Return to
Firetop Mountain
Adapted from a book by Ian Livingstone
Background
Ten years have passed since the day when Zagor was killed by a brave adventurer who risked the guards and deadly traps deep inside Firetop Mountain to save Allansia from his evil magic. But killing Zagor is one thing; keeping him dead is another. Nobody knew that Zagor had cast the Raise Dead Spell on himself, otherwise the adventurer who killed him would have sealed him inside his mountain tomb.
But all that was ten years ago. in the last six months, sinister events have begun to happen around Firetop Mountain. First, the top of the mountain, which was famous for its red-coloured bracken, has turned deathly black. Livestock which have grazed on and around the mountain for decades have started to die a sickening death, and recently people have even disappeared, dragged inside the mountain (it is said) by hideous creatures of the night. Those good people who remain are terrified, for it is rumoured that Zagor has risen and is building himself a new body, bit by bit, from the unfortunate villagers of Anvil!
Everyone in the tavern lets out a cheer, and they all gather round to slap you on the back and offer to buy you some ale. In the morning you find the barman, whose name you learn is Moose, cooking a large breakfast for you.
'You must set off south immediately to visit the grand wizard Yaztromo. He alone can prepare you for such
an adversary as Zagor. Don't even think about tackling Zagor on your own. He is stronger than ever and his magic is deadly,' Moose says earnestly.
You thank him for his advice and bid him farewell.
Continue
Leaving Anvil and its villagers behind, you set off east deep in thought. Firetop Mountain is only a short distance from Anvil, but to go all the way to Yaztromo's Tower first would mean losing many days' valuable time, How could Yaztromo help ? Ever since he single-handedly defeated eight ghoulish Dark Elves on the edge of Darkwood Forest, the place where he built his famous tower, his reputation has grown. Wise, good, powerful, philanthropic and many other words were used to describe the great Yaztromo. Many sought his help against evil and none were turned away. Suddenly there is a shout from behind you. You spin around, to see Moose running towards you. You notice that his sword is drawn and there is a look of alarm on his face.
'Zagor will know of your plan unless we can catch the two Trackers I saw running from Anvil, a few minutes ago. They must have overheard us and are running back to inform Zagor. Quick, follow me, we must catch them, Moose says hurriedly, still panting. He runs off into the undergrowth, shouting at you to follow him.
If you wish to do so.
If you would rather continue to walk along the path alone.
Now the undead CHAOS WARRIOR can be defeated only by piercing its heart.
As it lumbers towards you with its great sword outstretched,
you try an upward thrust with your sword in order to strike under its breastplate.
If you missed its heart.
If you pierced its heart.
Not wishing to draw attention to yourself,
you tell the BARBARIAN that you will be back later to deal with him.
You gulp down a mug of water to get rid of the taste of the eyeballs
and now, although you are bloated, at least you have eaten.
You walk past the Lizard Men guards
and turn right into the tunnel.
As soon as you touch the wizard's hand, he starts to laugh out loud.
His body starts to shimmer and soon you are able to see right through him;
this is because you are shaking the hand of a DOPPELGANGER,
not the hand of Yaztromo.
The ghost-like figure has the ability to drain you of your life;
when you look down, you see that your own body is turning transparent too.
You try to pull your hand away but it is too late.
You are doomed to live in a twilight world forever.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
Coming from above you hear the sound of hands clapping,
and look up to see the Pitmaster smiling.
He drops a rope down to you and you climb up out of the pit.
He leads you over to the second pit, saying,
'Your next opponent has cunning and deception as well as strength.
The Metallix is not what it seems.'
You look down into the pit and discover a sinewy-looking creature,
no more than a metre tall.
With its large, soulful eyes and drooping mouth it looks almost harmless.
Remembering the Pitmaster's warming, however, you jump down into the pit, sword in hand.
The Metallix does not flinch and appears almost unconcerned by your arrival.
You walk towards the Metallix — and still it doesn't move.
You raise your sword above your head, ready to strike.
But then it crosses your mind that perhaps the Metallix wants you to strike it.
If you want to try to cut off its head.
If you would rather pick a rock up off the floor and throw it at the beast to get it to move.
You know you will have only a few minutes to escape
before the Mummies come back to life.
Spying the door at the end of the hallway,
You make a quick exit.
You whip the dagger out of your boot and throw it at the rat.
At such short range you can hardly miss, and
you skewer it to the floor.
The piece of tooth rolls on to the floor
just in time to release the Fire Elemental,
as the massive Earth Elemental is descending on you.
The Fire Elemental wraps its fiery arm round
the waist of the Earth Elemental
and tries to lift it off the ground:
at the same time it is being pounded by gigantic stone fists.
The battle rages for some minutes,
until finally the Earth Elemental crumbles
into a heap of broken boulders and scorched earth.
The flame dies and you look up to the throne
where Zagor sits, looking ill-at-ease.
He begins to chant again. He has decided to copy you,
and suddenly a jet of flame shoots out of the floor at the bottom of the steps.
Another fiery humanoid has been summoned,
a Fire Elemental, the last of his Elementals of Chaos.
If you have one more golden dragon's tooth,
you must throw it on the floor to defend yourself against the demon fire.
If you have the right tooth.
If you do not have the tooth.
With not a moment to spare,
you take the garlic out of your backpack and thrust it out in front of you to halt the GORGON ...
but garlic is useful only against the Undead; it is useless against a creature like a GORGON.
Transfixed by fear,
You stare blankly at the monster towering above you.
The acid continues to burn — but there is nothing you can do about it.
It burns right through your cheek enters your mouth and starts to tickle down your throat.
No amount of coughing and spitting can save you.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
With lightning speed you clutch at your throat
and manage to tear the rat away before it is able to wound
you.
You fling it to the floor then bring the heel of your boot down hard on top of it,
crushing it out of
shape.
Cursing the GOBLINS, you leave the cellar and walk back to the path in order to
Continue south.
You fill the bucket with straw from the bed and set it on fire,
using the torch that is set in the wall.
As the smoke begins to fill the cell and stream out between the cell door bars, you start shouting.
You hear the GOBLIN curse and stand by the side of the door,
ready to leap on the GOBLIN if it falls for your trick.
If the GOBLIN falls for your trick.
If the GOBLIN ignores you.
You come to the end of the tunnel, where it joins a cross-tunnel.
An iron portcullis blocks your way and it is far too heavy to lift.
On the wall to your right are two levers.
On closer inspection you see that the left-hand one is a dummy
made out of old black wax — a trap laid many years ago.
You decide to pull the other lever.
Slowly and noisily the portcullis rises into the ceiling and you walk safely under it.
Looking to the left, you see that the tunnel ends at the mass of rubble of a cave-in.
Looking right, the tunnel continues for thirty metres before bearing left.
If you want to go to the left to the end of the tunnel.
If you want to go right.
Although in pain, you fight blindly on, swinging your sword from side to side.
You suffer many bites from the GORGON's snakes.
You continue with the fight
You take the article out of your backpack and hand it to the TROGLODYTE,
who examines it with a smile on his face.
You explain to the TROGLODYTE that,
regrettably, you do not have time to stay and watch the competition,
but he is too engrossed in admiration of the prize to hear you as you slip quietly out of the room
and turn right along the tunnel.
You drop the tooth on the floor and watch it break in two.
A fountain of water shoots up out of the floor and rises, forming into the shape of a liquid Titan.
Suddenly it flows forward and crashes down on top of the Fire Elemental in a giant cloud of steam.
The Water Elemental hisses loudly as it battles with the flames.
For a moment it looks as if the Water Elemental will boil away to nothing,
but gradually the flames die down and go out.
Quiet returns to the hall as the Water Elemental retreats to the tooth.
When the steam clears, you see Zagor standing at the base of the steps.
He looks shaken and stands with his head a little down.
Perhaps his magic power is all but spent ?
'We will finish this battle with a duel,' he says solemnly.
We will fight with long knives and wearing no armour.
Accept this challenge or with my last energies I will crush you with a thunderbolt.
We are equals, you and I, and we must fight on equal terms.
It is the struggle between Chaos and Order we must decide.
If I win, Chaos will swallow Allansia.
If I lose, Order will return, Prepare to die! Chaos awaits Allansia!'
Zagor removes his robes and stands, bare chested, before you.
Ugly red scars cover his body as a result of the many transplants he has recently received.
The skeletal stump that is his left arm protrudes awkwardly from his shoulder.
You shudder at the sight of him; you know you must accept his challenge, so you remove your armour.
Zagor throws you a knife and walks slowly towards you.
The fate of Allansia rests on this final battle.
If you want to take on this final battle.
If you do not have the strength to defeat Zagor.
After gathering some wood, you soon have a fire burning.
You settle back against the boulder and are soon fast asleep.
Unknown to you, however, the wood has been left there on purpose by one of Zagor's servants.
The flames start to jump about and then take on the shape of a small, human-shaped being.
The FIRE SPRITE leaps out of the fire
and grabs your outstretched arms.
You awake in pain, trying desperately to shake the FIRE SPRITE off your arm,
but it does not loosen its flaming grip.
Will you attack it with your sword ?. or
Try to smother it with your blanket ?
'So!; shouts the hunchback, 'you are in the employ of Zagor, are you ?
Well, any servant of Zagor is an enemy of mine.'
Before you have time to explain, the old man hits you across the back with his crooked stick.
This is no ordinary stick, however, but a withering, stick!
The blow in itself is not too painful,
but your back seems to bend and contract, quickly stiffening and locking in its new position,
and you find yourself unable to stand up straight.
You draw your sword and shout at the old man to undo the damage he has done you.
'Come another step closer and I'll whack you again, you evil leech!' the hunchback shouts back.
If you wish to attack the old man.
If you would rather try to reason with him again.
The ring you are wearing allows you to see through illusions.
The image of the woman and the young boy slowly fade away,
revealing their true identities.
In front of you stands a hideous-locking hunchbacked WITCH.
Her wiry, bent and hairy fingers end in long, dirty nails.
Her eyes are dark and hollow and her clothes are tattered rags.
Her servant is a mutant beast with a human torso and a dog's head.
All at once you hear a voice inside your head,
a warning from the ring, crying out,
Ring the bell! Ring the bell!'
If you are carrying a silver bell.
If you are not carrying a bell.
'So, you must indeed be a friend,' Zoot says excitedly.
'Alas, I will not be able to recognise you.
While I was flying back to Kaad on my giant eagle, a Fire Dragon attacked.
I was blinded and my beautiful eagle was badly burnt.
We crash-landed in some trees.
The eagle in her last heroic moment saved my life but gave up her own, trying to shield me.
An ORC patrol picked me up and brought me here,
gleefully telling me that my left arm was to be sewn on to Zagor in place of his own rotten bones.
Set me free and I'll help you defeat this evil warlock.'
You prise open his iron shackles and help him to his feet.
I may be blind but I'm still a Half-EIf.
My sense of touch may well prove useful in this trap-infested hell-hole. Let's go.'
You lead Zoot out of the room and turn right along the tunnel which ends, however, at a stone wall.
There are footprints on the floor, which all point towards the end wall.
You tell Zoot that you think there may be a secret door in the wall.
He runs his fingers slowly over the wall, searching for hairline cracks.
He soon finds a loose stone and carefully pulls it out.
There is an iron handle in the recess.
This handle will open the secret door, but I think there's a hidden trap attached to it.
There may be another way of opening the door.'
At the foot of the all he finds another loose stone with another handle behind it.
'This will be the one, I'm sure.
Hello, I've found something else.
Here, take a look and tell me what it is.'
It is a large tooth made of solid gold which has the number '186' stamped on it.
Zoot smiles when you describe it to him.
'Stand back while I turn this handle.
You never know, I've been wrong before.'
He turns the handle and you hear a click.
The secret door swings open inwards —
but at the same time the floor stone on which Zoot is standing drops away beneath him.
You hear his loud scream fade away as he falls to his death at the bottom of a spiked pit.
Spurred on by sudden anger, you leap across the pit and through the doorway, landing safely in a cross-tunnel.
The secret door swings slowly back and slams shut, and now you cannot even tell that it is there.
Looking to the left, you see an iron portcullis in the left-hand wall
of the tunnel which goes on for another twenty metres before ending at the mass of rubble of a cave-in.
Looking right, the tunnel continues for twenty metres before turning left.
If you want to take a look at the portcullis.
If you would rather go to the right.
You step warily into the torchlit tunnel.
In the distance you can see that the tunnel opens out into another
cavern,
lined with bookshelves that are crammed with hundreds of books.
Standing in the middle of the cavern is a black-robed person
whose folded arms are concealed in baggy sleeves which almost touch the floor.
A large black hood completely covers the figure's head.
'Enter, stranger,' a deep voice calls.
'You have chosen the path of the Puzzles.
I am the Inquisitor.
It is your task to prove to me that you are worthy to pass through my domain,
and only by the power of your mind shall you do so.
Fail, and you shall die.
Step forward and listen carefully, your test begins.'
If you want to obey the Inquisitor.
If you would rather attack him.
A white dove circles then lands on the deck,
and you notice that a small pouch is attached to its leg.
The bird appears to be unconcerned as you untie the pouch from its leg.
Inside you find a message from Moose:
'Zagor has sent a doppelganger, a ghost-like impostor of Yaztromo,
to trap you when you reach Kaad.
But, as you know, doppelgangers always have green eyes and Yaztromo's eyes are blue. Beware!
Wondering how Zagor has found out about your mission, you throw the message into the river.
The dove flies off as the boat continues its rapid journey downstream.
