse of the great city there has been a wave of refugees from the north-west, many of them impoverished and desperate. It is no longer wise to travel the back roads unaccompanied.

Some of your companions make their farewells as they arrive at their homes, others join the group. You might be walking with up to a dozen other people at any one time, while on other stretches of the riverside path you travel alone. At such times you are keen for company, and when you see a peasant woman walking ahead you quicken your pace to catch up.

You soon begin to regret joining her, because there is something strange about her manner that gives you a feeling of disquiet despite the bright sunny morning. She peers constantly ahead of her with a dreamy expression, stumbling along as though half asleep. For the sake of conversation, you remark on the large clay pitcher she carries balanced upside-down on her shoulder. �Isn�t it easier to carry those on your head? That�s what most peasants do.�

Your question takes a while to sink in. When her answer comes it is a distracted murmur: �Only if it�s full� This isn�t full��

You walk on for several minutes before saying, �Why don�t you switch it to your other shoulder? You�d find it less of a strain that way, I�m sure.�

�It�s fine like this�� She suddenly stops and turns to you with a drowsy smile. �I think I�ll rest in the shade of this tree. You�ll wait until I wake up, won�t you? It�s too hot to walk in the middle of the day anyhow��

Before you can reply, she hunkers down by the side of the road � still with the pitcher balanced carefully on her shoulder � and her head slumps forward in sleep.

If you have FOLKLORE, turn to 287.
~~If you have the codeword Calabash, turn to 310.~~
Otherwise, decide if you will stay here as the woman asked you to (turn to 100), sneak a look under the pitcher (turn to 333), or leave before she wakes up (turn to 356).

: OK, glad to be knowledgeable, but why can't I just smash the jar?

: That would be rude, as tempting as it may be.

Page 287 posted:

All the signs are that the woman is a victim of one of the parasitical monsters that people call nightcrawlers. These are disembodied heads that latch onto a human host, sinking tendrils deep into the flesh that allow them to control their victim like a puppet. By day they prefer to shield themselves from the sun, which no doubt explains the overturned pitcher on the woman�s shoulder. After nightfall they detach from the host and go gliding about in search of blood to feed on.

You know that salt prevents the night-crawler from fixing onto its prey.

If you have some salt, turn to 34.
~~If not, turn to 57.~~

Page 34 posted:

You moisten a little salt and rub it onto your neck as a precaution. You do not need much, so you can retain the rest of the parcel in case you need it later. Note the codeword Salvation on your Character Sheet.

Do you also have a lobster pot?

~~If so, turn to 81.~~
If not, turn to 57.

We don't have it, though we know where we could have gotten one.

Page 57 posted:

Leaving while the creature is asleep would do no good. It would only come looking for you after dark. You must deal with it now.

~~If you have CUNNING, turn to 377.~~
If you have SPELLS and a wand, turn to 11.

Failing either of those, your only option is to do battle with the creature.

Decide if you will attack it now while it is still attached to its host (turn to 104), or wait until nightfall (turn to 100).

: Zappy zappy!

Page 11 posted:

As the sun sets, the pitcher on the woman�s shoulder tilts, falling away to reveal that your guess was right � there is a second head protruding from her neck!

The nightcrawler�s eyes snap open and fix on you, and its mouth drops open in a gurgling snarl. Long strands of black hair shoot out from it like tentacles, some of them up to two meters long. These form into thin matted stalks resembling an insect�s legs, which probe the ground, preparing to support the creature�s weight. There is a grisly sucking sound as the nightcrawler pulls itself free of the sleeping woman�s neck.

It comes scuttling forward eagerly on its limbs of twined hair and leaps up towards your neck, intending to make you its new host, but you are ready for it. It blunders straight into the net which your magic has woven out of moonbeams and river mist. It struggles and gnashes its long teeth, but it cannot break free of the net. Taking it to the river bank, you cast it into the water. �And good riddance,� you say as it sinks to a final resting place on the river bed.

