Heart of Ice: [CYOApocalypse]

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Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 385 posted:

At first there is no sign of Kyle Boche, until you notice him snoozing in his bedroll beside the remains of last night�s fire. �They�ll find no sign of the Heart today,� he reckons. �It�s wiser to rest for now and build our strength. When that lot find the Heart there�s going to be a battle royal. We�ll need to be ready for that moment when it comes.�

You see Chaim Golgoth waving to you and stroll over to where he is standing with the Gargan clones. �Are you planning to go exploring today?� he asks. �You�re welcome to join our group, if so.� The Gargan twins glower at this, but do not dispute it.

If you decide to back out and spend the day resting after all, turn to 363.
If you accept Golgoth�s invitation, turn to 406 if you have the codeword Enkidu, or to 16 if not.

Wasting disease, yadda yadda, moving on.

Page 16 posted:

You descend via a ruined subway entrance whose ventilation ducts connect with part of the catacombs. Golgoth jabs at buttons on his map box, bringing up a crackling image of the tunnels. The air in the ducts is stale, but he assures you that there is a good chance of reaching the underground tunnels close to the Shrine of the Heart. The Gargan sisters are even less enthusiastic about the route you are taking. With their broad shoulders, the duct feels like a long metal coffin.

The stale air makes it hot work. You are soaked in sweat by the time you finally wriggle out of the duct and drop to the floor of a dimly lit tunnel. The Gargan sisters follow, grunting curses, as Golgoth consults the map box.

If you have the codeword Enkidu, turn to 198; otherwise turn to 325.

Nope, we don't have that keyword.

Page 325 posted:

You spend an hour or so exploring the area, which turns out to be a range of storerooms and living quarters. �Obviously it�s one of the bomb shelters built in the last days of Du-En,� says Golgoth, shining his torch into a dusty hospital ward. He bangs the map box against the wall to encourage it to give a clearer picture. �That being the case, I�m not so sure we�ll find a route through to the temple area. The society�s leaders would have had more luxurious shelters than this.�

�You want luxury?� calls Gargan XIV from down the corridor. �We got your luxury right here.�

Joining the sisters, you enter an auditorium with banks of seats facing a curtain. Cold silver light flickers from plates of frosted glass set into the ceiling. The light gives a strobe effect, so that you all seem to be moving like figures in a jerky freeze-frame video. Gargan XIII pulls the curtain aside. In the flashes of light and dark, you see a stage where a dozen puppets stand in elegant postures.

You follow Golgoth up onto the stage. The puppets, about a metre tall, are suspended by thin copper wires from high in the grid above the stage. Each is robed like a warrior of ancient times and has a scimitar in his hand. You reach out and feel one. It is sharp enough to prick your finger.

Then, in the space between one flicker of light and the next, something changes. At first you cannot tell what, then it hits you: the puppets are moving. Gargan XIII gives a grunt of pain and you see the livid streak of a wound on her forearm. �They�re alive!� she cries. �Let�s get out of here!�

~~If you have the codeword Enkidu, turn to 132.~~
If not but you have AGILITY, turn to 22.
~~If you have neither, turn to 66.~~

NOPE, STILL DON'T HAVE THAT KEYWORD (although hey, skillcheck!)

Page 22 posted:

Grabbing the stage curtain, you haul yourself up hand over hand until you reach the machinery that moves the puppets� wires. Swinging out, you gather up the wires and snag them into the rotating cogs. Down on the stage, the puppets are jerked off their feet and lifted up as their wires snarl inside the machinery.

You see your companions look around in surprise, then Golgoth thinks to look up. Seeing you, his smile flashes in the strobing light. �There�s our deus ex machina,� he says. �You can come down now. And thanks.�

Turn to 110.

: Ha, it'll take more than a troupe of post-apocalyptic hell puppets to take this cyborg down!

Page 110 posted:

After Gargan XIII�s wound has been seen to, you spend another hour searching the bomb shelter. You find a canteen, but the food is unsealed and spoiled. At last you have to accept that you will not get access to the Shrine of the Heart from here. Weary and disappointed, you head back to the ventilation duct.