Continue.
You are conducted to a table, set up in the middle of a large room,
around which three contestants are sitting, each with a plate of sheep's eyeballs piled high in front of him.
You sit down to join them and gulp at the sight of the eyeballs in front of you.
You look at the others and try to raise a smile.
Your opponent to the left is an old Barbarian wearing furs and a leather headband.
The one to your right is a Neanderthal-looking caveman
and the one sitting opposite you is another TROGLODYTE who,
although of small build, has a pot belly ...
and everybody knows that sheep's eyes are a TROGLODYTE delicacy.
The Barbarian looks at you fiercely and asks in a gruff voice,
'Do you want a side bet on this ?'
If you want to have a bet with the Barbarian on the outcome of the competition.
If you don't want to bet.
Ignoring the boy's request, you try the door of the store but find that it is locked.
Thinking that you may
come back later,
You set of to find Zoot Zimmer.
The chasm is only a metre wide, but you are unable to jump across it:
you hit an invisible wall in mid-air and tumble headlong down into the black void.
You land on your back with a thump on a stone floor.
Slowly the chasm above you closes up and you are left in total darkness.
It is not long before you lose consciousness.
When you reawaken, you find yourself on a marble table
and two Death Lords are hovering over you with sharp knives.
'Begin!' a voice shouts. In less than an hour Zagor will have a new limb — yours!
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The sword and dagger disappear from the Inquisitor's hands.
He folds his arms again slowly and says, 'Correct.
Now for the second puzzle.
You must tell me my age from the information I shall give you.
I first went to the School of Evil Magic when I was 44 years of age
and I stayed there for a sixth of my life.
Then I went to the School of Demonic Sorcery for a fifth of my life.
I then studied under the great necromancer Hellmoon for a quarter of my life
and, since then, for a third of my life I have been in the service of Zagor.'
If you can work out the Inquisitor's age.
If you do not know the answer.
'Very good,' the old man says calmly.
'You will make an excellent spy for Zagor,
after I have made a few alterations to your mind.
It is a simple task to alter the human brain for a Mindbender such as I.
Now should I change you into a servant of Chaos or make you just plain evil ?'
While the Mindbender is chuckling to himself, you decide to strike.
Will you use:
A whip (if you have one) ?
Garlic ?
Your sword ?
You turn to the chapter called 'Dragons' Teeth'
and scan the page with the magnifying glass until
you reach a section on 'The Elementals of Light and Chaos'.
You read that there are four of each,
the Supreme
Elementals of Light appearing in the form of golden dragons' teeth.
Each one is numbered.
The Air Elemental of Light is number 186 and destroys
a Water Elemental of Chaos. The Earth Elemental of Light is...
But the next three pages are missing from the book
and you do not learn the secrets of the other Elementals.
You memorise the information about the Air Elemental
before walking through the cavern and
Into the tunnel at the far end.
'That is indeed my name, stranger,
but how did you know it ?
Have we met somewhere before ?
Before I can trust you,
I need to be convinced that you do know me.
Can you tell me the number of my house in Hobnail Street ?'
If you know the number of the house.
If you do not.
The day rolls by without incident until you make out the sound of somebody running towards you.
You turn around to see a all, ugly humanoid whose face is lumpy and beast-like.
From its mouth it is drooling spittle all over itself as it strives to catch up with you.
Its clothing is primitive, no more than loincloth made of animal skins.
It is an OGRE and it is armed with a spear and a heavy club.
If you want to stand your ground and fight.
If you prefer to try to outrun the OGRE.
The slime flies past your head, only just missing you.
The blind worm starts to writhe around and falls off
the box.
You seize your opportunity, grab the box and scramble up out of the pit.
Back in the tunnel you
shake the box but can hear nothing rattling inside it.
You lift the lid gently, only to find that all the box
contains is a page from a tiny book.
You turn the box over and see that the word 'Fire' is scratched on the
base.
The box is quite large but you decide fit it in your backpack and take it with you.
You may now either read the page from the book or
Walk further up the tunnel.
The tunnel is dark and you are forced to use your hands
to grope along the floor ahead of you to avoid
the chance of falling down an unseen shaft.
About twenty metres further ahead,
your hand encounters an iron spike that has been driven into the stone floor.
Beyond the spike, the floor disappears and becomes a total black void.
You are fairly sure that the tunnel ends at the far side of the shaft,
since you can just make out a wall — a certain dead-end.
Just as you are wondering how far down it is to the bottom of the shaft,
you hear the unnerving sound of metal grating on stone coming along the tunnel behind you.
You feel trapped — perhaps it's the GOBLIN,
but how could he be behind you, since you did not find him in his room ?
If you want to turn around and crawl back along the tunnel.
If you'd rather attempt to climb down the shaft.
The GIANT EAGLE appears to be completely unperturbed
when Zoot fixes a harness and a two-man saddle across its back.
When he has finished the job, Zoot turns to you and says,
'Don't even think about offering me payment for this trip.
I just want my mother to be avenged,
as I am convinced that this terrible plague which is destroying Kaad is of Zagor's doing.
Come on, climb aboard!' You do as Zoot asks and,
with a flutter of its massive wings, the eagle carries you high into the sky.
Kaad is soon left behind and it becomes just another small feature of the landscape beneath you.
The sensation of flying is exhilarating and for a moment you forget the dangerous task that awaits you.
Zoot steers the great bird north-eastwards, high above the Pagan Plains.
For half an hour you see no other creatures in the sky, but then your luck runs out.
Zoot suddenly points towards the distant horizon,
where another flying creature is coming into view.
If you want to instruct him to land.
If you would rather order him to fly on towards Firetop Mountain.
You leap into the bushes, your sword cutting through the air.
To your right is Moose and in front of you are
the two servants of Zagor:
they crouch, daggers drawn, and growl, foamy spittle dripping from their dog-like jaws.
Half Dark EIf and half Goblin, Trackers are perfect hunters and messengers.
Always armed with a cross-belt of throwing daggers across their chest,
they will not usually fight openly unless cornered.
Suddenly they throw their daggers at you and Moose and draw their short swords.
But you are ready and duck below the flying dagger.
Wasting not a second more, you charge at the nearest TRACKER.
Will you stand and fight ?
or will you dive back into the bushes ?.
Your outstretched hand grasps the door handle
at the same moment as three spears thump into your back.
You stumble forward, fall against the door and slide down to the floor.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The key turns in the door and you walk through,
with the feeling that you may be nearing the end of your
quest.
Continue.
You look up to see the Pitmaster throwing the rope down into the pit.
After retrieving your sword you swarm up the rope and await his judgement.
'You have eared the right to enter the inner sanctum of Firetop Mountain,
where the harmony of the spheres aligns itself to Chaos', the Pitmaster announces solemnly.
'You may now go.'
As you make your way to the far end of the cavern and a new tunnel,
you wonder if the Pitmaster knows of your quest.
Surely he must be a servant of Zagor ?
Why didn't he try to kill you ? You resist the temptation to look back over your shoulder
and enter the tunnel.
With her sails hoisted and trimmed,
the boat is quickly under-way and the war canoes are soon left far behind.
'No more stops until Kaad,' snarls Lorrie, pulling hard at the helm.
Feeling guilty, you sit alone on the rack, watching the vivid landscape speed by.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
The garlic fumes activate an ancient spell that,
unknown to you, has been cast on the pendant.
The pendant changes shape and turns into a stiletto blade
which thrusts itself through your backpack and shirt.
Its deadly tip pierces your heart.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
Zagor ? That was last week's password.
Now be off with you or I'll call the guard,' the doorman says angrily.
You decide against pushing your luck too far
and set off along the tunnel.
You place a Gold Piece on the palm of your hand
and shove your arm through the cell bars,
urging the GOBLIN to approach and communicate with you.
With Zagor's coins you hope to convince him
that you are an ally, a fellow-servant of Zagor.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
The Mummies become aware of your presence
and shuffle towards you, their arms outstretched.
You know that, while they are not savage fighters,
they are difficult to defeat since they cannot be properly killed by normal weapons.
The only sure way of defeating them is by fire.
If you have a lantern.
If you do not have a lantern.
A few hours later it is beginning to get dark
and with Firetop Mountain now plainly visible in the distance,
you wonder whether to settle down and sleep out on the open plain or to press on.
A group of large boulders, two hundred metres to your left,
offer some sort of protection, but you can see nowhere else to take shelter.
If you wish to go over to the boulders.
If you would rather walk on in darkness.
You enter a derelict room that was once a torture chamber.
All manner of instruments of pain are strewn
about;
branding irons, knives, chains, thumbscrews, ropes, whips and an iron maiden,
all long since abandoned, lie covered in dust and cobwebs on the stone floor.
In the middle of the chamber you see a rack, the most feared torture instrument known.
The skeleton of an unfortunate victim is still tied to the rack;
the skeleton's jaw hangs open, as though screaming in agony.
On closer inspection you notice a gold ring on one of the fingers of the skeleton.
If you wish to take this ring.
If you would rather leave the torture chamber and carry on up the tunnel.
Not waiting to see whether the CHAOS WARRIOR will rise again,
you leave the room, slamming the door behind you,
and turn right up the tunnel.
The tooth bounces up off the floor and breaks in two;
a massive stone humanoid rises up out of the ground between you and the Air Elemental.
It is an Earth Elemental that you have summoned.
A great battle ensues as the Earth Elemental, its head down,
slowly pushes back the raging whirlwind until its evil forces are spent.
Quiet suddenly returns to the hall as the wind drops.
The Air Elemental is defeated and the Earth Elemental shrinks back into the tooth on the floor.
Zagor looks surprised, then frowns while he concentrates on his next summoning.
A fountain of water suddenly spurts out from the base of the steps and takes on the shape of a watery giant.
Like a tidal wave it streams down the hall to engulf you.
You need to cast another gold tooth on the floor to halt the Water Elemental.
If you know which one to use.
If you do not have the right tooth to counter the Water Elemental.
You make a bed out of ivy tendrils, covered with an old sack.
After eating some bread and cheese, you close the trapdoor and settle down to sleep.
In the pitch-black darkness you can hear scratching sounds
as the insects come out of hiding, but soon you are fast asleep.
In the morning, you wake to the sound of footsteps crossing the floor above you.
You grope slowly for your sword, trying not to make a sound.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
You snatch up your blanket and wrap it round yourself and the FIRE SPRITE.
An eerie sound comes from under the blanket,
as though the FIRE SPRITE were gasping for air.
Suddenly the blanket goes limp and drops to the ground in a smouldering heap;
the FIRE SPRITE has been banished back to the Plane of Fire.
After bandaging your wounds, you spend a painful and uncomfortable night, hardly able to sleep at all.
At crack of dawn you set off determinedly towards Firetop Mountain which,
in the morning light, appears to rise menacingly out of the plain.
With luck, you estimate that you will reach it by midday.
Continue.
As soon as the ear-ring is hanging from your ear,
it starts to move of its own accord.
The metal earwig
frees itself from the clasp and wriggles into your ear.
Its many legs are as sharp as needles, causing you sudden pain.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
The door opens into a small antechamber,
the main feature of which is an incredibly ornate door in the far
wall.
A huge letter 'Z' stands in relief on the door, which is embossed with gold leaf.
Guarding the door
is a brutal-looking beast,
its outstretched arms resting on the handle of a large, spiked club.
The beast has leather crossbelts looped across
its hairy torso and sports two spiked shoulder-pads.
While its head is wolf-like, it also has horns and is far more gruesome.
Will you try to bluff your way past the guard.
or waste no time but attack ?
The Pitmaster raises his arms and points his fingers towards you
as you run to attack him; in a cruel voice, he says, 'Time to die!'
Wisps of smoke seem to dance on his fingertips as ten tiny red darts
that you thought were his nails fly straight towards you.
They strike you with devastating force.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
You lower yourself over the edge of the shaft, hanging on to the iron spike.
Your feet do not touch solid
ground, so you take a deep breath,
let go of the iron spike and drop down into the dark depths below.
You
land heavily on the stone floor, a few metres below, and twist your ankle badly.
If you are carrying a lantern.
If you do not have a lantern.
You walk back to the path with Moose,
deep in discussion about Zagor.
'Mission accomplished anyway,'
Moose says cheerfully.
'At least Zagor doesn't know you're coming.'
Eventually you shake hands and say goodbye.
Moose sets off on the return journey to Anvil,
while you follow the path in the opposite direction.
Continue.
The spear thumps into your back and bowls you over.
In seconds the Lizard Men are upon you,
'Keep this intruder alive for another hour in case Zagor asks for a new arm or something,'
one of the Lizard Men growls in a deep, gurgling voice.
You are carried off in chains and thrown into a dark cell.
Less than thirty minutes later, a white-robed man enters the cell holding a long, sharp knife.
He has come to take a part of your body for Zagor.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The axe thuds into the back of Fyll,
who topples over into the river, dead even before he hits the water.
The boat sails on, her crew silenced by the unexpected loss of one of their number.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
You take the dragons' teeth out of your pocket just before the Air Elemental is upon you.
You must activate one immediately!
If you know the magic word that releases the magic in these teeth, you may say it now.
Will you shout 'Zabaron!'
or 'Cachondol' ?
Your worst suspicions are confirmed:
the tunnel is blocked by a solid iron portcullis which you cannot possibly move.
Suddenly the floor beneath you gives way and you fall a few metres on to a stone floor, landing painfully.
You find yourself in a small, dimly lit room,
which is bare except for a straw-covered wooden bed and an iron bucket.
