Scholastic Books' second previously unpublished Fighting Fantasy book was the first 'official' FF by a new-to-the-range author since Spellbreaker. Charlie Higson, better known for The Fast Show and the Young Bond novels, joined the list of FF writers with The Gates of Death, a gamebook that does not have a particularly good reputation in fandom - indeed, more than one reviewer has labelled it the worst book in the series. I wouldn't go that far, given the existence of Blood of the Zombies, but it definitely has its problems.
I've only played it twice prior to this attempt, both times as part of the challenges I ran at the Fighting Fantazine forum earlier this decade, and while I didn't make it to the endgame, I am aware of at least some of the problems with that part of the book, as I had to make a ruling with regard to certain contradictions within the text. If on this occasion I get far enough to have to engage with the inconsistencies, I should be a little better equipped to make a judgement call, as I'll be working from the actual text rather than other people's summary of the issue.
Back in the 1980s I had ill-formed ideas for an epic FF saga ranging all over the world of Titan, the third book of which would be set in the Crucible Islands, a region of Titan about which nothing had been established beyond their name and location. Gates finally provides a little information about the islands, revealing them to be the home of an quasi-religious order of healers known as the Guardians.
My character is an acolyte there, one of a group chosen to travel to Allansia to help combat an outbreak of demon plague (a plague which causes its victims to transform into demonic entities, not to be confused with Dead of Night's Demon-Plague, which just kills people very nastily). We have a quantity of the only known cure, a plant derivative called smoke-oil, and mean to take it to the Temple of Throff in Allansia, which may somehow be able to duplicate it in sufficient quantities to cure all the afflicted. That is, assuming we can find the Temple, which is hidden in the Invisible City, but the learned folk of Kaynlesh-Ma should be able to pinpoint its location for us. Or they might if we ever got to consult them. Alas, the voyage does not run as smoothly as had been hoped. Our small fleet sinks, and only two of us survive, rescued by a fishing vessel which makes landfall further north than we'd planned to travel, in the rather less scholarly environs of Port Blacksand.
The aftereffects of the turbulent crossing include a Stamina deduction in the very first section of the adventure, so I'd better determine my stats before I start depleting them...
Skill 9
Stamina 18
Luck 8
Marginally below average, but I'm pretty sure that's no worse than on either of my previous goes at the book.
Anyway, the elderly Brother Tobyn and I are the only remaining members of the expedition. We have just ten vials of smoke-oil, a small quantity of gold, and the clothes we wear. No weapons and, by the end of the first paragraph, no stomach contents either.
Brother Tobyn decides that we need to start by getting something to eat. Proceeding to the Fish Market, we find a fishwife offering grilled sardines for the exorbitant price of one Gold Piece. Well, it'll help restore some of the Stamina I just heaved up, so I pay the price.
Meanwhile, our rescuer is getting into a heated argument with the local merchant to whom he's attempting to sell the fish he caught on the way here. He complains that the price being offered is unreasonably low, while the merchant claims that this is the best deal he's going to get here. As both men grow increasingly agitated, the merchant suddenly transforms into a monstrous creature which attacks first the fisherman and then Brother Tobyn.
It was at this point that I went awry in my first attempt at the book. Suspecting that if I used a vial of smoke-oil to reverse the transformation, I would soon be robbed of my remaining vials, I attacked the monstrous merchant, who reverted to human form once I'd killed him. Conveniently arriving too late to see him in his demonic aspect, the local militia arrested me for murder (and Brother Tobyn as an accessory) and locked us up. Not long after that I learned that, like lycanthropy, demon plague can be passed on by a wound, as Brother Tobyn turned into something nasty and attacked me, and I didn't survive that fight.
This time I cure the merchant, thereby attracting the attention of some guards and a red-eyed reptilian figure in grey, hooded robes. Bystanders appear fearful of the hooded one, who tells me that the guards don't like outsiders, and says we should go with him. Opting not to judge by appearances, I take his advice, and we follow the mysterious character through the streets, Brother Tobyn already showing signs of being in a bad way.
Eventually we reach a house located under a bridge, which pretty much confirms to anyone who's played City of Thieves that accompanying the stranger was the right decision. Once we're indoors, our host removes the robe and dispels the enchantment that disguised him as a non-human. It's Nicodemus, the reclusive and occasionally helpful wizard, who wants to provide me with vague assistance in my quest. To this end he gives me four quirkily-named potions (and no explanation of what any of them do), advises me to head for Salamonis to seek information on how to find the Invisible City, says I'll have to travel alone because Brother Tobyn has demon plague, and encourages me to take the robes with which he concealed his identity, so nobody will bother me on my way out of the city.
