Yes, I'm back in the land of the living, ready to Fighting Fantasy it to the max. Sorry for the delay; I'll be back on a daily (ish) schedule from now on.
Last time we had to decide whether to attack a ship or look for something smaller. Look for something smaller! As if. I was glad to see unanimous support for bloodshed and violence.
You give full sail to the Banshee and bring her rapidly alongside the sluggish merchantman. Your crew brandish their scimitars and crossbows as you lean across the gunwale, shouting to the other vessel's captain and crew, 'Surrender your cargo and pas-
sengers or you will lose your lives as well as your ship.' This brings an unexpected response. A
hooded figure, obviously a Warlock or Magus, steps aside from the gaggle of frightened passengers and performs a short spell, which summons a hellish Shade and sends it like a smoky cloud across the space between the ships to attack you, the captain.
SHADE SKILL 11 STAMINA 6
If you defeat it, turn to 252.
What a shady thing to do!
Shade Fight:
R1: Us 18, Shade 19. We lose 2 points of STAMINA; 13 remain.
R2: Us 15, Shade 18. We lose 2 points of STAMINA; 11 remain.
R3: Us 18, Shade 18. Draw.
R4: Us 16, Shade 17. We lose 2 points of STAMINA: 9 remain.
R5: Us 20, Shade 18. Shade loses 2 points of STAMINA: 4 remain. (Thank Christ for that.)
R6: Us 21, Shade 15. Shade loses 2 points of STAMINA; 2 remain.
R7: Us 19, Shade 21. We lose 2 points of STAMINA; 7 remain. (Bollocks.)
R8. Us 18, Shade 17. Shade dies.
Hooray!
The crew and passengers of the merchantman, aghast at the Warlock for provoking you so, rush and seize him. Trussing his arms with a stout rope, they push him overboard into the sea, leaving him to drown or be taken by the sharks. The captain climbs into the rigging and shouts, 'Forgive us for harbouring such an unworthy fellow. We place ourselves at your bountiful mercy!' His crew and passengers vigorously agree. Boarding the merchantman, you seize 120 Gold Pieces and, in a fit of good will, take only 2 of his passengers as slaves -
add these items to your Booty. Returning to the Banshee, you allow the merchantman to continue its journey. Will you continue to patrol the Inland Sea by heading towards the Shoals of Trysta (turn to 66), or change course and travel towards either the west coast (turn to 157) or the Eastern Rim (turn to 10) for a bit of coastal raiding?
What the fuck? "A fit of good will", my arse. We'll take only 2 of his passengers as slaves because we'll have keelhauled the rest.
Log: 17 Days
Gold: 183
Slaves: 3
Crew Strength: 15
Stamina: 7 (out of 19)
Let's head for the Eastern Rim.
ReplyDeleteI know I wasn't going to get involved, since I know the book, but now might be a good time to munch on some Provisions!
ReplyDeleteEastern Rim!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Eastern Rim!
ReplyDelete(any way for the Captain to build his STAMINA back up?)
zero_zero_one, in most of these books, you had healing in the form of a limited number of "Provisions". I don't recall if Seas of Blood had them, but I can only assume so, hence my suggestion above. It's an action that you can take outside of the normal "turn sequence", so it can be done in addition to heading for the Rim.
ReplyDeleteShoals of Trysta.
ReplyDeleteAlways go with the most evocative name.
As I am hoping to spend the summer in San Francisco I vote for the West Coast.
ReplyDeleteWho knows we might get another shot at the desert caravans mentioned at the beginning.
Oh...I second eating some if we can.
I vote the Eastern Rim.
ReplyDeleteShoals are never good for a boat.
Shoals of Trysta! I agree with Zack.
ReplyDeleteand munch on provisions!
west coast (turn to 157)
ReplyDelete