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Demon's Winter
RPG Adventure from SSI/US Gold.
There were five of us..... all brave adventurers. Well, to be
honest, all but one of us were brave, but more of our cowardly dwarf
companion later.
The strongest amongst us was a Ranger who went by the name of Lone.
Tall he was, and fast in battle. Our cleric was a fellow
called Clarence, He worshipped the god Illo. Illo is the god of
life so we knew Clarence's ability to return the dead to life
(when his god heard his prayers) would come in handy in our
quest. You'd think that Clarence would be a man of peace because of
his god's distaste for battle but, don't you believe it. I was
surprised to see how often he threw himself into the front ranks
of some our biggest battles. What can I say about the next member of
our band? Fidget is a dwarf. He's quite strong, moderately fast,
certainly not stupid - and the biggest coward in Ymros. But his
skill at disarming traps would be useful so we put up with his
whingeing. Apart from anything else, he made a good pack-horse!
Our wizard was a canny fellow called Izzy. Izzy is a dark elf,
skilled in item lore and learned in fire runes. And me? I'm Zeke,
the leader. I may not be the fastest or strongest but I'm the
smartest and when you're hunting big game, brains can be very
useful.
We met up by the ruined village of Ildryn. Clarence bowed his head
at the sight of the ruins but the rest of us (except Fidget) were
itching to get our hands on some weapons and bash some heads! So
our first stop was the nearby town of Seaside. I bought myself a
short sword and Lone grabbed a mace while the other three settled
for knives. A quick stop in camp outside town and we were equipped
and ready for a scrap.
While we were in Seaside, we heard a useful rumour in the
tavern. Evidently, an evil priest, name of Jesric, had gone off
on a quest for a powerful crystal. He was working for someone
called Eregore. Clarence said we should remember those names in case
we met up with them in the future.
Our next stop was the College of Hunting where Lone learnt to hunt.
We knew it would save a lot of gold if he could supply our
provisions rather than us stocking up at the tavern and paying
their exorbitant prices. For the same reason, we agreed to camp out
whenever possible rather than staying in inns. The sooner we got
a decent amount of gold behind us, the sooner we could hire a ship
and set sail for more adventures. Even Izzy seemed quite excited at
the prospect of a bit of sea-travel.
The town of Elborat was our next stopping place. And there, things
started to get interesting. In the tavern, an old woman told us
how her house had been burnt to the ground by kobolds. Their camp
was to the south and their leader was a brute called Uffspgot.
I saw a gleam in Lone's eye and we grinned at each other. "Come
on", I said, and, as one, we turned and left Elborat, heading south.
The kobold camp wasn't far and inside were several camp fires and
tents. We prowled round cautiously. Several tents were empty but
others contained living quarters for the kobolds. In another, a
woman was being harassed by some of the foul creatures. None of the
groups of kobolds lasted long! The woman thanked us and rushed out
of the tent - who could blame her?!
One tent contained maps which showed that towns other than Ildryn
had been attacked. In another, Clarence spotted something; a scroll
half-burnt in a fire. He read it out to us. "It's hard to make out
the words" he said "It's very badly charred. Ah, hang on, ....
cult worships Xeres .... catacombs under the Temple of Gamur" he
looked questioningly at us, but none of us had heard of it
either. "Here's another useful bit" he added, "ermm .... codeword
-x-". Izzy gave one of his rare smiles and said "better look for
this temple then". Continuing round the camp, we finally found
Uffspgot's tent. He had 2 kobolds and 2 orcs with him - no
problem. Before we attacked, we heard him say to one of the
kobolds, "we do not attack again till my master Xeres commands
it". By the time we had finished with him, his master would have to
shout very, very loud for Uffspgot to hear him. By now, we were
feeling pretty good. I celebrated by learning the mace at the
College in Akistu. Izzy suggested we head for the Guild in New Gleon
to see if we were ready for advancement. We were! On our way
back across the island, we stopped at the College of Potion
Lore for Izzy to do some studying. I won't bore you with our minor
battles, though some were quite spectacular - and lucrative. Just
let me say that we found plenty to occupy our sword-arms and we
NEVER ran away, not even Fidget, though he tried to keep out of the
action as much as he could.