There is a wooden door in one wall and a small, barred window.
Through the bars you observe the smiling face of the GOBLIN!
You are trapped in his cell.
You stand up and go across to the door;
peering through, you see that the GOBLIN is standing in his torture chamber;
you hadn't spotted this door when you first entered — it was tucked away in a dark corner.
The GOBLIN lopes over to the rack and gleefully starts to get it ready for you.
Then it starts to sing, an awful, repetitive chant,
gurgled out of key by a sadistic little creature from whom you still hope to escape.
But how ? You think hard.
Will your escape plan make use of:
The bucket ?
A Gold Piece with the letter 'Z' stamped on it ?
A silver key ?
An iron key ?
The boy's face lights up when you give him the wooden brick.
He jumps up and runs off, returning in a few minutes
with a rather tubby old man who is chewing on a chicken leg:
he is wearing a white apron and seems to be a jolly old soul.
'Shop's closed this afternoon,' he says with a smile,
'but seeing as you gave a present to Deep Sea Junior here,
I don't mind opening up specially for you.'
He opens the door and you follow him into the rather dingy shop;
obviously many of the objects have stood here for years, as they are thickly coated with dust.
There's a stuffed bear, some juggling clubs, hoops, large vases,
shields, lanterns, boxes, carvings, statues, paintings, bottles,
urns, jars, books, maps, clocks, wigs, games, boots and hanks and hanks of different-coloured rope.
'Excuse the mess,' says Deep Sea,
'I must get around to clearing the place up one day.
But people usually find what they are after in Deep Sea's Store, that they do.
The King of String, they call me!
Now, how much have you got to spend and what do you want ?'
You open Yaztromo's pouch and empty the contents on to the counter top.
You count out 15 Gold Pieces, and you decide to keep back five and spend ten.
You ask what might be useful for dungeon exploration and Deep Sea replies,
'Here's my list of equipment for that kind of foolhardiness.
Everything costs 2 Gold Pieces.
Choose what you like.'
He shows you a slate on which the following items are listed in chalk:
Lantern
Rope
Hammer and Iron Spikes
Garlic
Mirror
Axe
Water Bottle
Magnifying Glass
Quill, Ink and Paper
Silver Dagger
Leather Gloves
Healing Balm
You choose five items and hand over 10 Gold Pieces to Deep Sea.
He thanks you for your custom and you leave the store with directions on how to find Zoot Zimmer.
Continue.
On seeing your blood flow, the CHAOS BEAST MAN froths at the mouth;
its body trembles and suddenly starts to expand, bursting its leather crossbelts.
It grows another metre in height and its head expands grotesquely:
its jaw extends and two tusks sprout forth.
You must continue your fight against the CHAOS BEAST MAN.
Continue.
The door opens into a dingy cell.
Two rats scurry across the dirty, straw-covered floor as you enter.
On the far wall you see a thin man wearing red trousers;
he is sitting on the floor and his hands are chained to the wall;
a bandage covers his eyes.
The man panics as he hears your footsteps.
He presses himself against the wall and cries,
'No! No more pain! No more pain!'
You think you recognise his voice and try to think of his name.
Is it Zoot Zimmer ? or
Fergus Finn ?
The door opens into a short corridor which ends,
a few metres ahead, at another wooden door.
You listen but hear nothing.
You try the handle and it turns, and you walk into a room which is richly decorated.
The floor is of polished marble and the walls are painted white,
although: grown dull and faded over the years.
There are four paler square patches, one on each wall,
where, you guess, paintings used to hang.
There is a door in the far wall which suddenly opens,
and a tall, muscular creature with long arms enters the room.
It stops in its tracks when it sees you and starts to drool.
Its long, tusk-like teeth protrude menacingly from its bottom jaw.
Armed with a spiked club, the savage CAVE TROLL runs forward to attack.
If you attack and win.
If you want to escape though the door in the far wall.
You try to explain that Zagor has taken all the available gold and silver for a new experiment in sorcery.
I don't believe that for a second,' the TROGLODYTE sneers.
'Guards! Arrest this impostor!'
You push the TROGLODYTE out of the way and run out through the door, turning right.
The Lizard Men chase after you, their spears raised.
The first one into the tunnel hurls his spear after you as you race away.
If their aim is not good.
If their aim is good.
Smiling at the old man's audacity, you take a coin from your pocket and spin it towards him.
One sinewy hand snatches it out of the air, and he puts it in his mouth to bite down on it.
He grunts with satisfaction then screws up his eyes to examine it more closely.
'Is that the letter 'Z' I see embossed on this Gold Piece I have here between my fingers ?'
the hunchback asks slowly.
If you choose to reply that it is the letter 'Z'.
If you prefer to say that it is the letter 'N'.
You step warily into a torchlit tunnel.
In the distance you can see that the tunnel
opens out into another cavern in which there are two pits.
From where you are standing you cannot see into the pits,
but you can hear growling noises coming from one of them.
Standing in the middle of the cavern is a bald man wearing a chain-mail coat.
You notice that the nails on his hands are all filed to a sharp point and are painted red.
'Enter, stranger,' his calm voice calls out.
'You have chosen the path of the Pits.
I am the Pitmaster.
You must prove to me that you are worthy of passing through my domain,
and only by the skill of your sword shall you do so.
Fail, and you shall die.
Step forward to ready yourself for the ordeal, your test begins.'
If you want to obey the Pitmaster.
If you would rather attack him.
The Inquisitor raises his arms above his head and says in a cold voice,
'You are forbidden entry into the inner sanctum of Firetop Mountain.
By the will of my lord and master, the warlock Zagor, for you it is time to die!'
There is a blinding flash and suddenly the floor beneath you opens up and swallows you.
You scream as you fall through the black void.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The TROGLODYTE hands the Barbarian a small trophy.
It is a bust of Zagor! The Barbarian then turns to you and holds out his hand.
You give him a golden object, as you deem it unwise to refuse.
Although you are bloated, the eyeballs are still a source of nutrition.
After drinking a mug of water, you make your excuses and leave the room,
turning right into the tunnel.
The GOBLIN ducks and the dagger flies past his head.
Continue.
As the creature becomes recognizable, a shiver runs down your spine.
Cawing and screeching and gliding down on huge leathery wings
is a hideous creature with a long sinewy body
and a grotesquely over-large head.
Its bird-like feet are armed with long curved talons.
Looking like a human bat, there is no mistaking the HARPY;
it attacks the GIANT EAGLE, which is burdened by your weight.
You have a steel dagger which you throw at the HARPY but it does not have the desired effect.
If the HARPY wins the combat against the giant eagle.
If the GIANT EAGLE wins.
You find yourself in a small kitchen.
Everything is filthy: a wooden bowl is stacked high with cracked
plates of rotting food;
a pot of vile looking soup bubbles away on top of a wood-fired stove
— it smells about as appetising as the smell of rotten eggs.
There are a few jars of herbs on a rack above the stove and a jug of water stands on the floor.
You also notice a box of cutlery; sorting through it,
you find a gold spoon, which you pop into your backpack;
then you walk back into the room where the ORC and DWARF lie motionless.
Stepping over their bodies, you leave the room,
Turning right into the tunnel.
You explain to the others that the BARBARIAN had reneged on the bet.
You rummage through the BARBARIAN's furs and find a cloth pouch.
Breaking the string which tied the pouch to his belt,
you open it and find a large tooth, made of gold, inside; it has the number '27' stamped on it.
You put this in your pocket and calmly drink a mug of water to wash away the taste of eyeballs:
Although you are feeling bloated, the eyeballs are quite nutritional.
As the others start to argue over who will have the BARBARIAN's axe,
you slip cut of the room
and turn tight into the tunnel.
You run over to the door in the far wall while the creature is slithering into the room,
but the door is firmly locked.
You glance over at the creature and discover that it is not just a giant snake.
Standing upright on its huge, coiled tail,
you see the large, scaly torso of a fearsome woman,
brandishing a silver sword.
Small snakes writhe on top of her head in place of hair.
Her burning red eyes with their deadly stare slowly search the room for the intruder.
You are trapped in the GORGON's lair.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
Remembering Dan's words, you chew the mushroom as quickly as you can,
swallowing the last piece just as you feel yourself losing consciousness.
You wake up again less than a minute later, feeling perfectly normal once more.
You stand up, shake yourself and walk on.
The tunnel soon ends at a wooden door which looks as if it was boarded up many years ago.
You listen at the door but can hear nothing.
You are just on the point of turning around and walking back to the junction
when you catch sight of a bottle, tucked away in the corner of the tunnel by the wooden door.
On picking it up, you see that it is made of dark-blue glass and is stoppered.
There is a metallic object inside which rattles when you handle the bottle.
You uncork the bottle, but the metal object will not come out through the narrow neck.
If you want to break the bottle.
If you would rather put it back on the floor,
Walk back past the junction and go on down the tunnel.
As you run to attack him the Inquisitor raises his arms above his head
and says in a cold voice, 'Time to die!'
There is a blinding flash and suddenly the floor opens beneath you and swallows you up.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
As night gradually closes in, you find that walking along the path becomes increasingly difficult.
Before long you can hardly see the path at all and,
as you are still a long way from Stonebridge,
it seems pointless to go on any further in virtual darkness.
Just as you are wondering where you will find a safe place to sleep,
you hear the almost silent flapping of wings above you.
Drawing your sword, you strain your eyes towards the dark sky
and catch sight of the predatory creature that is swooping down to attack.
It is a VAMPIRE BAT and it wants to suck your blood!
Will you fight him in the darkness ?
or will you escape back the way you came ?
As you open the door, a terrible stench assails you.
The door opens into a room with a sunken floor.
Looking down, you see three bloated worms,
each four metres long, slithering over the carcass of a dead dog.
They are yellowish-white and have large, oval, suckered mouths,
with which they are blindly trying to grip the dog in order to suck out its juices.
There are several rotting, carcasses in the pit, and these are the cause of the nauseating stench.
As one of the SUCKER WORMS rolls to one side,
you notice an ornately made brass box lying on the floor of the pit.
If you want to jump down into the pit to retrieve the box.
If you would rather close the door behind you and carry on up the tunnel.
The pain from the snake bites is so great that you lower you arm momentarily.
Aware that the GORGON is about to strike with her sword,
you are unable to resist looking up at her.
Proceed.
Your sword slashes through the air in an attempt to fend off the attacking weapons.
The sharp noise of steel clashing upon steel rings through the air.
For a few moments you manage to hold your own,
but the sheer number of blades chopping at you through the air is too great.
Silence quickly returns to the room,
and the weapons pull themselves from your body and fly back to their racks.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
You open the door and walk along a narrow tunnel.
It turns briefly to the right and then to the left, where
there is a small alcove.
Walking on, you arrive at another wooden door with a carved bone handle.
Hearing no sound coming from the other side of the door, you turn the handle.
You enter a strange, pear-shaped room with a rough stone floor;
there is another door in the far wall and on one side of the room there is a pile of rubble.
You suddenly spot a small creature lying asleep on the rubble pile;
it has large ears and a long nose, and is wearing only a loincloth.
A dagger and a pouch lie by the TROGLODYTE's head.
If you want to tiptoe over to the next door.
If you prefer to sneak up to the TROGLODYTE and take its dagger and pouch.
You wake up the next morning feeling as though you have slept for a hundred years.
Still yawning, you walk back to the path
and continue southwards.
You rummage hastily through your backpack;
finding the egg, you throw it at once down the yawning chasm.
You hear the sound of it landing, some distance below, but without any magical effect.
The island has all but disappeared and
You are forced to jump.
Exhausted by your struggles in the river,
you decide that a short nap will do you good.
Some time later you awaken with a start
as you feel something long and smooth slithering over your body.
It is a poisonous snake!
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
The door leads into a tunnel which has been roughly cut into the mountain.
It widens out, until you find yourself in a large sand-covered cavern through which a river flows.
On the nearside bank of the river a few stumps of wood sticking out of the water look like the remains of a bridge.
To their left, an old cracked bell hangs from a post.
A sign is nailed to the post but it is too faded to read anything except the word 'Ferry'.
The river is fast-flowing and looks too deep and treacherous for you to try swimming across,
so you decide to ring the bell, hoping to attract a ferryman.
The bell gives out a dull clang,
and a few moments later a withered old man in a small wooden boat approaches the riverbank.
'Jump in', he says gruffly. 'Two Gold Zagors to cross, payment in advance.'
You assure that inside the mountain Zagor must enforce the use of his gold coins.
If you have two Gold Pieces with the letter 'Z' stamped on them and
Wish to pay the ferryman.
If you do not have the coins or do not wish to pay.
You sense danger. Something is not as it should be.
The old man is being too friendly, not the way grumpy
old Yaztromo behaves at all.
Suddenly you have it. His eyes are green, whereas Yaztromo's eyes are blue!
The impostor in front of you must be a DOPPELGANGER,
a ghost-like assassin sent to slay you.
You must pierce its ethereal heart with your sword before its flesh touches yours,
or you will be doomed to immaterial existence in a twilight world.
Either the DOPPELGANGER's heart is pierced by you
or it touches your flesh.
The Warrior's outstretched hands just fail to catch you as you swerve past him.
You slam the door behind you
and run up the tunnel.
By midday the sun overhead is shining brightly and it is uncomfortably hot as you walk along the dusty path.
You hear the sound of someone whistling, then in the distance you see an old man, leading a donkey.
Two large wicker baskets, piled high with mushrooms, are strapped to the donkey's back.