The book tries to make me suspect that Nicodemus might be up to no good, and offers a couple of pretty obviously inadvisable alternatives to doing as he says, but I'm not taken in. As I take the robe, Brother Tobyn metamorphoses into something nasty, and before I can even think of using another vial of smoke-oil to cure him, Nicodemus vaporises him on the grounds that the next part of the gamebook isn't structured to handle the potential presence of a sidekick he was doomed anyway. Disregarding the blatantly suicidal option of attacking the wizard who just blasted my erstwhile companion into his component atoms, I don the robe and head out of town.
Thanks to the sorcerous disguise, I am untroubled by the various rogues and miscreants I pass on my way to the main gate, but the robe vanishes as soon as I pass beyond the city walls, causing me to revert to my normal appearance. A nearby beggar with dirty cloths wrapped around his eyes and ears offers to tell me secrets in return for a Gold Piece. I pay up, and he reveals that he was once a powerful wizard, but Blacksand's ruler had him blinded, deafened and muted, yet still failed to completely deprive him of his power (I hadn't noticed until he pointed it out, but he's addressing me telepathically rather than verbally). After handing me a bottle of 'Nostalgia' perfume and a flask of poison antidote, he advises me to follow the Corpse Road, view the magic city from Mount Meerar, pass through the Gates of Death, and not eat too many pies. One of these hints is not like the others...
Setting off towards Salamonis, I haven't gone far before a quintet of armed brigands accosts me, demanding everything but the shirt on my back, and offering an ominous-sounding 'special gift' if I comply. To the best of my knowledge, I can't succeed in my quest unless I retain at least one vial of smoke-oil, so I must either fight or flee. It appears that if I'd been imprisoned in Port Blacksand, I might now have a weapon that could aid me in combat against the group, but as I wasn't, I'd better use an item.
One of the potions Nicodemus gave me has the name 'Thick as Thieves', which suggests that it might be of some use in this situation. I uncork the bottle, and a cloud of blue smoke emerges and heads straight for the would-be robbers' nostrils. In an instant the men's wits are addled, an argument breaks out, and while the gang might no longer be able to remember that their swords are called swords, they still know how to use them well enough that not one of them survives the fight.
Searching the bodies, I help myself to a sword, a sausage, and a jar of healing ointment. Then I set off down the road again, and don't get far before a black horse-drawn carriage (if you're wondering whether that 'black' describes the carriage or the horses, it's both) on its way out of Port Blacksand catches up to me. Its passenger, a veiled woman who introduces herself as Lady Webspinn, thanks me for dealing with the highwaymen who've been preying on travellers, and offers me a lift to Salamonis.
While the combination of colour scheme, veil and name could be considered ominous, I accept. Lady Webspinn introduces me to her maidservant Liara and asks me where I'm going. On my previous attempt at this book, prompted by a warning in the paragraph text, I made up something rather than reveal the truth, but subsequent developments made it clear that everything which hints that the Lady might be up to no good is just misdirection, so this time I'll reveal my destination.
When I mention that I seek the Invisible City, Lady Webspinn says that she's heard it can only be found by those who know where to look for it, recommends I call on Swann the mapmaker in Salamonis, and gives directions to his shop. At her direction, Liara offers me some food, and as I'm still below full Stamina, I accept. The meal is good, and after eating, I doze off.
When I awaken, the carriage has stopped in Silverton for the night. Lady Webspinn tells me to be back at the carriage by daybreak if I want to continue travelling with her tomorrow, and she and Liara head into the local inn. I decide to save the cost of a room, and take shelter in a nearby stable.
My rest is disturbed when a bad pun attempts to steal my money. Hurling the armlike Hay Thiever away from myself, I see it start to crawl away, and decide to try and follow it to its lair in case there's good loot to be found there. I get a bit dirty, as it's been raining, and I blunder into some puddles along the way, but eventually the creature enters a hole in a wall, and I risk reaching inside. There are many items in there, and I pull out a pouch containing some gold. The book is sure to penalise greed sooner or later, but overcautiousness can also doom a gamebook hero, so I'll risk one further attempt at grabbing loot. It nets me a potion bottle, duplicating one of the as yet unused potions from Nicodemus, and the Thiever is becoming very agitated, so I'll quit while I'm ahead.