Travelling north again, we found a tunnel leading under the
sea to an island. We walked warily through it. In one side room
full of mist, an old man met us. He warned that the one we were
seeking was just a puppet. He added that the puppeteer was eternal
and his talons far-reaching. Leaving him, we continued onwards.
At the end of the tunnel, we saw a message painted in blood.
Fidget read it out and blanched. "Beyond this point lies the temple
of the Death Lord, not a place for those who cherish their
lives". Lone just managed to grab the back of Fidget's trousers
before the cowardly dwarf headed back for the mainland!
Inside the temple, we gave the codeword and were shown to a stairway
at the back. Lone pushed Fidget to the front to check for traps. I
must admit that considering how much his hands were shaking, he
didn't miss one.
Down the south corridor, we found the words "gloriosus victime"
carved on a wall. In a room further down, Izzy found a scroll and
we moved a bookcase to find another exit. Through this doorway was a
morgue of sorts. A man lay in a glass case in suspended
animation. "Leave him till later" suggested Izzy so we went back
to the corridor and turned left. In a laboratory, a cage of rats
caught Fidget's eye (he must have been hungry) but Clarence picked
up two vials of serum, one red and one blue which he handed to
Izzy.
Back to the stairway and north. Past another trap and into a
guardroom. A quick scrap, then on to the next fight with a group of
Xeres' followers in another room. Then we retraced our steps
to the other branch of this northern corridor. In one room, I
noticed a trail of footprints leading to a wall and stopping dead.
Closer investigation showed us a secret tunnel.
It was hard to map and several times we got lost. But eventually we
came to the end of the tunnel and a Skull Room. Three passages led
off. Two of them split, each leading to an armoury. In each
one, a piece of weaponry or armour lay begging to be taken. But
hovering round them in each case were some glowing spheres. Should
we try to take them? While we hesitated in the first room which
contained a special mace, Izzy solved the problem and grabbed the
mace. At once, he was surrounded by will 'o wisps. But they were
easy to defeat and soon all four items were ours.
In another room, we found the words "forward 3 and right 1 will get
you out of a crush" carved into the floor. We had no idea what it
referred to but I felt we'd missed something so we returned to the
main passages. Back in the lab, Clarence (bless his bald pate) found
a secret passage. We found a food storage area and a workshop with,
among other things, a mallet. At the end of the corridor was a
temple. Moving the altar, we discovered yet another secret passage
and cautiously proceeded down it.
Part way along, I heard the whirring of massive machinery. "This
is it, guys", I said, "remember the carving .... forward 3 and right
1" and dashed forward following this pattern, the others hard on my
heels. A bit further and we came upon a black doorway carved
with gold runes. Listening, we could hear chanting coming from
behind it. A hobgoblin stood between us and the door, but not
for long, and with him dead on the ground, we hurtled through the
doorway, past the body of the dead hobgoblin, and found
ourselves in a black room. In front of us was a ghostly, white
figure, Remondadin. Lone led the attack, and the five of us,
working together as never before, finally defeated him. With
Remondadin dead, the black room was strangely silent.
On our explorations under the Temple of Gamur, we had already
noticed a group of wizards praying in the underground temple, but
not to Gamur - they were praying to the evil Xeres. Clearly, these
catacombs were only part of a small cult that worshipped Xeres, the
demon who had destroyed Ildryn. It was also clear to us that we must
find Xeres himself before he found us.
We left the black room through a doorway to the south and found
ourselves back in the main Temple. However, Clarence reminded us
about the man in the glass case and pointed at the mallet
that Fidget was carrying. So we returned to the morgue.