As you approach the man, he comes to a halt and,
standing boldly in front of his donkey with his arms folded across his chest, he says,
'I'm Dungheap Dan
the mushroom man
I'd rather be a poet
than a man who has to hoe it'
He smiles and bows, as if waiting for applause.
If you want to talk with Dan.
If you would rather ignore him and keep on walking.
You soon arrive at a junction in the tunnel.
There is another cave-in in the left-hand tunnel, some thirty metres further on.
The roof of the tunnel to your right has also caved in,
but there is a new branch in the left-hand wall just before the cave-in.
You decide to make a quick right-left turn and make you way up the new branch.
The new tunnel soon ends at a sturdy wooden door; you try the handle and it turns.
You peer round the door and see a human skeleton lying on the floor of a dust-covered room.
There is a fine-looking sword in the skeleton's hand.
If you need a sword.
Otherwise, you may either open an old box that is in one comer of the room or
Leave the room through the door in the far wall.
The GOBLIN grunts his acceptance of your proof of loyalty to Zagor,
and unbolts the cell door.
You nod your head at the GOBLIN as you calmly walk through the torture chamber.
You turn right into the tunnel.
It is late in the afternoon when Firetop Mountain at last comes into view,
its former fiery-red peak now a deathly black.
You tell Zoot to make the eagle land as close as possible
to the cave entrance which lies at the foot of the south face of the mountain.
The giant bird glides down and lands in a clearing.
From the ground, Firetop Mountain locks menacing:
the steep face in front of you looks as if it has been savaged by the claws of some gargantuan beast.
Across the clearing is the dark cave entrance that you hope will lead you to Zagor.
Few words are spoken as Zoot holds out his hand to bid you farewell.
Soon he is in the air again, turning west for Kaad.
You walk up to the cave entrance and peer into the gloom.
At the back of the cave there is a tunnel which is lit by burning torches.
The walls of the cave are dripping with water and there are stagnant pools on the floor.
The air is cold and dank.
You hear the sound of tiny feet scurrying across the floor.
You take a deep breath, enter the cave and walk on into a tunnel, soon coming to a junction.
If you want to turn left here.
If you want to turn right.
The object in your hand is the original lucky charm.
It was made by the wizard Probabus who held strange beliefs
as to what things in the universe were important and what were unimportant.
He held that luck was the all-important force,
and that some people and creatures were born with it:
he did not believe that good or bad luck happened to people as the result of random occurrences.
Probabus liked lucky people and disliked unlucky ones,
condemning them as worthless if they had not received their measure of luck.
You are a lucky person, and Probabus wants you to be rewarded for possessing that quality.
The lucky charm detects your high luck factor.
You put the lucky charm back inside the skull
and leave the room, turning left into the tunnel.
You just manage to clear the skulls and,
without stopping to look around,
you run on into the new tunnel.
Continue.
You enter a large chamber which is brightly lit by glowing domes on the walls and ceiling.
You observe two black-robed men with black skullcaps;
between them they are carrying a body towards a marble table,
where two men in white robes and white skullcaps are waiting with gleaming knives in their hands.
The Death Lords are Zagor's personal physicians.
On seeing you, one of the Death Lords raises his knife and calls out.
Two GOBLINS, armed with bows and arrows, suddenly appear from a side room.
They both take aim and fire at you.
If you are carrying a shield.
If you are not carrying a shield.
You recognise the drawing as that of a Gargoyle,
perhaps representing the Gargoyle Constellation of the northern skies.
In any case, it does not make much sense to you.
You walk around to the other side of the boulder
and see the number '92', also painted in the same white paint.
Finding nothing else of interest,
You set off again towards Firetop Mountain.
Eventually you come to a bend in the tunnel.
As you turn the corner, you hear a loud click and the floor gives way beneath you.
You fall through a trapdoor on to a bed of iron spikes, some ten metres below.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
As soon as you step among the skulls, they start to close in on you.
Their jaws start to click open and shut repeatedly,
sending an eerie snapping sound echoing round the room.
Suddenly one bites your ankle,
tearing away a lump of skin with its sharpened teeth.
Another bites your other leg, and the others all try to do likewise.
You kick out at the skulls,
sending them flying in all directions.
You pull two skulls off your calf and
Run into the tunnel ahead.
Crook slips as he is pulling on the rope to hoist the mainsail
and the rope flies out of his hand; the sail comes crashing down on the deck.
Another hail of arrows hits the boat and reduce the number of the crew remaining alive.
If any crew are left alive.
If none are left alive.
'I thought as much. You are just another servant of Zagor.
You won't get any information out of me.
Kill me if you like, but I won't utter another word,'
You try to convince Zoot that you are not his enemy,
but he remains completely silent — maybe his injuries have sent him mad.
You try to undo his chains, but he waves his arms about wildly to stop you.
You realise you cannot help him and leave the room,
to walk further up the tunnel.
Without any golden teeth, you are defenceless against the raging wind which envelops you.
You are sucked up into the air and thrown against one of the columns.
Your head slams against the marble and
You lose consciousness.
Your fingers feel their way through the jelly at the bottom of the compartment
and come into contact with a small cylindrical canister.
You lift it out and are surprised to see that your glove is now smouldering
the jelly must have been acidic, you deduce, and it was fortunate that you were wearing gloves.
You see that the canister is made of iron and that the lid will unscrew.
You decide to unscrew the top slowly; as you do so, green smoke starts to creep out.
If you want to throw the canister back through the hole in the wall.
If you would rather continue unscrewing the top.
The TROGLODYTE hands you a small trophy:
it is a bronze bust of Zagor! You pretend to be grateful.
Although you are bloated and revolted at having to eat all those eyeballs,
they are still a source of nutrition.
You turn to the Barbarian and remind him of the bet.
He grunts and slaps a cloth purse into your hand.
You open it and find in it a large tooth made of gold which you take with you.
It has the number '27' stamped on it.
After drinking a mug, of water, you make your excuses and leave the room,
Turning right into the tunnel.
You leave the ruined hut and walk over to some rocks,
hoping to find a safe place in which to sleep.
To reach the rocks, you have to walk through a patch of plants that are red in colour,
the same fiery red that made Firetop Mountain famous.
On brushing the plants' long leaves with your leg,
you become aware of a very sweet smell in the air.
You immediately feel relaxed and very tired ... so tired,
in fact, that you cannot keep your eyes open a moment longer.
You topple to the ground in the middle of the Sleeping Grass,
and you fall into a deep sleep full of vivid dreams.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
The red-eyed Vampire shrieks at the sight of the garlic and backs against the wall,
hissing with fear and hatred.
With the garlic held out in front of you,
you step slowly into the room and pick up the small box,
then you walk backwards out of the room and slam the door behind you.
Inside the box you find a quill and an ink bottle full of blood!
You decide to abandon your find and walk on up the tunnel.
You soon arrive at the outskirts of the town,
and all about you you sense an atmosphere of despair.
The occasional person you meet looks either ill or scared,
and there is a slight whiff of decay in the air.
A cart track runs from the tributary to the town pates,
and you see an old man walking along it towards you.
He is dressed in long, flowing, scarlet robes and his hair and beard are long and white.
From twenty metres away he calls out to you, saying,
'Welcome stranger. I am Yaztromo, the wizard you are seeking, I believe.'
On reaching you, he puts out his hand in greeting.
His face is suddenly lit up by the sun as the cloud passes by, and his green eyes sparkle.
If you wish to shake his hand.
If you prefer not to shake his hand.
The creature suddenly leaps on top of you, scratching and biting viciously.
You manage to shake it off and are about to strike with your sword
when suddenly you remember that the Metallix cannot be harmed by any weapons made of metal.
You must use the rocks and stones scattered around on the floor of the pit to defeat it.
Will you be lucky with your sword.
Will you be lucky with the rocks.
The GOBLIN hauls on the lever, and a metal plate comes crashing down
from the ceiling to block the corridor between you and the GOBLIN.
No amount of pushing can move this barrier and it is far too heavy to lift.
You have no option now but to go back down the corridor and
Turn right into the tunnel.
The spear finds its mark, thumping into the chest of the advancing OGRE,
whose face betrays a bewildered look as the large beast sways back and forth, before toppling to the ground.
When you have satisfied yourself that the OGRE is dead, you begin a search of its body.
A leather pouch on its belt contains a silver key and a lump of cheese.
You decide to eat the cheese and keep the silver key.
You wrench the spear free, thinking that it may prove useful later on,
and set off once more for Firetop Mountain.
The tooth bounces up off the floor and breaks in two.
A jet of air shoots up from the floor where the tooth
hit and starts to spin faster and faster.
It increases in size until it develops into the raging whirlwind that is an Air Elemental.
As the torrent of water roars down the hall, it is halted by the invisible hand of the Air Elemental.
The wall of water climbs up to the ceiling as it battles to push past the raging cyclone that blocks its path.
But the Air Elemental is stronger and pushes the wall of water back down the hall until it subsides into a harmless pool.
The Water Elemental is defeated, and the Air Elemental shrinks back into the tooth on the floor Zagor, now angry, curses and shouts, his good arm gesticulating madly in the air as he summons yet another Elemental of Chaos.
The ground in front of the steps suddenly erupts as boulders,
marble and earth rise up and fuse together into a gargantuan stone humanoid — an Earth Elemental.
Another dragon's tooth is needed to defeat it.
If you have one and know how to use it.
If you do not have the tooth that can defeat the Earth Elemental.
A small hatch slides open in the middle of the door
and you see a pair of big eyes staring at you.
'What's the password ?' a voice demands.
Will you answer:
Zagor ?
Arrow ?
Chaos ?
The axe sails over the boat, missing all on board.
The crew jeer at the ORC, shaking their fists angrily.
Soon the ORC is left far behind as you speed on through the green landscape.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
If you are at present without a sword, you may take the GOBLIN's.
After a search of the GOBLIN's pockets reveals nothing more than a stale crust of bread,
you decide to search the torture chamber for hidden treasure.
Nailed to the underside of a wooden chair you find a leather pouch;
it contains a bronze medal with a burning spear embossed on it.
You slip this into your pocket and walk out into the tunnel once again
and turn right.
The ring has lost its charge, and you remain completely visible.
You must think of another way to escape from the Mummies.
Continue.
The FIRE SPRITE is invulnerable to your sword:
its blade cuts through the fiery creature,
but the flames join up again immediately,
and another burning hand grabs your leg.
Reeling around in agony,
it dawns on you that you must try to smother the evil fire with your blanket.
Proceed.
The door handle turns and you walk in on a sight to chill the blood:
a fearsome-looking warrior practising his swordplay
on a human-shaped block of wood that is suspended from the ceiling.
Splinters of wood fly in all directions
as the warrior's heavy two-handed sword crunches into the wooden dummy.
The warrior is wearing thick metal armour with spiked shoulders;
his helmet is homed and covered with demonic symbols —
there is no mistaking a CHAOS WARRIOR.
On seeing you, the Warrior raises his sword and lets out a war cry.
Do you let out a similar war cry and take him on.
Do you chicken out and close the door.
You bring your sword down hard on the Metallix's neck and,
although the blade sinks in deep,
the strange beast doesn't appear to be harmed in any way
— not a drop of blood is drawn.
You try to extricate your sword but cannot.
Laconically the Metallix raises one arm and slowly pulls your sword out of its neck.
It wields the weapon above its head and steps forward to attack.
The Metallix cannot be harmed by any weapons made of metal, a fact you suddenly recollect.
You will have to do your best by throwing rocks and stones at this adversary.
Will you be lucky with your sword.
Will you be lucky with the rocks.
The dagger thuds painfully into your left arm, catching you by surprise.
You wrench the dagger out of your arm and charge into the bushes,
brandishing your sword in one hand and the dagger in your bloodied left hand.
Fight on.
Unable to sail the boat on your own, you are left helpless in the middle of the river.
You dive off the
side of the boat, but three arrows hit you in mid-air.
Your body surfaces, to the cheering delight of the ORCs.
You are another victim whose blood has helped keep Red River's name notorious
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The guard snarls but appears to be interested in the sword.
You hold out the weapon and the guard snatches it from your hand.
The beast looks closely at the blade and even sniffs it.
Satisfied that what it has got is worth having,
it takes one of the keys on its belt and unlocks the great door.
You waste no time walking through the door.
Seeking revenge on the HUNCHBACK, you raise your sword and attack.
As a result of being hit by the withering stick, You loose the first attack.
Continue.
The GOBLIN may be stupid but it is not that stupid.
It walks over to the cell door and laughs at you.
Through the smoke you catch sight of a bamboo tube pointing at you through the bars.
You feel a sudden sting on your neck.
You have been hit by a poisoned dart from the GOBLIN's blowpipe.
The poison takes effect at once, sending you into a deep coma.
When you wake up some time later, you find your hands and feet tied to the rack;
you are doomed to a slow and painful death.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
You wake to find yourself strapped down on a marble slab.
Your head rings and your vision is blurred and distorted,
but you can hear the unmistakable sound of a knife being sharpened.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
Although it has a high ceiling, the chamber is surprisingly small;
there is nothing inside it apart from two clay pots,
standing in a domed recess in the far wall.
A burning candle separates the two pots, filling the recess with a warm glow.
You shake the stoppered pots but can hear nothing moving inside the red pot,
whereas the brown pot rattles as though a stone were rolling around inside it.
If you want to smash open the red pot.
If you would rather smash open the brown pot.
The door opens into a large room which has plainly not been cleaned in years.
There is rubbish all over the floor and everything is thick with dust.