Returning to the stable, I settle down once more, and the rest of the night passes without incident. Awakened by a cockerel, I head for Lady Webspinn's carriage. A porter is loading it, and informs me that it's private and not for the likes of me, but remembering her Ladyship's invitation, I ignore him and knock on the door, and am welcomed aboard. Lady Webspinn says she will be glad of my company, as Liara is unwell, and authorially-imposed idiocy keeps me from wondering if the illness could be demon plague. Even so, the rest of the journey to Salamonis passes without incident, though we do see assorted demon plague victims along the way.
Purple clouds hang in the sky above the city, subjecting it to a deluge of similarly-coloured rain. Lady Webspinn takes this as evidence that there is a demon portal close by, quoting an old rhyme (a blatant parody of the obvious Prince song), and teaching me an incantation that will enable me to escape from the portal (and mess with the book's internal chronology) if I get drawn into it.
Leaving Liara in the coach, Lady Webspinn asks me to accompany her to the Halls of Learning, where she hopes to find information about the plague, and again I say nothing about having more than enough of the cure to be able to help out and still complete my mission. I do agree to act as an armed escort, though, and we set off through the streets. Observing demons skulking in an alleyway, Lady Webspinn gives me a silver ring that will protect me, and anyone familiar with what Titan has to say about runes will recognise its inscription as indicating a connection with the Neutral powers. She says she knows of a secret passage into the Halls, and I follow her down a flight of steps to a courtyard containing a statue of trickster deity Logaan, which displays the same symbol as the ring.
Assorted demons who, to judge by their clothes, used to be local tradespersons and nobles, advance upon us. Lady Webspinn approaches the statue and pushes on the symbol (which, in an instance of authorial and/or editorial carelessness, has changed from a star to an arrow, mixing up the two runes used by the tricksters). Part of a nearby wall opens to reveal a tunnel entrance, from which issues the smell of rotting meat. Still preferable to confronting the demonic horde, so I follow the Lady into the passageway, and she reseals the entrance before any of the demons can get through it.
As we follow the winding tunnel, Lady Webspinn reveals that she's a scholar from Salamonis, who had travelled to Port Blacksand in the hope of meeting with Nicodemus to see if he could help combat the plague, but wasn't able to find him. We find the source of the unpleasant smell - a dead guard, showing signs of having been killed by a demon, indicating these tunnels to be less secure than Lady Webspinn had hoped. The passage forks, and her Ladyship tells me that one turning leads to Titan Square, the heart of the city, while the other goes to the Halls, and gives me the option of going my own way. I choose to stick with her until she reaches whatever safety can be found under the circumstances.
At last we reach the Halls, where several other scholars are chained to pillars. Lady Webspinn moves to free them until they explain that they've chosen to be immobilised in this way so that if any of them succumb to the plague, they won't be able to harm the others. There's a kind of logic to that, but it does leave them all vulnerable if any demons should break in.
Two demons break in. Well, actually there's a bit of exposition first - the scholars mention another adventurer who passed through a short while ago, and Lady Webspinn urges me to visit the mapmaker - but comedic timing trumps chronology. I use a vial of smoke-oil to change the demons back into the soldiers they used to be, and they volunteer to stay here and protect the scholars from further incursions.
It's time I was moving on. Another purple downpour commences as I leave the Halls, but it doesn't keep me from reaching Titan Square, which is overshadowed by a massive statue of the eponymous deity. There are exits to all cardinal points of the compass, but west leads to where I entered the city, so that's not an option. Remembering the directions I was given, I head north to a crossroads, continue north to another crossroads, and then turn west. Most of the shops on this street have been boarded up, and a jeweller's has been burned down, but the mapmaker's shows signs of still being occupied, and a peek through the window reveals that the proprietor is accompanied by four Man-Orc guards.
Observing the glint of gold in the ruin of the jeweller's, I decide to investigate. Bad idea: it turns out that the jeweller had a load of gold teeth, which he retained when the plague transformed him into a demonic monstrosity, and they're what I saw shining. Dodging his attack, I stumble into a hole where the fire destroyed the floorboards, and land in the cellar, which contains more locals-turned demons. Lots of them. Too many to cure or fight, so I get torn apart.
So, again I fall victim to the cryptic nuances of gamebook morality. Sometimes seeking valuables is the only way of being able to acquire an essential item, and sometimes it just gets you punished for being too greedy. Incidentally, my second attempt at this book also ended thanks to my misjudging a grey area, though on that occasion I fell victim to strong drink while trying to find out if a little social interaction with a Dwarf would furnish me with any helpful information.
When I started this post, I considered The Gates of Death to be a flawed gamebook, but undeserving of the intensity of hatred that it gets from some fans, and nothing that happened while playing it again has changed my opinion.