With one swing of the mallet, the case was shattered and we could
see the man more clearly but he still didn't respond. Izzy looked
closer. "He's in a deep trance ...... I wonder ...." and reaching
into his pocket he pulled out the two vials of serum that
Clarence had found in the laboratory and given to him. He
examined the man, who stared vacantly into space. "I'll have to risk
it" he said, and gave him a mouthful of the blue serum.
Suddenly, the man sat up., a wild expression on his face.
"Qoorik!, I've seen it!" he cried and grabbed at Izzy's shoulders in
a frenzy. "They tried to shut me up, but I've seen it! Its
entrance is hidden in the forest to the north-west of Idlewood."
As if his body had given up the last of its strength, he slumped
back onto the slab. Izzy shook his head and sighed. "He is still
alive but only barely; we will get no more help from him. Leave
him in peace" and, with sadness, we left the room, vowing to avenge
the poor wretch who lay within, bereft of his senses.
No-one tried to stop us as we left the Temple. We headed
towards the south-east of the island where, on our previous
explorations, we had noticed another tunnel heading out under the
southern sea.
Not far inside, we found ourselves in a large cavern, filled with
the sound of rushing water. A message carved in the floor read
'Pirates' Cove - enter at your own risk'. "Them's fighting
words" said Lone and Fidget went a sickly shade of green.
Passages led off north, south and west. Along both north
and south passages, Fidget found and disarmed traps and soon after,
in each case, we were attacked by thieves who we quickly slew. A
College was at the end of each tunnel, Disarm Traps in one and
Detect Traps in the other. Having no need for either, as long as
young Fidget was with us, we retraced our steps to the main cavern.
At the end of the western tunnel, over a stretch of water, we
found the town of Pirates' Cove. Surprisingly, despite the
warning at the entrance and our rough reception in the other
tunnels, we were completely ignored. But, in the pub, an old man was
telling the tale of Malifon, so we paused a moment to listen, though
we had heard the tale before, many times. "....and Malifon made the
Earth his home", said the old man, "but soon the Ancients became
angry at him and, in a great battle, banished him inside a volcano
to live till the end of time". He finished his tale and picked
up his tankard to take a draught. Lone tapped my arm. "Sometimes,
my friend, with all the things we see and hear, I get the feeling
the end of time isn't too far away". Somehow, I had to agree with
him. Malifon's volcano might be the last thing any of us saw.
We left the Cove and tried to decide where to go next. While
we were deciding, we visited two of the Colleges. Fidget had
died and been resurrected twice during recent battles, so the
small man decided to improve his skills and took a course in
fighting with the mace. Lone learnt beserking, which he felt
might give him the edge in a tight scrap. At a nearby town, Fidget
purchased a morningstar then we took another trip to the Guild at
New Gleon and found we had advanced enough to gain another few
levels. Hereafter, we visited Guilds whenever we came across them,
to check on our progress.
We bought a ship in the docks and set out to sea. I had also learnt
hunting skills, so between us, Lone and I kept the five of us
well supplied with fish on our long sea voyage. We travelled to
various islands along the coast, but never straying too far from the
main island where we had started our travels. We also investigated
the small islands in the inlets along the coast.
Lone enrolled at the College of Armoured Skin which Fidget said
sounded disgusting. However, this skill gave him even more
protection in battle. At Dragontooth, we heard a rumour in the pub
that someone had found the Shard of Spring a few months back. The
Shard had disappeared 200 years ago and no-one had seen it
since. It is said that if anything happens to it, we will all be
destroyed by the winter that will follow. While we were in
Dragontooth, Clarence enrolled at the College of Mace and later
at the College of Persuasiveness at Chandris. It would help us get
a better deal when we purchased new equipment. All this time,
Izzy had been using a +1 crystal dagger that we had collected
earlier. Our other fights had gained us some more useful equipment
and I had a mace, constant speed +2. We also had some other weapons
that we had collected and since our ship now needed considerable
repairs, pirates and sea monsters having taken their toll, we sold
our spare weapons at a local marketplace. We had also gained
RPG Adventure from SSI/US Gold.
