Running Towards Nothing

Before I get back to undertaking quests in Steve Jackson’s Secrets of Salamonis, I’d like to raise a question: what is wrong with the majority of modern adventurers? A little under two months ago, when  I first arrived in the eponymous city, the Adventurers’ Guild was advertising seven or eight different quests. In the intervening time I’ve undergone training and undertaken three of those quests (with varying degrees of success), and not one of the many other would-be-heroes who were here before me has managed to complete any of the quests I have yet to attempt. Going from ‘total newbie’ to ‘one of the few remotely competent adventurers in town’ isn’t quite the most extreme instance of zero-to-hero in all Fighting Fantasy, but it’s still a pretty steep career trajectory.

Anyway, it’s time I had a go at one of these missions that none of my peers seem able to carry out. Thanks to what I learned about removing a curse in my recent dream, I now know that I need some powdered Unicorn horn, so I shall see how I fare at the quest to obtain the horn of the Black Unicorn.

When I indicate my intent, the Guildmaster warns me that this is a particularly challenging quest, with which even seasoned adventurers may struggle. An Amonour check follows, and I have more than the required amount, so I don’t back down. Resignedly, the Guildmaster explains that this job will take me into the Forest of Yore, an ancient place filled with mystical secrets. He advises me to be sure that I am well-prepared, and suggests that I seek out a companion, ideally someone who can use magic.

The text suggest that I might want to go looking for Ruznik Ullsen (well, ‘Ullssen’, but I imagine that that’s just a typo). On this playthrough, that makes sense, but on my first two attempts at this book I never learned of his magical abilities, and I’m pretty sure that it is possible to obtain enough Amonour to qualify for this quest without learning Spelling, so a player could theoretically reach this section while unaware that Ullsen is anything more than an information-dispensing map vendor, in which case the mention of his name would appear something of a non sequitur.

In the course of seeking out Ullsen I find someone else who’s faring poorly enough that they’re willing to work at the Guttery. When I explain my quest to Ullsen, he indicates his willingness to help, for a fee, and says that we’ll also require the assistance of his daughter, who will also require payment. My dream-derived funds are more than sufficient to cover this cost, so I pay up, and Ruznik leads me to his home on Spendthrift Alley. His daughter Deyna seems a little awestruck at getting to meet a genuine adventurer, which suggests to me that she’s more of a rookie than he’d implied, making me wonder about her suitability for what is apparently such a tricky job, but I’ll keep an open mind.

Ruznik gets together some equipment and comments that he could do with more rope and nose plugs, suggesting that I pop to the market to buy some. I already have both, but take the opportunity to head to the market anyway, as there are some other things that might be worth getting there. The description of one of the quests I have yet to undertake suggests that I might yet have further encounters with Shriekers, so I buy a quantity of beeswax to help avert more damage to my ears. I also get some more Provisions, a couple of empty bottles, and a purported treasure map, and identify another prospective Guttery worker.

Rejoining Ruznik and Deyna outside the city, I reflect on what I know about my current quest. According to Zenib Attito, the man who wants the Black Unicorn’s horn, we need to find the Silver Pool if we are to have any chance of tracking down the Unicorn. Not much to go on, but as long as the pool isn’t one of those enchanted places that periodically change their location, it should be less tricky to find that than a mystical creature that can go more or less where it likes.

Or maybe I was overly optimistic. Next paragraph, it’s several days later, and we’re all lost. Ruznik notices various fungi for which people in Salamonis would be willing to pay good money. Do I want to risk upsetting the locals by allowing one of my companions to help himself to some of the Forest’s bounty? Causing similar offence in Bu Fon Fen got me killed. Twice. And Steve Jackson is certainly sneaky enough to follow up ‘you should get someone to help you’ with ‘the person you brought along to assist you makes a complete hash of the quest’. Odds are that taking the Unicorn’s horn won’t go down well with the denizens either, but we’re not going to have any chance of doing that if we get ejected or slaughtered or turned into buttercups for the lesser offence of grabbing a few toadstools.

Continuing through the Forest, we reach a clearing containing a pool of water. The fish swimming in it have silver scales, the pebbles lining its bed have a silvery sheen, and the droplets that splash up where a spring feeds into it shine like silver. I'd say there’s a chance that this could be the Silver Pool.

A moment later the Black Unicorn emerges from the trees to drink from the pool. Deyna approaches it and, Unicorns traditionally being suckers for nubile young women, our quarry just stands and watches as she walks up to it and places a garland of flowers around its neck to subdue it. Okay, Ruznik did have a valid reason for wanting his daughter on the team after all.

I now have to choose between taking the Unicorn’s horn and letting the majestic beast go. Is it going to be possible to remove the horn without harming its owner, like conservationists do with rhinos to make them less appealing targets for poachers? Evidently not, as the Unicorn drops dead straight after I sever the horn from its head. Doing this nets me a couple more points of Amonour, but also brings a hefty Luck penalty, and the guilt-ridden Deyna weeps as we seek a way out of the Forest.

We return to Salamonis without incident, and I deliver the horn to Attito’s home in the Mystics’ Quarter. A servant in black clothes takes it and hands over a bag of money. I return to full Stamina by paying to spend the night in a tavern.