Turn to 398.

: Eat river, Beeblebrox!

: Really?

Page 398 posted:

The woman is in a deep trance, but you shake her until she comes out of it. She tells you that she is a sorceress who fell victim to the nightcrawler when she tired to exorcise it from the region. �I can never repay my debt to you,� she says, weeping with relief to be free of the noxious creature�s control at last. �When you get to the sea, follow the shore until you come to a giant stone idol which is buried up to its neck in the sand. This is the idol of an ancient god. Tell him the number of stars in the sky and he will speak to you.�

�How many stars are there?�

She smiles. �Tell him a hundred thousand million and seven. He wouldn�t believe the true answer.�

Note the codeword Olmek on your Character Sheet. Bidding the woman farewell, you continue on your way.

Turn to 417.

Page 417 posted:

You leave the fenlands and continue north. Arriving at last at the coast, you go to the edge of the sea and watch the setting sun gouge streaks of blood across a jade-grey sky.

If you have the codeword Olmek, turn to 260.
~~If not, you can either set off walking along the coast towards Tahil (turn to 228) or try to get passage on a ship (turn to 251).~~

Page 260 posted:

Delete the codeword Olmek if you have it.

You walk along the shore as dusk gathers and the stars slowly emerge against the curtain of night. Ahead of you, nestling at the base of the cliffs, you see a massive round head that seems to be carved out of smooth black stone. It is taller than a man. As you get closer, it becomes possible to make out the features: a strong face with wide aristocratic nose, thick lips compressed in stern deliberation, heavy brows above eyes which stare impassively out to sea.

Then you realize you can hear muttering. A low quiet sound at the very limit of audibility. It sounds like someone counting: �Seventeen million and sixty-two, seventeen million and sixty-three��

You step up to the head and say, �Excuse me.�

The huge eyes roll in their sockets with a stony scraping. You find yourself fixed with a disconcerting stare. The eyes hold that blank expression which lies on the far side of outrage and disbelief.

After a moment, the head�s gaze turns back to the starry sky. �One,� you hear it say distinctly. �Two. Three��

You give a polite cough. �There are one hundred thousand million and seven of them,� you venture.

The huge eyes swivel back to study you again, this time filled with a look of cautious hope. �You�re sure? I thought mortal eyes could only see a few thousand stars.�

'They can, but I was told the number by a magician.'

He gives a gravelly sigh. �I have been counting the stars since before the coming of man � but they kept moving, and often the daytime made me lose count. See, I�ve been here so long I�ve been buried up to my neck.�

You look at the sand and gravel, trying to imagine the huge body buried beneath it.

If you now ask the giant for a favor, turn to 23.
If you think it is time to get on with planning your journey to Tahil, turn to 113.

: Hey, you got a Golden Man lying around?

Character Sheet posted:

Evening Star 'Nesquik' Sherman the Acolyte

Skills: ETIQUETTE, FOLKLORE, SPELLS, and SWORDPLAY

Life Points: 10/10

Cacao: 0

Possessions: magic wand, sword, waterskin, rope, salt, wad of dragon phlegm

Codewords: Cenote, Psychoduct, Pakal, Salvation

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd

# ? Nov 1, 2015 04:34

CirclMastr: Jul 4, 2010

Get a Pendant of Life while we're here (or at least a favor).

# ? Nov 1, 2015 04:43

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 3, 2024 10:00

Thuryl: Mar 14, 2007; My postillion has been struck by lightning.

quote:

She smiles. �Tell him a hundred thousand million and seven. He wouldn�t believe the true answer.�

Fun fact: in reality, there are believed to be at least this many stars in the Milky Way alone. Coincidentally, there are also at least the same number of galaxies in the universe.

Anyway, might as well try our luck and ask for a favour.

# ? Nov 1, 2015 05:34

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Necklace of Skulls [CYOAztec]

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