The smell in the room is unbelievably bad: a mixture of rotten eggs and an ORC's armpit!
The room may once have been a dining room, judging by the crockery,
cutlery, pots and pans that are strewn all over the place.
There is a large table in the middle of the room,
around which five seated SKELETONS are squabbling over some rat bones they have found in a cauldron.
Your presence has not yet been detected by them.
If you want to enter the room.
If you would rather close the door, walk back to the last junction and turn right.
After sitting down on the bench, you begin to feel relaxed.
Your aches and pains are slowly soothed away by the healing properties of the enchanted bench.
With renewed energy and determination.
You set off down the tunnel.
The creature is a PLAGUE BEARER and, although it is not strong,
a single touch of its hand up on your skin will turn you too into a PLAGUE BEARER,
to live for ever in a twilight world of servitude.
If you lose even a single attack round,
you will become a PLAGUE BEARER and your adventure will be over.
If you want to attack.
If you want to go back the way you came.
The green tea has a distinctive peppermint flavour,
and a warm glow runs through your body.
It also has secret healing properties.
After drinking up your tea, you follow Zoot into a courtyard at the back of the house.
You watch him crane his neck into the sky and let out a high-pitched whistle.
Moments later you make-out a speck in the sky;
it grows bigger as it glides down effortlessly towards you.
It is a huge, beautiful eagle, its feathers magnificent shades of golden brown.
With its wings still outstretched, it lands unconcernedly in the courtyard.
Continue.
The guard snarls and kicks the Gold Pieces out of your hand.
Swinging its spiked club above its head, it lunges forward and attacks you.
Continue.
In the Wererat's pocket you find a Gold Piece with the letter 'Z' stamped on it.
However, there is nothing else of use,
so you jump into the boat and row yourself across the river.
You are about half-way across when suddenly
the boat turns of its own accord and starts to float downriver
and no amount of work on the oars by you can alter its course.
The river narrows as the walls of the cavern close in.
The roof of the cavern lowers until you have to keep below the gunwale of the boat to avoid bumping it.
Thankfully, the narrow tunnel soon opens out into another large cavern;
this one is filled with giant crystals, all sparkling and glinting in the light of many torches.
The boat veers to the left and slides up on to a stony bank.
You climb out and stand facing two tunnels.
The word 'PITS' is chiselled into the stone above the left-hand tunnel,
and the word 'PUZZLES' is chiselled above the right-hand one.
Will you now:
Examine the giant crystals ?
Enter the left-hand tunnel ?
Enter the right-hand tunnel ?
Gasping for breath, you reach down and pull out the dagger.
Forcing it under the warrior's breastplate, you
plunge it into his chest,
hoping that a pierced heart may halt the undead assassin.
Your desperate action is rewarded with success.
Once again, the CHAOS WARRIOR falls to the floor.
Not waiting to see him rise again, you leave the room, slamming the door behind you,
and turn right into the tunnel.
The folded paper is damp with sweat and an unsavoury smell wafts up from it.
Holding it gingerly by the corners, you shake out the folds.
A pair of blood-red eyes are drawn on the paper.
Suddenly they burst into flame and your hands start to tremble uncontrollably.
You have been cursed!
You drop the paper to the ground and the trembling stops.
Moose apologizes at great length, blaming himself for your misfortune.
'Forget it,' you say reassuringly.
'At least Zagor doesn't know I'm coming.'
You walk back to the path together and there bid farewell once more;
then you set off east alone.
You run through the archway into a circular room with a marble floor.
At the back of the room, marble steps lead up to another archway,
above which is a single stone with the letter 'Z' embossed on it in gold.
But between you and the steps stand the four Death Lords,
huddled together on a gold crescent inlaid in the marble floor;
they are holding small metal spheres above their heads,
as though they are about to throw them at you.
They look at you coldly and start to murmur an incantation.
The floor starts to tremble as their voices grow louder.
Suddenly the floor all round you opens up
and you are left teetering on the edge of a deep chasm.
Will you try to jump across this chasm ?
or use a magic item to halt the earthquake ?
As you draw closer to Firetop Mountain,
you are amazed at the sight of the once red peak, now coloured a deathly black.
When you reach the foot of the mountain at fast,
you can see how menacing it looks:
the steep face looks as if it has been savaged by the claws of some gargantuan beast.
You soon find the dark cave entrance that you hope will take you to Zagor.
You peer into the gloom and see that the walls are dripping with water
which has formed into pools on the stone floor.
At the back of the cave is a tunnel, lit by burning torches.
The air here is cold and dank and you can hear the sound of tiny feet scurrying across the floor.
Taking a last deep breath of fresh air,
you step into the cave and walk on into a tunnel, almost at once coming to a junction.
If you want to turn left.
If you prefer to turn right.
The door opens into a room which appears to have been long forgotten:
the floor is thick with dust and debris, and there are cobwebs everywhere.
The only light comes through the open door.
At the far end of the room sit two skeletons,
slumped in old oak chairs opposite each other
and with a table between them.
Both are wearing armour and appear to have been playing
some kind of board game
before meeting sudden death years ago.
You notice that the game pieces are all miniature dragons,
half of them coloured silver and half coloured gold.
If you want to inspect the game more closely.
If you would rather close the door and walk on up the tunnel.
The Mindbender watches as you hold the garlic out in front of you, then bursts out laughing.
'I'm not one of the Undead,' he says mockingly, 'I am very much alive.
But you won't be for much longer.
The only thing you are good for is as spare parts in our body pool.'
A mere flick of his fingers freezes your limbs.
You are carried off by ORC Guards to a busy room where Zagor's surgeons set to work on you.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
On seeing you barge into the room,
the ORC immediately kicks over the table,
sending its stew bowl flying.
Grabbing its sword, the ORC leaps at you
while the DWARF runs into the back room.
You managed to kill the ORC and you take its sword;
however, you hardly have time to catch your breath
before the DWARF runs back into the room, swinging a warhammer.
If you want to take on the DWARF.
If you would rather escape down the tunnel.
The WITCH walks slowly round the glass table and points her crooked right index finger at you.
A jagged beam of white light shoots out from it and hits you on the forehead.
You are stunned momentarily and find you cannot move;
you can only watch helplessly as she picks up another silver headband
from the table and places it round your forehead.
In seconds your memory is gone, never to return.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
You hurriedly take the mirror out of your backpack and,
with eyes light shut, hold it out in front of you,
hoping to reflect the GORGON's deadly gaze back at her.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
Alas, you have an inferior mind.
Your observational powers are useless.
All you are good for is to supply spare parts in our body pool,' he says nonchalantly.
You draw your sward and make to strike at him
but find yourself unable to move:
a mere flick of the Mindbender's Angers freezes your limbs.
Later you are carried off by ORC Guards to a busy room
where Zagor's surgeons set to work on you.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The spear flies past your head and clatters to the floor.
You run on without stopping until the Lizard Men are well out of sight.
Continue.
An arrow strikes you in the throat with deadly accuracy and you topple to the ground.
Your last vision is of six heads in a circle above you, looking down with smiling faces.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
A brisk three-hour march brings you to the outskirts of Stonebridge.
You walk into the village and are met by two Dwarfs.
News travels fast in Allansia, for one of them says, Welcome, stranger.
We have been expecting you.' Seeing your puzzled look, he continues:
'A messenger bird brought us the news from Anvil and we wish to help you so that you can meet Yaztromo.
It is your good fortune that you came to visit us, because
Yaztromo is not at his tower at present.
He has gone to the town of Kaad, which is far to the west of Stonebridge, down the Red River.
Plague has broken out there and he has gone to help, but we are not sure if this is of Zagor's doing.
We have a fast sailing boat that can get you there in half a day; it is manned and ready to sail immediately.
Come now, follow us, we have no time to lose.'
You follow the two Dwarfs through the village to the banks of the Red River,
where a strange-looking sailing vessel is moored:
it is about ten metres long and is narrow, but with canvassed racks sticking out on both sides.
A five-metre pole pokes threateningly out of the bow, doubtless a ramming weapon.
The mast is tall and curved, somewhat resembling an enlarged long-bow.
The massive sails flap noisily in the wind, waiting for someone to harness their power.
Nine men stand in line before the boat, their faces brown and. lined, as all seasoned sailors' faces are.
The Dwarf points to the men and says, 'These men are good friends of the Dwarfs of Stonebridge.
They will take you to Kaad.' Pointing at the shortest man, who is standing at the head of the line, he continues.
'This is Sach, he's in charge.
The helmsman's name is Lorrie.
The others are Fyll, Eeyun, Stooy, Crook, Maak, Neel and Ndroo,'
You greet the crew and climb aboard.
The vessel feels very unstable, being so narrow, and starts to rock
from side to side.
'We're out of here!' shouts Lorrie, jumping aboard.
The two Dwarfs untie the boat as the rest of the crew also jump on board.
They rush about their various tasks: pulling on ropes, balancing the
boat, trimming the huge sails.
The boat pulls away immediately, ploughing through the water at an alarming rate.
Ahead, you notice a rowing boat lying upside-down and bobbing along downstream.
An ORC is clinging to the upturned hull.
If you want to tell Lorrie to slow the boat in order to pick up the ORC.
If you would rather sail on.
There is nothing you can do to escape the circle of Mummies,
so you will have to fight them with your sword.
You fight the six Mummies one at a time.
Somehow you manage to win.
The big bird glides down to earth and lands on top
of a large boulder that stands alone on the open plain.
Meanwhile the flying creature passes by overhead,
seemingly not interested in what is happening on the ground.
After five minutes you judge it safe to continue and
Recommence your fight to Firetop Mountain.
You ignore the old man's plea and walk on towards Kaad,
leaving him spluttering and cursing behind you.
Continue.
The poisonous smoke is lethal.
You sink to your knees and soon lose consciousness.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
After the fight you are exhausted, so you sit down on the ground for a few moments to recover.
A leather pouch on the OGRE's belt contains a silver key and a lump of cheese.
You decide to eat the cheese and keep the silver key.
You also decide to take the OGRE's spear;
you haul yourself to your feet
and set off again for Firetop Mountain.
The door opens into another corridor; this, you see,
leads into a long, marble-floored hallway
which is roughly twice the width of the corridor
and is lined with what appear to be statues, three on either side.
But in fact the statues are all Mummies,
their shrivelled bodies wrapped in stained hessian.
You enter the hallway on tiptoe, looking around as you go;
at the far end of the hallway there is a door.
A clock suddenly chimes and the Mummies all move
and begin to climb down from their columns.
Not one of them is aware of your presence... yet.
If you have a Ring of Invisibility.
If you do not have a Ring of Invisibility.
You try to dive to one side, out of the way of the net, but your reactions are too slow.
The large net pins you to the ground and, before you can untangle yourself,
the point of a blade is being pressed against your throat
and a heavy boot is pressing your head to the floor.
Out of the corner of your eye you see a GOBLIN standing over you with an evil grin on its face.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The portcullis bars your entry to another tunnel; it is too heavy to lift.
On the wall on the other side of the portcullis there are two levers, just out of reach.
You walk on to the place where the tunnel ends and poke around in the rubble.
Here you find a small metal canister which contains
a large bronze tooth with the number '280' stamped on it.
You put the tooth in your pocket
and walk back down the tunnel.
The old man stares at the coin for a few seconds longer,
then looks up and says,
'I don't know of anybody with the initial 'N' who coins his own Gold Pieces.
But who am I to complain ? A Gold Piece is a Gold Piece.
Thanks a lot, stranger.
I wish you luck. Goodbye. The old man walks away;
but he was a shaman, and wishing you good luck will bring you luck.
For a moment you watch him walking slowly down the track,
before you turn towards Kaan.
The Warrior's outstretched hands manage to clutch the collar of your tunic.
You feel his vice-like grip on
your throat as the undead Warrior blindly tries to strangle you.
As you struggle to free yourself, you are
forced to drop your sword.
If you have a dagger in your boot.
If you do not have one.
Casually looking up:into the sky, you see a white dove flying towards the boat.
Before it can land, however, a large, jet-black, predatory bird swoops down on the dove,
clutching it in its long, sharp talons.
The dove flutters its wings in resistance but is carried off
by the sleek Blood Hawk to some distant nest to be fed to its young.
Continue.
The old man becomes angry and steps out of the boat.
'You'll pay for wasting my time!' he says in a voice
that sounds almost animal.
He starts to expand in size: a bulging torso replaces his hollow chest,
his jaw elongates and his bared teeth are sharp and pointed.
Thick hair sprouts all over his body.
The old man has transformed himself into a WERERAT!
With claws outstretched he attacks.
If you fight him and win.
If you do not wish to fight him.
You don't manage to jump over all the skulls but land on top of one.
It rolls away under your foot and you
turn your ankle,
losing your balance and falling to the floor, sending skulls flying in all directions.
For an instant you are stunned,
and you open your eyes to find yourself face to face with a wall of skulls shuffling towards you,
their jaws snapping open and shut repeatedly and making an eerie clacking sound which echoes round the room.
One suddenly shoots forward and bites painfully into your left ear.
Twenty more skulls follow suit, each trying to find an exposed area of flesh to nip.
If you are still alive,
you jump up and run into the new tunnel.
You tell the Inquisitor that you are ready.
'Good,' he replies. 'There are two puzzles that you have to solve.'
He holds out his arms in front of him
and suddenly a sword appears in his right hand and a dagger appears in his left hand.
'The sword and dagger that you see are together worth 300 Copper Pieces.
The sword is worth 200 Copper Pieces more than the dagger.
How much is the dagger worth ?'