There were five of us..... all brave adventurers. Well, to be
honest, all but one of us were brave, but more of our cowardly dwarf
companion later.
The strongest amongst us was a Ranger who went by the name of Lone.
Tall he was, and fast in battle. Our cleric was a fellow
called Clarence, He worshipped the god Illo. Illo is the god of
life so we knew Clarence's ability to return the dead to life
(when his god heard his prayers) would come in handy in our
quest. You'd think that Clarence would be a man of peace because of
his god's distaste for battle but, don't you believe it. I was
surprised to see how often he threw himself into the front ranks
of some our biggest battles. What can I say about the next member of
our band? Fidget is a dwarf. He's quite strong, moderately fast,
certainly not stupid - and the biggest coward in Ymros. But his
skill at disarming traps would be useful so we put up with his
whingeing. Apart from anything else, he made a good pack-horse!
Our wizard was a canny fellow called Izzy. Izzy is a dark elf,
skilled in item lore and learned in fire runes. And me? I'm Zeke,
the leader. I may not be the fastest or strongest but I'm the
smartest and when you're hunting big game, brains can be very
useful.
We met up by the ruined village of Ildryn. Clarence bowed his head
at the sight of the ruins but the rest of us (except Fidget) were
itching to get our hands on some weapons and bash some heads! So
our first stop was the nearby town of Seaside. I bought myself a
short sword and Lone grabbed a mace while the other three settled
for knives. A quick stop in camp outside town and we were equipped
and ready for a scrap.
While we were in Seaside, we heard a useful rumour in the
tavern. Evidently, an evil priest, name of Jesric, had gone off
on a quest for a powerful crystal. He was working for someone
called Eregore. Clarence said we should remember those names in case
we met up with them in the future.
Our next stop was the College of Hunting where Lone learnt to hunt.
We knew it would save a lot of gold if he could supply our
provisions rather than us stocking up at the tavern and paying
their exorbitant prices. For the same reason, we agreed to camp out
whenever possible rather than staying in inns. The sooner we got
a decent amount of gold behind us, the sooner we could hire a ship
and set sail for more adventures. Even Izzy seemed quite excited at
the prospect of a bit of sea-travel.
The town of Elborat was our next stopping place. And there, things
started to get interesting. In the tavern, an old woman told us
how her house had been burnt to the ground by kobolds. Their camp
was to the south and their leader was a brute called Uffspgot.
I saw a gleam in Lone's eye and we grinned at each other. "Come
on", I said, and, as one, we turned and left Elborat, heading south.
The kobold camp wasn't far and inside were several camp fires and
tents. We prowled round cautiously. Several tents were empty but
others contained living quarters for the kobolds. In another, a
woman was being harassed by some of the foul creatures. None of the
groups of kobolds lasted long! The woman thanked us and rushed out
of the tent - who could blame her?!
One tent contained maps which showed that towns other than Ildryn
had been attacked. In another, Clarence spotted something; a scroll
half-burnt in a fire. He read it out to us. "It's hard to make out
the words" he said "It's very badly charred. Ah, hang on, ....
cult worships Xeres .... catacombs under the Temple of Gamur" he
looked questioningly at us, but none of us had heard of it
either. "Here's another useful bit" he added, "ermm .... codeword
-x-". Izzy gave one of his rare smiles and said "better look for
this temple then". Continuing round the camp, we finally found
Uffspgot's tent. He had 2 kobolds and 2 orcs with him - no
problem. Before we attacked, we heard him say to one of the
kobolds, "we do not attack again till my master Xeres commands
it". By the time we had finished with him, his master would have to
shout very, very loud for Uffspgot to hear him. By now, we were
feeling pretty good. I celebrated by learning the mace at the
College in Akistu. Izzy suggested we head for the Guild in New Gleon
to see if we were ready for advancement. We were! On our way
back across the island, we stopped at the College of Potion
Lore for Izzy to do some studying. I won't bore you with our minor
battles, though some were quite spectacular - and lucrative. Just
let me say that we found plenty to occupy our sword-arms and we
NEVER ran away, not even Fidget, though he tried to keep out of the
action as much as he could.