None too surprisingly, the quest took one day over a week, so it is now Seaday. That’s another of the days of the week that trigger an event, and this time it’s a rude awakening as a swarm of Shriekers launches a noisy attack on the guards in Titan Square. Well, the description of them matches the creatures I encountered in the mine, but the text leaves them unidentified, presumably because it’s possible to get this far without having undertaken the job in the mine, so for some readers this would be the first encounter with the things.

Hurrying to the source of the disturbance, I prepare to help fight off the horde, but then the sun begins to rise and the Shriekers fly off, heading north. A gathering of alarmed locals seeks a response to the invasion, for some reason demanding to see the Archbishop rather than the King, and consequently gathering in a Temple rather than outside the Palace. Knowing a plot hook when I see one, I join the throng.

It turns out that the Shriekers have been attacking places in the locality for some time, generally preceded by a sighting of the Shivering Man. People start calling for his death, but Archbishop Kalivan quietens the mob, explaining that the Shivering Man is said to be under a curse, and freeing him from it will stop the Shriekers from following wherever he goes in search of help. My erstwhile travelling companion Healing Hans volunteers to try and assist the Shivering Man, as does an elderly Dwarf. And so do I.

The three of us get together to discuss strategy, and I discover that the Dwarf is Longbeard, the author of the book which inspired me to become an adventurer. Before I can ask him to sign my copy, Hans explains that he can lift the curse if he gets close enough to the Shivering Man, but has no idea where to find him. Longbeard is equally clueless, but the encounter I had in the mine suggests that the man we seek may be hiding out there.

To suggest his whereabouts, I have to convert the name of the location into a number using the a=1 code that many FF readers have burned into our brains through frequent use. Alas, the section to which this takes me makes no sense in context, which would probably be a ‘game over’ if I didn’t have Spelling. That Special Skill gives me a second chance, enabling me to work out… that I was right after all, but picked the wrong words. Silly me, using the name that was provided by the related quest rather than a generic description.

Anyway, we head off to King Salomon’s the silver mine, arriving towards the end of the day. Longbeard reflects that we could do with more help, and laments having lost the horn he could use to summon other Dwarfs to assist him. Could that be the same horn I purchased from the Bruise Brothers not so long ago? It is, of course, and I gain a point of Amonour (but no reimbursement of what I paid for the thing) for returning it to him.

Longbeard sounds the horn, and before long another six Dwarfs have joined us. All seven of them (groan) troop into the mine, emerging some hours later with the Shivering Man in a net. Before Hans can take any action to dispel the curse, a hideous noise issues from within the mine, indicating that the Shriekers are on their way. At least this time I have some wax with which to fashion earplugs - hopefully enough for every capable fighter present.

It’s not clear whether or not I’m able to provide the Dwarfs with protection for their ears, but they are at least able to fight when the Shriekers emerge and attack. Being unable to hear the screaming means that I have a decent Skill advantage rather than fighting the swarm on more or less equal terms. Even so, the dice are initially against me, and I take some damage in the early stages of the fight. Shortly after the tide of battle turns in my favour, I roll a double 6, which  represents an opportunity to use my Instant Death ability, and as I get the impression that the climax of the book is imminent, and I still have two uses of the ability left to me, I bring the fight to a rapid conclusion before the dice can turn on me again.

Well, while I still think I’m right about having reached the final phase of the adventure, it’s now looking as if this is just the beginning of the endgame. While we kill some Shriekers, many of them flee. Hans harvests a quantity of blood from the dead Shriekers, explaining that it has powerful alchemical qualities, and he’ll need some of it to break the curse. I get a phial of the stuff.

Hans then explains that we now need to take the Shivering Man to the Rainbow Pools in the Forest of Spiders. Longbeard protests that that’s three days’ walk away, but then the cavalry turns up in the form of a group of Strongarms on horseback, led by Nanoc and accompanied by Ruznik, who explains that ‘an interested party’ sent them to provide assistance.

The Dwarf miners remain behind while the Strongarms take Hans, Longbeard, the Shivering Man and me north towards the Moonstone Hills. Longbeard points out that the Rainbow Pools are supposed to be under the protection of a clan of Elves, but Hans reassures him that he knows them.

We reach the Forest of Spiders, and are soon intercepted by some of those Elves. They demand to know who we are, and why we’re trespassing, and we explain. The Elves note that their Queen had a vision indicating that adventurers would come seeking their aid, and endeavour to ascertain whether or not we are the foretold group.

It would appear that there are several ways we might convince them that we are the prophesied party. There’s an item that would presumably show us to be in good standing with Elves (unless it's a trap item that guarantees death - Steve Jackson can be sneaky like that). A sufficiently high Amonour score would give me the heroic stature to impress them. Or if I’d spent more time training with Rodriguez, I might be able to fast talk them into accepting us. But I never acquired that item, I only learned a card trick from Rodriguez, and my Amonour falls a couple of points short of the required score. So the Elves give me more points. The ones at the tips of the arrows they fire at me and the rest of the party. If death doesn’t break the Shivering Man’s curse, we may be indirectly avenged by the surviving Shriekers before long, but that’s scant comfort.

That was a bit abrupt. Still, I got a lot further than on any previous attempt at the book, and now have a better idea of how the questing phase works and what I need to do or obtain to make it through to the finale, so I should be able to do better next time. Which won’t be for a while, but I am looking forward to replaying this more than some of the other solely-Scholastic FF adventures.