If you do know the answer.
If you do not know the answer.
The GORGON casts her gaze down at you and your eyes meet.
You are caught by her deadly stare and transfixed by it.
Terrible pain creeps through your limbs as they start to stiffen and turn to stone.
A fourth statue will soon adorn the GORGON's lair.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
Sitting down on the smooth, polished chair, you immediately feel very relaxed and drowsy.
You cannot stop yourself from falling into a long, deep sleep.
You eventually wake up — after how long you don't know — but when you try to stand up you find you cannot move.
You start to panic and try frantically to move, but you find it's impossible.
You have fallen victim to the Sap Chair.
In time you will shrink to a height of no more than ten centimetres and will form part of the ornate detail on the chair.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
Just in time, you dive sideways out of the way of the falling cage.
It crashes to the floor with a loud clang.
The cage is locked in place and now you cannot move it and reach the panel.
You decide there is nothing else for you to do here,
so you leave the room and walk down the tunnel
and on past the last junction.
Hours later, you arrive at a jetty on the riverbank where a tributary runs into the Red River,
and, judging by the number of people milling around, you deduce that you cannot be too far from Kaad.
The people are dressed in tattered clothing.
They all look downcast with their chins on their chests,
and hardly any of them are talking.
Most are carrying small bundles and sacks.
You decide to approach one of them, a tall man with a black beard, and ask him what is happening.
He tells you solemnly that he is waiting, for a boat to take him upriver to Silverton,
in order to escape the plague which is devastating Kaad.
You ask him if he knows the whereabouts of Yaztromo,
and he replies that he last saw the wizard, mixing potions to give the sick people, in the town square.
The man tells you to follow the narrow tributary north for a short distance, and you will come to Kaad.
Continue.
'We already have a referee,' says the TROGLODYTE with a frown.
'Who sent you ?' Unable to think of a name, you decide to make a run for it to the door.
You push the TROGLODYTE out of the way and race out of the door, turning right.
The Lizard Men immediately give chase, with their spears raised.
The first one in the tunnel hurls his spear after you as you run away.
If their aim is good.
If their aim is not so good.
You manage to grab the tail of the earwig between your forefinger and thumb
just as it is disappearing inside your ear.
The tiny needle-like legs dig into your ear as you carefully pull the earwig out.
By now it is covered with your blood
and wriggles around madly between your finger and thumb.
You have saved yourself from a gruesome death by a BRAINBITER,
one of Zagor's favourite enchanted assassins.
You crush the BRAINBITER underfoot,
Then walk to the door before you.
Before you have time to react, the rat's sharp teeth make an incision in your throat.
The cut may only be small —
but it is big enough to allow Zagor's poison to be injected into you from the rat's teeth.
Groggy from the poison,
you finally manage to tear the rat away from your throat and crush it under the heel of your boot.
Cursing the GOBLINS, you leave the cellar and
Walk back to the path to continue south.
Unknown to you, you have placed a Ring of Undead Calling on your finger.
There is a sudden blinding flash,
out of which appears a dark figure wearing a long, hooded cloak;
it walks slowly towards you, brandishing two shimmering daggers.
You catch a glimpse of the creature's face and the sight turns your stomach:
the face is drawn and lifeless with decaying skin stretched so tightly across it that it is torn and festering.
A maggot suddenly wriggles out of one of the creature's eye sockets and drops to the floor.
You have summoned a DEATH HEAD,
whose sole purpose is to burn your flesh with its white-hot knives.
If you do not have a silver dagger.
If you do have a silver dagger.
You grope around on your hands and knees and
discover that you are in a small, stone-walled chamber which you believe is empty.
You find a large hole in one of the walls,
and you deduce that this must be the entrance to another tunnel.
Seeing no sense in staying in the dark chamber,
You crawl along the new tunnel.
You throw the dragon's tooth on the floor, but nothing happens.
It is made of silver and has no Elemental
powers.
You are doomed, as Zagor's Elemental bears down on you.
Continue.
You soon arrive at a stretch of the tunnel where it curves to the right,
and you come across a short, humanoid skeleton propped up in a recess in the wall.
The skeleton is wearing leather armour which is dusty and cracked;
there are cobwebs over its face and its jaw hangs open.
It must have stood here, undisturbed, for years.
You walk on round the comer and see three doors in a row along the left-hand wall.
All three doors are heavily padlocked and iron bars are bolted across them;
they do not appear to have been opened for years.
You soon come to a junction.
Looking left, you see that in a further ten metres the tunnel ends at a wall.
You turn right and come to another junction.
If you wish to turn left here.
If you prefer to keep going straight on.
The door opens into a large room with a domed ceiling.
The floor is made of polished marble on which three statues stand facing you,
each mounted on a marble plinth.
The statues are of warriors,
and they all look as though their faces were set in stone at the very moment of a horrible death.
Their open mouths and screwed-up eyes give the impression of sudden and intense pain.
A fourth plinth stands on the floor,
but with no statue mounted on it, and there is another door in the wall opposite.
As you enter the room to take a closer lock at the statues,
the door behind you slams shut; at the same time,
a wide section of one wall starts to rise up.
You can see the tail of a huge snake flick out from under the rising wall
and you hear loud hissing sounds.
Will you:
Try to open the new door ?
Try to open the door you came through ?
Get ready to fight ?
A pouch on the CAVE TROLL's belt holds 3 Copper Pieces,
some garlic, a crude metal ear-ring in the shape of an earwig,
and a piece of paper with the word 'Leg' written on it.
Perhaps the CAVE TROLL was on a mission to find Zagor a leg for his new body.
You may take any or all of the Copper Pieces,
the garlic and the piece of paper, and decide what to do with the ear-ring.
If you want to wear it.
Otherwise, you walk up to the door ahead.
One of the polished steel spheres slices into your forearm and lodges there.
Strangely, no blood appears but, when you try to pull the missile out,
you find it impossible to do so.
Your vision begins to blur and seconds later you pass out.
When you reawaken, you find yourself on a marble table
and two Death Lords are hovering above you wielding sharp knives.
In less than an hour Zagor will have a new arm — yours!
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
You open your mouth to speak, but Dan immediately interrupts with another rhyme.
'Take a mushroom, I won't tell;
When you're ill, it will make you well'.
You realise that talking to Dan would be a waste of time;
you accept his gift gratefully, putting the mushroom in your backpack.
Dan then sets off with his donkey towards Anvil, leaving you to
Continue east.
'Do not try to trick me by pretending to be friendly.
For a start my name is not Fergus Finn.
I was going to tell you my secrets, but I've changed my mind.
Kill me if you like, but you won't get another word out of me,' the man declares confidently.
You try an assortment of other names and do your best to convince the man that he can trust you,
but you get no response: he remains completely silent.
You even try to free him from his chains,
but he waves his arms about frantically, trying to keep you away.
You decide that the poor man has gone mad and decide to leave the room
and walk further up the tunnel.
Smashing your lantern with the butt of your sword,
you twirl it round your head, hoping to spray the advancing Mummies with burning oil.
A number of Mummies you manage to set on fire,
their bone-dry bandages igniting like tinder.
The remaining Mummies you must fight with your sword.
You fight them one at a time.
You know you will have a few minutes to escape before they come back to life.
Running towards the door at the end of the hallway,
You make your exit.
While you are walking across the dusty floor, the door swings shut behind you.
The moment the door closes, some of the broken weapons start to move of their own accord:
the swords rise from their rack and the spears move out of the corner.
You find yourself surrounded by a circle of hovering weapons.
Will you:
Make a run for the door ?
Fight the weapons ?
Drop your own sword ?
You scan through a couple of chapters and learn that
lizard's blood is the main ingredient in many potions of evil magic.
'Disease', 'Create Zombie', Blood Eye' and 'Drain Life'
are just a few of the potions that require Vampire's blood.
You memorise the information and walk through the cavern and
Into the tunnel at the far end.
You tell the Pitmaster that you are ready to fight.
'Good,' he replies. There are two fights that you must
win.'
He leads you over to the smaller of the two pits.
Looking down, you see a bloated creature three metres tall
and almost two wide; it looks a little like a giant toad.
It has green horned skin on its back and a soft,
yellowish underbelly, covered with red spots.
Its head is large and its main feature is a wide mouth with two rows of long,
spiked teeth, while two bulbous red eyes protrude above slimy nostrils.
It has powerful arms and sharp-clawed hands the size of dragon's feet.
Drool runs down its bottom jaw as it catches sight of you,
and the creature starts to work itself into a fighting frenzy.
You breathe in deeply before jumping into the pit to face the CHAOS SLIME BEAST.
If the Slime Beast's acidic drool that it spits at you touches your flesh.
If you manage to win.
With your help the skeleton crew manage to hoist the sails
and the boat is quickly under way, leaving the war canoes far behind.
'Lean out, you lot, and hike! No more stops until Kaad,' snarls Lorrie, pulling hard at the helm.
You ignore him, lost in the thought that you were responsible for the death of so many of the crew,
and you sit huddled in a cloud of despondency.
Nobody speaks for an hour.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
You pour water over your burning skin.
The water quickly neutralises the acid and the burning stops.
The wounded Sucker Worm is writhing around and flops off the box on to the floor.
Seizing your opportunity,
you grab the box and scramble up out of the pit.
Back in the tunnel, you shake the box but no sound comes
from it.
Gently you lift the lid and find that the box contains nothing other than a page from a tiny book.
You turn the box over and see that the word 'Fire' is scratched on its base.
The box is quite large and you decide to put it in your backpack and take it with you.
Now you may either read the page from the book.
or walk further up the tunnel.
As you enter the room, the woman's appearance changes
and in front of you now stands a hideous-looking, hunchbacked WITCH.
Her wiry, bent and hairy fingers end in long, dirty nails.
Her eyes are dark and hollow and her clothes are tattered rags.
With her illusion dropped she can now concentrate on other types of magic.
Continue.
The SKELETONS suddenly break off their argument
and turn to face the common foe — you!
Standing in a line, they attack you one at a time.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
The rat scurries off with half of the dragon's tooth in its jaws,
leaving the Fire Elemental stuck to the floor, flickering harmlessly.
Seconds later, the massive Earth Elemental is upon you.
Continue.
As soon as you put the helmet on your head you get a terrible headache;
the pain increases and becomes unbearable.
Then you.take off the helmet and the pain stops.
But something awful has taken place:
you can no longer see anything in its real perspective.
The Helmet of Confusion has made everything appear distorted,
as though you were looking at a convex mirror.
All the trees and plants that surround you now look short and bulbous.
Feeling extraordinarily sad and confused,
You return to the path and head south,
trying to adjust to the new environment you are seeing.
You try to grab the tail of the earwig as it disappears inside your ear,
but you are too slow.
The pain increases as it starts to gnaw its way inside your head
with its sharp, metal teeth.
You have fallen victim to a BRAINBITER,
one of Zagor's favourite enchanted assassins.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
You explain at great length how you obtained the gold
and why you are now on a mission to slay Zagor.
'Why didn't you say so in the first place ?'
the hunchback retorts. 'You didn't ask,' you reply sarcastically.
'And now, if you don't mind, how about straightening my back ?'
'Ah, slight problem there, I'm afraid, the hunchback mutters, looking a little sheepish.
Tim not quite up to that sort of hocus-pocus.
However, since you are on your way to see Yaztromo,
I suggest you get him to straighten you out; he's good at that kind of thing.
Or maybe someone in Kaad can fix you up.
Now I must be on my way.
Sorry about the confusion, but you just can't trust anybody these days.
Cheerio and good luck!'
Hardly believing what is happening, you watch the old man shuffle off,
leaving you to walk to Kaad, burdened by a not insignificant stoop.
But the old man was a shaman, and wishing you good luck will bring you good luck.
Continue.
The door opens and you behold a lavishly furnished chamber:
the walls are covered with red and purple silk drapes and
there are large, brightly coloured cushions lying on the floor.
There is an alcove in the far wall out of which a young boy appears, carrying a bowl;
he is wearing a silver headband with a large jewel set in the centre.
He carries the bowl over to a glass table where a beautiful woman
is grinding components with a mortar and pestle.
She too is wearing a headband, but hers is made of tiny flowers.
Her gossamer-thin robes billow in the draught from the tunnel and she looks up and smiles at you.
'Come in and close the door,' she says in an alluring voice.
If you are wearing a gold ring with the words
'Seeing Is Believing' inscribed on it.
If you are not wearing this ring.
You pull your sword free from the Tracker's chest
and, looking round, see that Moose has also been victorious, despite a deep gash in his left arm.
A search of the Trackers' bodies reveals 6 Gold Pieces, each stamped with the letter 'Z'.
You agree to keep three each, and you also take two steel daggers.
Not content with emptying pockets,
Moose pulls the boots off the Trackers and gives them a shake.
A folded piece of brown-stained paper falls to the ground.
'Tm not touching that smelly thing,' laughs Moose.
If you want it, you can have it.'
If you do as Moose suggests.
If you would rather leave the paper on the ground.
You find Hobnail Street without much difficulty.
Your knock on the door of Number 36 is answered by a tall,
thin man whose ears are slightly pointed and who is wearing bright red trousers.
'Hello,' he says in a slow, calm voice.
'My name is Zoot Zimmer and you must be the person who wants to get to Firetop Mountain in a hurry.
I can see by your expression that you are wondering how I know that.
Well, I heard you talking to Yaztromo — I've got rather good hearing, you see.
I'm a Half-Elf. Please come in.'
You follow Zoot into his house, the rooms of which are decorated to resemble a forest.
