For my second character I rolled a Skill of 12, a Stamina of 19 and a Luck of 12. Heroes don't come much tougher than this. I chose the Potion of Fortune, as usual, and it was time to begin.
(New readers, or those unfamiliar with the book, might want to refer back to the previous post. I'll be glossing over a lot of the sections I covered there, and focusing on the things I do differently.)
I entered Port Blacksand and was stopped by the rad-helmeted guard, but this time I decided not to pretend that I was a merchant. Deciding that honesty is obviously the way to go in a place called "The City of Thieves", I told him that I wished to be taken to Nicodemus. The guard told me that he was sending for an escort, but instead I was seized and thrown into a dungeon. I didn't struggle against my arrest; maybe Nicodemus was in the dungeon as well.
The dungeon was occupied, but not by Nicodemus. The sole occupant was a crazy old man, who offered to show me a way out for the price of 10 gold pieces. The guards had taken my sword, but left me with all of my other gear, so I was more than capable of paying. I handed over the coins (leaving me with 20), and he produced the key from his clothes, giving no adequate explanation for why he hadn't escaped himself. I must say, he was acting rather wizardy, and I really should have asked him if he was Nicodemus. Instead I unlocked my cell, retrieved my sword and made for the exit. Two guards blocked my way, but they were no match for my mighty Skill of 12. I looted them for 2 gold pieces (I now had 22) and a merchant's pass. (In my last game, the guard had told me that I shouldn't be caught without a pass. Now I've found one, but there's no way to get the advice and the pass in the same play-through.)
I sneaked into the city to the first four-way junction, and headed east down Clock Street. (Last time I had gone north, but I wanted a bit of variety, and none of these paths contain anything vital.) The first thing I encountered was an old, depressed beggar.
I stopped to talk to him (because doesn't everyone stop to talk to sad-looking vagrants?), and the ungrateful bugger attacked me with a dagger. I killed him (because doesn't everyone do that to sad-looking vagrants?), and was surprised to find a glass ball full of smoke in a bag around his neck. I smashed the ball on the ground, and the smoke formed into a magnificent winged helmet, which I couldn't resist putting on my head. Caution be damned! The choice turned out to be a good one, as the helmet's magic granted me a +1 bonus to Attack Strength in combat. It also granted me a Luck bonus, but my Luck was already at maximum, so I didn't need it.
Continuing east, then around a corner to the north, I noticed that the houses were much bigger, and that the door to one was open. With no regard for privacy I barged in, and found that the place was a dirty hovel, albeit one sized for a giant. In the back room there was an Ogre, who was mattering to himself with worry.
What's with this place, everyone is depressed! Despite my previous experience with the sad beggar, I tried to talk to the Ogre, who interrupted me by shouting that his food had been stolen, and asking if I could give him some of mine. Now, provisions are a precious, mysteriously wound-healing super-food, and not to be wasted, but I gave him two of them anyway. The Ogre gulped them down, then told me to get out of his house. Such behavious could not go unpunished, so I drew my sword and killed the lout (though not before he wounded me, reducing my Stamina to 17). I only wished that there was some way to cut open his stomach and retrieve my provisions.
While looting the Ogre's house I found a box that I smashed open with my sword. Inside were 15 gold pieces, two gems, and a white silk glove. I pocketed the coins (bringing my total to 37) and the gems, then considered the glove. I should have known better than to put the glove on, really; having found some treasure in the box already, I should have guessed that it was cursed. Ian Livingstone never gives you a box in which all of the contents are beneficial. Still, like a fool I put it on, and it burned my hand and caused me to lose 2 Skill points (reducing it to 10). Serves me right, really.
Further north there was a boy sitting on a barrel, who told me that the liquid in the barrel would heal all my ills, and I could drink some for 3 gold pieces. I gave him the coins (reducing my total to 34) and took a drink, but it was only water. It refreshed me, restoring 1 Stamina point (bringing me to 18), and I shook my fist in mock anger as I left. Seriously, though, that kid is going to get murdered if he plays that trick on someone else.
I followed the street around to the left, and was set upon by a trio of Dwarfs. They tried to knock me out with a cudgel, but I succeeded in the requisite Luck Test (reducing my Luck to 11), and avoided the blow. Not only that, put I punched the lead Dwarf iin the nose, and all three fled down an alley. Sensing loot, I chased them, but it turned out to be a trap. The Dwarfs entangled me in a net and stole all of my gold, which also resulted in the loss of 2 Luck points (reducing my score to 9). (This was very, very bad. Gold is essential to completing this book, so I was going to have to take some risks to rebuild my stash.)
I left the alley and continued west, where I found a flower shop. Despite my lack of money I went inside, and was greeted by an old woman named Mrs Pipe. She offered to sell me a special golden flower, which had magic petals that would turn into gold pieces when dipped into dog's blood. Excited at the prospect of being able to justify the murder of dogs, I traded her two of my provisions for a single flower, then left the shop.
Further along the street was a jeweller's shop. I went inside, and offered to sell the shopkeep the two gems that I had earlier looted from the Ogre's house. He offered me 9 gold pieces, but when I tried to haggle he got super-angry, so I accepted this meagre price out of desperation. He also had some magic rings, but I declined to buy any of them; I was going to need that money for later.
I soon came to the junction where the first three streets converge, and was forced north to the market square and the poor goody-two-shoes being pelted with eggs. As always, there was an old crone there who stole a gold piece from me (leaving me with 8). I hurried through the market, not wishing to spend any money. I ignored the food stall, the lyre player, the smug cannonball thrower, and the clairvoyant. At one stall I bought a lantern for 3 gold pieces (leaving me with 5), but that was the only money I spent in the market.
It started raining as I left the market along a street heading north, but I decided to ignore a house with an open door and braved the weather. (The house was full of snakes, you may recall.) After that there was a bridge, but this time I ignored the old man who was crossing it, and took the stairs down to Nicodemus' house. He was his usual charming self, and sent me on my way with the list of items needed to kill Zanbar Bone.
After leaving Nicodemus, I came to a junction and went east down Candle Street. Down an alleyway was a house with a door painted with six skulls, and who was I to resist an invitation like that? I went inside, and was greeted my a man who invited me to play a game.
He placed six pills on the table before me, and to play the game I would have to eat one. Five of the pills were safe, and one was a deadly poison. I would have refused, but the prize if I survived was 20 gold pieces, and I was sorely in need of money. I sat down, and ate a pill. After all, there was only a 1-in-6 chance that I would die. The odds were in my favour.
I rolled a 1.
Now in the olden days of my youth I probably would have made a quick motion that would cause the die to flip over to a different number. As an older man, I follow the rules, and the rules say I'm dead. No time for mourning, dear friends, no time for tears, Just time to roll up a new hero, and carry on with the quest. I'll be back next week for a third crack at City of Thieves, which is honestly two more than I thought I'd need.
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