Travelling north again, we found a tunnel leading under the
sea to an island. We walked warily through it. In one side room
full of mist, an old man met us. He warned that the one we were
seeking was just a puppet. He added that the puppeteer was eternal
and his talons far-reaching. Leaving him, we continued onwards.
At the end of the tunnel, we saw a message painted in blood.
Fidget read it out and blanched. "Beyond this point lies the temple
of the Death Lord, not a place for those who cherish their
lives". Lone just managed to grab the back of Fidget's trousers
before the cowardly dwarf headed back for the mainland!
Inside the temple, we gave the codeword and were shown to a stairway
at the back. Lone pushed Fidget to the front to check for traps. I
must admit that considering how much his hands were shaking, he
didn't miss one.
Down the south corridor, we found the words "gloriosus victime"
carved on a wall. In a room further down, Izzy found a scroll and
we moved a bookcase to find another exit. Through this doorway was a
morgue of sorts. A man lay in a glass case in suspended
animation. "Leave him till later" suggested Izzy so we went back
to the corridor and turned left. In a laboratory, a cage of rats
caught Fidget's eye (he must have been hungry) but Clarence picked
up two vials of serum, one red and one blue which he handed to
Izzy.
Back to the stairway and north. Past another trap and into a
guardroom. A quick scrap, then on to the next fight with a group of
Xeres' followers in another room. Then we retraced our steps
to the other branch of this northern corridor. In one room, I
noticed a trail of footprints leading to a wall and stopping dead.
Closer investigation showed us a secret tunnel.
It was hard to map and several times we got lost. But eventually we
came to the end of the tunnel and a Skull Room. Three passages led
off. Two of them split, each leading to an armoury. In each
one, a piece of weaponry or armour lay begging to be taken. But
hovering round them in each case were some glowing spheres. Should
we try to take them? While we hesitated in the first room which
contained a special mace, Izzy solved the problem and grabbed the
mace. At once, he was surrounded by will 'o wisps. But they were
easy to defeat and soon all four items were ours.
In another room, we found the words "forward 3 and right 1 will get
you out of a crush" carved into the floor. We had no idea what it
referred to but I felt we'd missed something so we returned to the
main passages. Back in the lab, Clarence (bless his bald pate) found
a secret passage. We found a food storage area and a workshop with,
among other things, a mallet. At the end of the corridor was a
temple. Moving the altar, we discovered yet another secret passage
and cautiously proceeded down it.
Part way along, I heard the whirring of massive machinery. "This
is it, guys", I said, "remember the carving .... forward 3 and right
1" and dashed forward following this pattern, the others hard on my
heels. A bit further and we came upon a black doorway carved
with gold runes. Listening, we could hear chanting coming from
behind it. A hobgoblin stood between us and the door, but not
for long, and with him dead on the ground, we hurtled through the
doorway, past the body of the dead hobgoblin, and found
ourselves in a black room. In front of us was a ghostly, white
figure, Remondadin. Lone led the attack, and the five of us,
working together as never before, finally defeated him. With
Remondadin dead, the black room was strangely silent.
On our explorations under the Temple of Gamur, we had already
noticed a group of wizards praying in the underground temple, but
not to Gamur - they were praying to the evil Xeres. Clearly, these
catacombs were only part of a small cult that worshipped Xeres, the
demon who had destroyed Ildryn. It was also clear to us that we must
find Xeres himself before he found us.
We left the black room through a doorway to the south and found
ourselves back in the main Temple. However, Clarence reminded us
about the man in the glass case and pointed at the mallet
that Fidget was carrying. So we returned to the morgue.