All the walls have
trees, bushes, plants, small animals
and insects painted all over them from floor to ceiling and ail in incredible detail, giving a very realistic effect.
'It's the Elf in me!' laughs Zoot.
'My mother was from the Vale of Willow; she lived with me here until she died of the plague.
The decorations made her feel at home.
She never did like living in a town.'
His face suddenly loses its happiness and a deep frown takes over.
'Would you like some of my special herbal tea before we set off,' Zoot asks.
If you would like some tea to drink.
If you prefer to decline his offer and demand that you set off immediately.
At least one crossbow bolt finds its mark and sinks into your neck.
You are dead before you hit the water.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
Gasping for breath, your strength ebbs as the warrior's grip tightens.
His own strength is monumental and he lifts you off the ground by your neck.
You quickly lose consciousness and death soon follows.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The crew react by easing the sails and balancing the boat quickly
and without undue effort, their long experience making the task look easy.
The boat continues its speedy voyage downriver,
until at last it glides to a halt at a jetty on the riverbank,
where a narrow tributary from the north joins the river.
You jump off the boat and thank the crew;
as they turn the boat around to sail back upriver, you approach the people standing on the jetty.
There are quite a number milling around, most of them poor and dressed in tattered clothing.
They are carrying small bundles and sacks, and all appear sad and downcast.
You start a conversation with a tall man wearing a black beard
and learn that he is waiting for a boat to take him upriver to Silverton,
so as to escape the plague which is devastating Kaad.
You ask him if he knows the whereabouts of Yaztromo;
he replies that he last saw the wizard in the town square,
mixing potions to give to sick people.
The man tells you that if you follow the narrow tributary north for a short distance,
you will come to Kaad.
Continue.
The tunnel ends at a solid wooden door.
You try the handle and it turns.
The door opens into another small,
stone-walled room with a door in the wall opposite.
There is a trapdoor in the floor in the middle of the room,
which is empty — apart from an ornate oak chair,
carved with figures, standing in one corner.
Will you:
Open the door opposite ?
Open the trapdoor ?
Sit on the oak chair ?
You drop the third golden tooth on the floor and watch it break in two.
A jet of flame shoots up from the floor and forms into a huge, fiery humanoid: a Fire Elemental.
The Earth Elemental strides down the hall but, strangely,
the Fire Elemental does not move to defend you.
As Zagor's Elemental gets closer you start to worry;
then you notice that a rat has picked up one half of the dragon's tooth
and is on the point of running off with it.
Unless both halves are touching the ground, the Elemental cannot be fully released.
If you have a throwing dagger.
If you do not have a throwing dagger.
The Doppelganger screams, then disintegrates and drifts away like smoke on the wind.
You sheathe your sword and breathe a deep sigh of relief.
You walk quickly into town and make straight for the town square;
there you find a crowd of people huddled round a lone figure:
an old man with long white hair and a white beard and wearing scarlet robes.
Yaztromo!
You walk away from the crowd with Yaztromo, telling him of your quest and asking for his help.
'Well, as you can see, my help is needed here, so I am unable to accompany you.
You will have to face Zagor alone and,
since he is stronger now than he was ten years ago,
you will need to call upon superhuman forces to combat his extraordinary magical powers.
You must find the Elementals!
Only the Elementals can save you from certain death when facing Zagor.
Their material form is that of dragons' teeth cast in gold, each stamped with a number.
Each tooth has a special power, but you must learn the magic word that releases their elemental powers.
Then it will simply be a matter of throwing the teeth on the floor in order to activate them.
Curiously enough, you will find the dragons' teeth inside the labyrinths of Firetop Mountain.
It is part of the price for invoking the Raise Dead spell that its user must offer the chance of his own demise.
But, as you would expect, Zagor has hidden the dragons' teeth carefully.
You'll need at least two — but the more the merrier, as they say. Now, I must return to my patients.'
Yaztromo gives you a hearty slap on the back then returns to the sick people of Kaad.
He stops for a moment, looks back at you and says, 'Go and see Zoot Zimmer in Hobnail Street.
He's got a giant eagle that could fly you to Firetop Mountain.
And it might be worth paying a visit to Deep Sea Dowland's store in Pudding Street.
He's got some useful items in there.
Here's some gold to spend.'
Yaztromo hurls a leather pouch in your direction,
then turns to his ailing towns-folk without waiting for you to thank him.
You set off without further delay, heading for Pudding Street.
You find Deep Sea's store at the end of a row of shops.
Sitting outside the shop is a small boy who is playing with some wooden bricks.
If you want to talk to the boy.
If you would rather enter the store without delay.
You examine the breastplate carefully,
ever mindful of traps and evil magic, but it looks perfectly normal so you put it on.
It is extremely well crafted and will help to protect you.
Seeing nothing else of interest,
You open the door in the far wall.
You soon come upon a man who is lying, stripped to the waist and staked out on the ground.
Somebody has spread honey over his chest and face
and he is being stung by hundreds of red ants that are crawling all over him.
You hasten to cut him free, then roll him in the dirt to get the ants off him.
Although he is in great pain from the angry red bite marks that cover his body, he is not in mortal danger.
'Bandits ambushed me while I was riding along the path.
Before taking off with my horse, they decided to make me pay for killing their leader in the fight.
Thanks to you, their plan has failed.
Here, take this as a reward, stranger: it's a Ring of Invisibility.
I suppose I should have used it to hide from the bandits, but it is a very old ring and has only one more charge left.
Off you go now. Don't worry about me.
As soon as my horse is left alone for even a second by those infernal bandits, he'll come galloping back to me.'
After making sure the man is fit enough to be left on his own,
You head south along the path.
The OGRE's throw is accurate; the spear thuds into your back,
sending you sprawling to the ground in a cloud of dust.
The OGRE reaches you quickly and wastes no time in finishing you off,
his mission for Zagor completed.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The object in your hand is the original lucky charm.
It was made by the wizard Probabus who held strange ideas
as to what things in the universe were important.
He believed that luck was the ail-important force,
and that some people and creatures were born with it;
he did not believe that people were lucky or unlucky as the result of random occurrences.
Probabus liked lucky people and disliked unlucky ones,
considering as worthless anyone who did not possess plenty of good luck.
You are down on your luck.
The lucky charm detects your want of good luck and punishes you.
If you are still alive, you throw the lucky charm to the floor,
Leave the room and turn left into the tunnel.
The noise of breaking glass echoes down the tunnel,
and you grip your sword in case the noise attracts the attention of someone you do not want to meet.
On the floor you find a small brass egg.
You put it in your pocket,
then walk back past the junction and
March on down the tunnel.
The message reads: 'Demon's breath, slow death:
Unless you eat some ORC fleas, you will die by this curse! Zagor'.
A short blast of warm, stinking air envelops you;
this is demon's breath you have inhaled, and it will slowly poison you.
If you fail to eat any ORC fleas you will die.
You waste no time entering the tunnel.
You try to dive to one side, out of the way of the falling cage,
but your reactions are too slow.
The cage crushes down on the floor with a loud clang, trapping you inside.
You try to lift the cage, but it is firmly locked in place.
It won't be long before you are discovered by an ORC guard
and are taken in chains to Zagor's surgeons.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The GOBLIN is not won over by your ruse and hurls a chair at your cell door.
You withdraw your arm and step back.
A bamboo pipe suddenly appears through the bars
and you feel an immediate sharp pain in your neck:
you have been hit by a poisoned dart from the GOBLIN's blowpipe.
The poison works instantly.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
You leave the path and wander into the undergrowth;
eventually you come across the ruin of a wooden hut which looks as if it was burnt down years ago.
Ivy covers what's left of the walls and floor, and the people who once lived here have long since moved on.
You decide to poke around the floor of the hut with your sword.
After several stabs into the ivy, you hear a dull 'clunk' as your sword makes contact with something metallic.
You cut away the ivy and uncover an iron ring which is attached to a trapdoor.
Lifting it up makes a loud creaking noise,
and as you peer into the gloom you hear insects and small creatures fluttering and scurrying below.
On the top step of the stairs leading down you see a candle and a flint.
You soon have the candle lit and climb down into the darkness.
You find yourself standing in a small cellar with just enough headroom to stand up in.
Cobwebs are everywhere.
There are two clay pots on a shelf and a wooden box lies under a rickety old table.
Despite the profusion of insect life and small rodents,
it seems to be a safe enough place in which to spend the night.
Will you:
Go to sleep ?
Examine the clay pots ?
Examine the wooden box ?
Find somewhere else to sleep ?
The fearsome beast finally slumps to the floor.
You are exhausted and covered in sweat after such a gruelling battle.
You quickly take the keyring from the guard's belt; there are three keys on it.
You have to decide now which key to try in the door.
Will you:
Try the iron key ?
Try the bronze key ?
Try the brass key ?
With trembling hands you take the whistle out of your backpack
and blow a few high-pitched notes on it,
hoping that some unknown magic will halt the GORGON.
But the whistle is not magical and the GORGON slithers ever closer towards you.
You are suddenly transfixed by fear and
stare blankly at the monster towering above you.
The four spheres fly past you, lodging in the wall behind you.
As each sphere hits the wall, one of the Death Lords vaporizes,
leaving only his robes behind in a crumpled heap on the floor.
Seeing the letter 'Z' above the archway at the top of the steps spurs you into action.
You bound up the steps and run through the archway;
you now find yourself in a palatial hall a row of columns runs its length
and at the end there are more steps, leading up to a plinth.
Seated calmly there on an ornate throne is the most evil-looking man you have ever seen in your life.
The skin on his face is drawn taut across his skull and is held by stitches down both sides of his face.
His robes are a combination of purple, black and white and a large red 'Z' is emblazoned across his chest.
You are face to face with Zagor himself!
'Welcome, fool,' he says slowly and menacingly.
I have been expecting you, although I didn't think you would get this far.
But now your reward is a slow and painful death!
It was considerate of you to bring me the last limb I need to rebuild my body.
Your left arm looks strong — I'll take it!'
He thrusts his own left arm out of his robes, and you see that it is a skeletal stump.
His right arm is also visible and you can see stitches
all round his wrist where an outsize hand has been sewn on to a strong arm.
This giant hand holds a crystal which sparkles in the yellow light from the domes.
Without warning he tosses the crystal into the air
and utters some unintelligible words, before catching it again.
The air in the hall starts to stir and soon builds to a howling gale.
Zagor calmly remains seated on his throne as a whirlwind howls down the hall towards you.
Its vaguely human shape means that it can be only one thing:
an Air Elemental But the Elementals that Zagor can summon
are the Demon Elementals from the Plane of Chaos.
No weapons can affect them.
They can be destroyed only by Supreme Elementals from the Plane of Light.
Their material forms are golden dragons' teeth.
If you have any golden dragons' teeth.
If you do not have any.
Without thinking, you move your hand towards your sword hilt.
The snake senses danger and its venomous fangs strike at your hand.
The bite is painful — but not as harmful as the poison that now runs through your veins.
You brush the snake off your body and roll away from it as quickly as possible.
You jump up to defend yourself, but the snake has slithered away into the undergrowth.
Summoning all your reserves of strength,
You set off immediately for Kaad.
The jewel in the headband is filled with dark sorcery.
In seconds your memory has vanished, never to return.
You wonder why you are standing in the chamber ... but you have no idea.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
You turn your shield in the direction of the GOBLINS
at the very moment when they release their arrows and you hear the missiles thud into the shield.
The GOBLINS run forward to attack you with their clubs, urged on by the Death Lords.
You must fight the GOBLINS one at a time.
If you do not have a sword.
If you do have a sword.
The GOBLIN is very stupid and unbolts the cell door.
As soon as the handle turns, you charge it, knocking the GOBLIN over.
Springing quickly to its feet, the GOBLIN draws its sword.
If you do not have a sword, you must fight the GOBLIN with your bare hands.
If you think you can win.
If the GOBLIN thinks he can win.
Your knowledge of magic is insufficient to control the power of the Supreme Elementals of Light.
Your magic word is wrong!
You are suddenly sucked up into the air and thrown against one of the columns.
Your head slams against the marble and
You lose consciousness.
The door is chained and padlocked;
but, using a spear taken from one of the statues,
you soon force the lock open.
The door looks as if it has been closed for years
and you have to tug hard on the handle.
Slowly you manage to drag the door open while its rusty hinges creak noisily; beyond, you see a torch-lit tunnel.
About ten metres ahead there is a door with a barred window in it.
You tiptoe quietly along the tunnel and peep through the window.
Sitting at a rough wooden table, an ORC is being served
what looks like rat stew by a grisly-looking hunchbacked DWARF.
An ugly purple scar runs down the DWARF's face
from his left eyebrow to his chin.
The ORC is as ugly and brutal-looking as they come.
You keep watching as the ORC pulls a rat carcass out of the stew
with his fingers and eats it, head and all.
Under the table you spot a wooden crate.
If you wish to open the door and attack the ORC.
If you would rather walk on down the tunnel.
As soon as your sword hits the floor,
the jagged weapons encircling you also drop to the floor.
You realise it is too risky to pick up your sword again
and are forced to leave the room without it.
Feeling defenceless,
You make your way to the third door.
Still reeling from the unexpected attack,
you step warily off the path in search of some cover under which to sleep.
You stumble across a fallen tree and decide to sleep beneath its branches.
The night passes without incident and, not long after first light,
You return to the path and head south.
While the trophy is being handed to the winner,
you turn to the BARBARIAN and ask him to pay up on his bet.
