Last week, I failed in my attempt to find the treasure in the revised version of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, as seen in Warlock Magazine #1 and #2. I had only found two of the correct three keys needed to open the Warlock's treasure chest: one guarded by a Werewolf, and another by a Minotaur. So I'm back at the beginning, and my plan for this attempt is to fight the Iron Cyclops; that's where the correct key is in the original version of the adventure. I almost hope that it's not there, as I'd prefer this version to be as different as possible. Then again, I'd be perfectly happy to be done with this and on to the next gamebook. It's a win either way.
My character for this adventure had a Skill of 10, a Stamina of 15 and a Luck of 12. This time around I chose the Potion of Strength, as my Stamina score was quite poor. Normally I would choose the Potion of Fortune, but my Luck was really good and this book is generous with Luck bonuses.
I'll skim past the opening stages of the book, because I did very little that was different from my last attempt. Mostly this part involves killing loads of Orcs, and collecting various minor treasures. I did manage to break into the armoury this time, which I had failed to do previously. There's no key to be found there, but I did find a shield that will occasionally reduce the damage I take in combat.
At the junction past the portcullis I turned right, then followed a few more turns until I came to my ultimate goal: the Iron Cyclops. The Cyclops is one of the toughest battles in the book, and in this case he really lived up to that. This battle went right down to the wire: I only had 1 point of Stamina left when it was done, and I had used 3 Luck points to help me win. Straight away I drank a dose from my Potion of Strength (restoring my Stamina back to 15), and I was pretty happy that I'd chosen it this time. In most Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, provisions are sufficient to restore Stamina, but the restriction to eating one at a time in this book really limits their usefulness.
The Iron Cyclops still had a key inside it, just as in the original version, number '99'. I also took the Cyclops's jewelled eye (not that I remembered to use it later on).
After leaving the room I headed north, plowed through a Barbarian, and ignored a few more rooms until I came to the river. I paid the ferryman his fee of 3 gold pieces to help me cross, and from there I headed to fight the Werewolf and his Hellhound pet. Like the Cyclops, this was a tough fight. The Hellhound kept blasting me with its fiery breath, and by the time I killed them both I had but 4 Stamina left. I finished off my Potion of Strength, and claimed the Werewolf's keys, including one that is needed to open the Warlock's treasure chest.
In my last game I had gone through the boat house, but this time I opted to head north, through the room with the Zombies. There were five Zombies in all (the one with the scythe being my favourite), and I mowed them down with ease. I could have searched some barrels, or the weapons of the Zombies, but instead I chose to loot the corpse of an adventurer that was propped in the corner. The corpse had a number of interesting items, but I chose to take its sword and crucifix. The sword was enchanted, and allowed me to add 2 points to my Skill in combat. (It's possible that I missed a key in this room, as there's no way to inspect everything in one pass through.)
In the next room was a coffin, with the obligatory Vampire. I held it at bay with my crucifix, and staked it through the heart (using sharpened sticks and a mallet that I had looted from the Barbarian mentioned earlier). Alas, there were no keys inside the coffin, so I moved on.
I went down a flight of stairs, and ignored the three corpses found in the chamber at the bottom. I knew from my previous attempt that they didn't have anything essential, and I didn't feel like fighting the Ghoul, so I just walked right on by.
After that was the Maze of Zagor, which I zipped through as quickly as possible. The only place I visited here was the Minotaur's room, as I knew that he had one of the necessary keys. He proved little trouble, and Key '111' was soon mine.
Soon I was out of the Maze, past the Dragon (defeated using Farrigo's Dragonfire spell), and on to face the Warlock. I totally forgot that I had the Eye of the Cyclops, and could have used it to kill him instantly. Instead I drank a Potion of Invisibility, and engaged him hand-to-hand. The Warlock's stats are super-high (Skill 11, Stamina 18), but my invisibility powers coupled with my magic sword made me far too powerful. Trucking through the Warlock without taking a scratch is always satisfying.
That's where my satisfaction ended, unfortunately. The third key needed to unlock the Warlock's chest is not the one guarded by the Iron Cyclops. I'm pleased by this, to be honest. The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is always a book I'm up for reading, and I'm looking forward to exploring some paths less trodden while trying to find the right key. I'm not entirely sure where it is, but I have one idea: there's a small room in the original book version that has a key guarded by a gas trap, and I feel pretty confident that this encounter will still be there. Check in next week to find out!
No comments:
Post a Comment