With one swing of the mallet, the case was shattered and we could
see the man more clearly but he still didn't respond. Izzy looked
closer. "He's in a deep trance ...... I wonder ...." and reaching
into his pocket he pulled out the two vials of serum that
Clarence had found in the laboratory and given to him. He
examined the man, who stared vacantly into space. "I'll have to risk
it" he said, and gave him a mouthful of the blue serum.
Suddenly, the man sat up., a wild expression on his face.
"Qoorik!, I've seen it!" he cried and grabbed at Izzy's shoulders in
a frenzy. "They tried to shut me up, but I've seen it! Its
entrance is hidden in the forest to the north-west of Idlewood."
As if his body had given up the last of its strength, he slumped
back onto the slab. Izzy shook his head and sighed. "He is still
alive but only barely; we will get no more help from him. Leave
him in peace" and, with sadness, we left the room, vowing to avenge
the poor wretch who lay within, bereft of his senses.
No-one tried to stop us as we left the Temple. We headed
towards the south-east of the island where, on our previous
explorations, we had noticed another tunnel heading out under the
southern sea.
Not far inside, we found ourselves in a large cavern, filled with
the sound of rushing water. A message carved in the floor read
'Pirates' Cove - enter at your own risk'. "Them's fighting
words" said Lone and Fidget went a sickly shade of green.
Passages led off north, south and west. Along both north
and south passages, Fidget found and disarmed traps and soon after,
in each case, we were attacked by thieves who we quickly slew. A
College was at the end of each tunnel, Disarm Traps in one and
Detect Traps in the other. Having no need for either, as long as
young Fidget was with us, we retraced our steps to the main cavern.
At the end of the western tunnel, over a stretch of water, we
found the town of Pirates' Cove. Surprisingly, despite the
warning at the entrance and our rough reception in the other
tunnels, we were completely ignored. But, in the pub, an old man was
telling the tale of Malifon, so we paused a moment to listen, though
we had heard the tale before, many times. "....and Malifon made the
Earth his home", said the old man, "but soon the Ancients became
angry at him and, in a great battle, banished him inside a volcano
to live till the end of time". He finished his tale and picked
up his tankard to take a draught. Lone tapped my arm. "Sometimes,
my friend, with all the things we see and hear, I get the feeling
the end of time isn't too far away". Somehow, I had to agree with
him. Malifon's volcano might be the last thing any of us saw.
We left the Cove and tried to decide where to go next. While
we were deciding, we visited two of the Colleges. Fidget had
died and been resurrected twice during recent battles, so the
small man decided to improve his skills and took a course in
fighting with the mace. Lone learnt beserking, which he felt
might give him the edge in a tight scrap. At a nearby town, Fidget
purchased a morningstar then we took another trip to the Guild at
New Gleon and found we had advanced enough to gain another few
levels. Hereafter, we visited Guilds whenever we came across them,
to check on our progress.
We bought a ship in the docks and set out to sea. I had also learnt
hunting skills, so between us, Lone and I kept the five of us
well supplied with fish on our long sea voyage. We travelled to
various islands along the coast, but never straying too far from the
main island where we had started our travels. We also investigated
the small islands in the inlets along the coast.
Lone enrolled at the College of Armoured Skin which Fidget said
sounded disgusting. However, this skill gave him even more
protection in battle. At Dragontooth, we heard a rumour in the pub
that someone had found the Shard of Spring a few months back. The
Shard had disappeared 200 years ago and no-one had seen it
since. It is said that if anything happens to it, we will all be
destroyed by the winter that will follow. While we were in
Dragontooth, Clarence enrolled at the College of Mace and later
at the College of Persuasiveness at Chandris. It would help us get
a better deal when we purchased new equipment. All this time,
Izzy had been using a +1 crystal dagger that we had collected
earlier. Our other fights had gained us some more useful equipment
and I had a mace, constant speed +2. We also had some other weapons
that we had collected and since our ship now needed considerable
repairs, pirates and sea monsters having taken their toll, we sold
our spare weapons at a local marketplace. We had also gained
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- Demon's Winter solution by System on 09/03/2006, 09:50