What bet ?' The BARBARIAN asks, an ugly smile on his face.
Will you simply avoid confrontation and
Leave the room ? or
Challenge the BARBARIAN to a fight ?
You feel like a trapped animal, with the blood pumping through your veins,
until your hand encounters the reassuring cold steel of your sword.
At any moment you expect the trapdoor to be thrown open.
You can hear muffled voices, but they do not sound human.
The sound of a horn suddenly blasts out and the creatures above you run off.
You wait five minutes, before slowly raising the trapdoor.
Peering out, you cannot see a living soul.
You climb out of the cellar,
Make your way back to the path and head south.
The OGRE finally gives up its chase
and you are able to relax once more and resume a walking pace.
Glancing back occasionally to make sure you are not being followed,
You press on towards Firetop Mountain.
Scratched on the hilt of the sword is the name 'Darkblade Skullbiter'.
The name sends a shiver down your spine when you remember
that it belonged to one of the fiercest Chaos Champions who ever lived.
You wonder why Darkblade's legendary sword is hanging on a GOBLIN's wall
deep inside Firetop Mountain — but,
for the time being, your question must remain unanswered.
With the Chaos Champion's sword in hand,
You squeeze yourself along the narrow tunnel.
Clouds slowly fill the sky,
covering the weak glow from the moon so completely
that soon you cannot see your hand in font of you.
You have no option but to wrap your blanket round you,
hope for the best, and Sleep out on the open plain.
The arrows fly past your head and thump into the door behind you.
You run forward to attack the GOBLIN archers before they have time to reload their bows.
The Death Lords scream at them to smash you to the ground with their clubs.
You must fight the GOBLINS one at a time.
If you do not have a sword.
If you do have a sword.
Although you sleep uneasily and are awake just after dawn,
the night passes without incident.
You look eastwards at the imposing sight of Firetop Mountain
in the shadow of the rising sun and estimate that you should reach it by midday.
Continue
You enter a dark room which has the smell of death about it.
A solitary candle is burning on top of a skull, which stands on a small table against the far wall.
There is a small box under the table and next to the table is an open coffin.
In the murky shadows in the far comer of the room you make out the vague outline of a dark-caped figure.
The cape suddenly flickers, displaying its scarlet lining.
The figure slowly steps forward and, as its face comes into the candlelight,
you see two long fangs protruding from its upper jaw.
It is a VAMPIRE!
If you have some garlic.
If you do not have any garlic.
You may either fight the VAMPIRE
or Close the door behind you and walk further up the tunnel.
'As you wish,' says Zoot unconcernedly.
You follow him outside into a courtyard at the back of the house;
there he looks up into the sky and lets out a high-pitched whistle.
Moments later, you see a speck in the sky
which grows bigger as it glides down effortlessly towards you.
It is a huge, beautiful eagle, its feathers magnificent shades of golden brown.
With its wings outstretched, it lands in the courtyard.
Continue.
The crossbow bolts fly over your head as you dive into the river.
You swim downstream under water until your lungs feel about to burst.
When you finally surface, you find yourself in another large cavern;
this one is filled with giant crystals, all sparkling and glinting in the light of torches.
You swim over to the bank on your left and wade out of the river.
You stand facing two tunnels.
The word 'PITS' is chiselled into the stone above the left-hand tunnel
and the word 'PUZZLES' is chiselled above the right-hand one.
Will you:
Examine the giant crystals ?
Enter the left-hand tunnel ?
Enter the right-hand tunnel ?
The Elemental crashes down on top of you,
then picks you up by your foot and dangles you upside down.
The pain in your foot is unbearable and you scream out.
For a few seconds you can hear Zagor's evil laughter,
before you are hurled against a wall
and knocked unconscious.
You wake up the next morning, feeling as if you have slept for a hundred years.
Sitting up, you are startled to see an ugly,
warty-skinned creature in ramshackle armour lying near you; it too is stirring back to life.
This is a HOBGOBLIN and it was going to rob you while you slept,
but it became a victim of the Sleeping Grass as well.
It sits up and grunts, then suddenly remembers that it was on the point of attacking you.
It grabs its spiked club and turns to face you.
You must fight the HOBGOBLIN.
Will you use your left hand ? or
Will you use your right hand ?
You raise the iron ring on the trapdoor and lift it up.
At once you can hear high-pitched squealing, and a terrible smell wafts up from below.
Suddenly a huge rat leaps into the room and you let the trapdoor fall.
Many GIANT SEWER RATS clamber up into the room before the trapdoor slams down.
You fight them one at a time.
After you have killed them all
Continue.
Your hand touches your sword but succeeds only in knocking it off the step on which it is lying.
It clatters to the ground and you snatch it up quickly.
Your pulse races as you stand in the darkness, feeling like a trapped animal.
Suddenly the trapdoor above you is thrown open and light pours into the cellar, almost blinding you.
You can make out the heads of two creatures above you,
partially blocking out the sun.
They both start shouting loudly while jabbing their spears down the stairway,
but you cannot understand a word they are saying.
They are GOBLINS and you will have to fight them.
They descend the stairs into the cellar one at a time, so you are able to fight them separately.
If you defeat them both.
If you only defeat one of them.
The dagger finds its mark, hitting the GOBLIN squarely in the chest,
and it slumps forward on its face.
After retrieving your dagger,
you walk down the corridor and enter what appears to be a meeting room.
In the centre of the room is a long table surrounded by eight chairs;
the walls are lined with shelves full of books, manuscripts, scrolls and maps.
There are several piles of gold coins on the table and odd coins lie scattered about the room.
A door in the far wall suddenly opens and an old man enters;
he is wearing a long purple gown with a raised collar and a purple headband.
'Intruder,' he says grimly, 'you have no right to be here.
But if you are smart enough, you may be of use to me.
Answer my question and live — fail, and you die.
Tell me, how many gold coins are there in this room ?'
Look at the illustration and count them up.
If there are 52 coins.
If there are 48 coins.
The tunnel leads into a candlelit room;
it is littered with many skulls, human and animal alike.
Two candles, both of which are burning in their brass holders,
are mounted on wooden pedestals on either side of the tunnel's entrance.
In the opposite wall the tunnel continues into the distance,
lit by a long line of torches.
You step into the room and, as you do so,
the skulls start to shuffle towards you,
making the floor by the tunnel's entrance look like a cobbled path.
If you try to leap over the skulls.
If you would rather brave walking through them.
After picking up and stuffing into your pockets as many Gold Pieces as you can carry,
you take a look at the various books, charts and scrolls.
Most of them are on the subject of the human and non-human brain.
The charts are mainly of Allansia,
in particular the areas surrounding Firetop Mountain.
The scrolls are
written mostly in symbols,
but you do find one written in your own language: it is headed The Elementals.
You read it and learn that, in order to create an Elemental from a golden dragon's tooth,
the holder of the dragon's tooth must cast it on the floor and say the word 'Cachondo'.
Repeating the word over and over in your mind,
You pass through the door from which the Mindbender appeared.
At first the jelly feels cold and slimy to the touch.
But suddenly your hand is gripped by pain as though the flesh were melting.
You pull out your arm and are horrified to see that your hand is smoking and blisters are forming.
The acid jelly is deadly.
You bandage your hand as best as you can and,
if you possess Healing Balm, you can use it to good effect.
If you have not done so already,
You may now rummage around in the dirt.
Otherwise, you have no choice but to leave the room
and walk on to the second door.
The poison runs quickly through your veins,
long before your remedy can work.
You lose consciousness and fall backwards on to the floor.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
'Everybody bets on the eyeball game,'
the BARBARIAN says menacingly.
'Maybe you ought not to be here.
Guards! Arrest this impostor!'
You push back your chair, get up and race out of the room,
turning right into the tunnel.
The Lizard Men chase after you, their spears raised.
The leading one hurls his spear after you as you run away.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
You run over to the door in the far wall while the creature is slithering into the room,
but the door is firmly locked.
You glance over at the creature and discover that it is not just a giant snake.
Standing upright on its huge, coiled tail,
you see the large, scaly torso of a fearsome woman,
brandishing a silver sword.
Small snakes writhe on top of her head in place of hair.
Her burning red eyes with their deadly stare slowly search the room for the intruder.
You are trapped in the GORGON's lair.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
The guard snarls disdainfully and leaps to attack you,
swinging its great spiked club.
Continue.
The tunnel ends at a stone wall.
You notice some footprints on the floor which all point towards the end wall.
You deduce that you are in a secret passageway and that there must be a secret door in the wall.
You run your fingers slowly over the wall searching fora tell-tale hairline crack or a hidden latch.
Then you discover a loose stone, about half-way down the wall.
Carefully pulling the stone out of the wall, you see an iron handle.
You twist it to one side and hear a click.
Your feeling of triumph is short-lived as a poisoned dart flies from above the handle and pierces your throat.
The poison is deadly and. acts quickly.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
You watch as the VAMPIRE's body crumbles to dust;
in seconds only his cape remains.
Suddenly a bat emerges from the cape and flies out of the room.
You walk over to the box and find a quill and an ink bottle full of blood inside.
You decide to abandon your find and leave the room.
You turn left into the tunnel.
Hampered by having to cover your eyes,
it temporarily reduces your skill while fighting the GORGON.
As you stand your ground before the advancing monstrosity,
her frenzied snakes lash out and try to bite the hand covering your eyes.
If you are still alive.
If the snake bites you.
You rummage through your backpack and find the glass marble;
then you throw it down the yawning chasm without delay.
You hear it land, some distance below, but without any magical effect resulting.
The
island has all but disappeared and
You are forced to jump.
The crew quickly bring down the sails and the boat glides to a halt alongside the upturned rowing boat.
Ndroo throws a rope to the ORC, but the ORC turns and dives into the river.
'Ambush!' cries Fyll.
Looking behind you, you see two ORC war canoes,
that had been hidden beneath the branches of trees along the river, coming towards you.
A hail of arrows is loosed at your boat
Stooy clutches at an arrow that has gone right through his neck,
then gurgles a dying breath and slumps forward on to the deck, his legs twitching in spasms.
Ignoring him, the remainder of the crew scrambles to hoist the sails as the war canoes draw closer.
If you are Lucky.
If you are Unlucky.
You climb into the boat and the old man rows you slowly across the river.
As soon as you get out of the boat on the other side,
however, the old man raises his head and howls like an animal
and from out of the shadows step four Lizard Men,
each armed with a loaded crossbow.
Swiftly they take aim and fire as you dive into the murky water.
If their aim is good.
If their aim is poor.
YOU HAVE WON
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is defeated.
Still panting heavily from exhaustion following the battle,
you stand over the body of Zagor.
Many of his stitches have burst open grotesquely.
But at least Allansia is saved!
You walk up the steps to Zagor's throne,
which is made of solid gold, set with hundreds of jewels.
Your fortune is there for the taking.
You fill your backpack with treasure and eventually find your way out of the mountain labyrinth.
In just over a day you are back in Anvil,
recounting your quest to the cheering villagers.
'Zagor is dead! Long live Allansia!' they all chant.
Filled with excitement, they ask you to lead them back to Firetop Mountain
so they can witness Zagor's demise for themselves and help themselves to some of his treasure.
You finally agree but put a limit of ten on the party to accompany you.
The twisting labyrinth of passages appears deserted; Zagor's guards and servants have all fled.
When you finally reach Zagor's hall, you find his body still lying, face down, where it had fallen.
The villagers crowd round it laughing, commenting and arguing.
You walk over and roll the body over with your foot.
A sudden gasp comes from the villagers;
there is a big smile on Zagor's face and his eyes are wide open,
although he is undoubtedly dead.
But the thing that worries you most is that his skeletal left arm is missing,
and that was the only bit of Zagor that was truly his own.
Could that bony stump grow into another incarnation of Zagor ?
Surely not
To start again from the beginning click here.
The OGRE's throw is accurate; the club smashes into your face,
sending you sprawling to the ground in a cloud of dust.
The OGRE reaches you quickly and wastes no time in finishing you off,
his mission for Zagor completed.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The RAZORFISH attack you by viciously ripping at your flesh,
eventually only your skeleton is left.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The second GOBLIN attacks you while you are still tired after the first battle,
eventually he gets you with his spear.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The DEATH HEAD completely overpowers you
and sets about burning your flesh with his white-hot knives.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The TROGLODYTE pounces on you
and takes advantage of you not being ready and armed.
He stabs you to death.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The HARPY and the GIANT EAGLE engage each other
in some vicious air to air combat,
each swooping and clawing at each other several times.
But eventually the HARPY takes the winning blow,
the GIANT EAGLE is killed in mid air
and plunges to earth spiralling down to his death taking you with him.
Your adventure is over.
To start again from the beginning click here.
The contents of your backpack and pockets
Diamond
3 Gold Pieces and 2 Silver Pieces +
Wooden Ball and Brick
Throwing Dagger
Shield
Ball of String
Lantern
Rope
Hammer & Iron Spikes
Garlic
Mirror
Axe
Water Bottle
Magnifying Glass
Quill Ink and Paper
Silver Dagger
Leather Gloves
Healing Balm
Gold Spoon
Gold Dragon's Tooth
Gold Tooth 27
Quill and Ink
Silver Key
Bronze Medal
Wood Dragon
Leather Whip
Piece of Slate
Marbles
Gold Tooth
Tin Whistle and Onyx Egg
Silver Key
Gold Tooth 94
Mushroom
Box
Steel Dagger
Box
Bronze Tooth 280
Small Brass Egg
Silver Bell
Iron Key 142