�You know the theory that the Heart was formed in the Big Bang?� says Golgoth to you. �The boffins say it�s actually another universe, like a seed that didn�t quite get started. I read somewhere that the same thing happens with people. Often you start off with a twin in the womb, but that twin gets reabsorbed into you. In some people, the process happens quite late in the fetus�s development. Occasionally the vestigial remains of the unborn twin is found inside a cyst � you know, tiny limbs, a nubbin of a heart, and so on. It might be true of any of us.�

You wonder why he is telling you this rather ghoulish bit of medical lore when one of the Gargan sisters interrupts. �That is only true for those born in the inferior natural way, inside a womb. My sisters and I were all carefully nurtured and grown to maturity. The artificial wombs guaranteed perfect nutrient balance.�

Golgoth laughs at her proud remarks. It seems to you he is deliberately provoking her. �Your own sisters were all fine specimens of womanhood,� he replies. �I should know; it was me that killed all twelve of them.�

You have not taken in what Golgoth said before Gargan XIII explodes into action. Roaring in fury, she grabs Golgoth�s shoulder and spins him around. His gun is in his hand and it looks to you that he might have got off a shot, but Gargan XIII slaps it away and knees him in the stomach. He reels back into Gargan XIV, who grabs him by the throat and dangles him like a rag doll. �So this is the great Commander Golgoth, sister,� she says contemptuously. �Like all so-called natural humans, he is nothing compared to our pure racial stock.�

She tosses Golgoth aside and he slumps to the floor. You have a nasty feeling you�ll be next.

~~If you have the codeword Enkidu and want to order your automaton to attack, turn to 220.~~
If you step in to fight them yourself, turn to 44.
If you hold back to see what happens, turn to 88.

: Oh for the love of - I DON'T HAVE AN ENKIDU!

: An echidna?

: Not one of those either. All I've got is a sack full of skudge bars and a sick urge to Paradox something...eventually. And I guess it'd be pretty sweet if Thing XII and XIV didn't eat me.

Character Sheet posted:

Jay 'X' Sherman the Mutant Cyborg

Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, PARADOXING, ROGUERY

Life Points: 5

Scads: 30

Possessions: Psionic Focus, Skudge Bars x4, vine killer, barysal gun [I], Little Gaia

Codewords: Talos, Lunar, Hourglass

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd

# ? Jan 28, 2016 05:40

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# ? Apr 24, 2024 05:43

CirclMastr: Jul 4, 2010

I don't think we should fight them here and now, obviously severely disadvantaged. Wait and see if we get killed arbitrarily.

# ? Jan 28, 2016 05:50

AJ_Impy: Jun 17, 2007; SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?; Yam Slacker

Not our circus, not our monkeys.

# ? Jan 28, 2016 12:19

Thuryl: Mar 14, 2007; My postillion has been struck by lightning.

We have no combat skills and are at half health. Plus, that guy sorta had it coming. Hold back.

# ? Jan 28, 2016 13:36

SatansOnion: Dec 12, 2011

He was sort of a douche. Screw him. We'll treat these fair blossoms with the respect and admiration they deserve!

:goonsay:

# ? Jan 28, 2016 17:51

Cathode Raymond: Dec 30, 2015; My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.; Soiled Meat

Please add "post-apocalyptic hell puppets" to the kill list.

Sit up, shut up, and hope for the best.

# ? Jan 28, 2016 18:23

i81icu812: Dec 5, 2006

Cathode Raymond posted:

Boy, that was a long one. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep all the names straight. Also, where did we get the wasting disease? Was it a side effect of that loving transporter I warned you all about or did some rear end in a top hat poison our tea?

Anyway, the way forward is clear: Grab your Barysal gun and charge the catacombs.

This is a pretty good one! I still think I like Down among the Dead Men the best, though. Because it has pirates.

We missed a bunch of other routes that are pretty awesome. There's seven or eight different ways to get to Du En, and multiple ways to the end from Du En

# ? Jan 28, 2016 21:55

Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 88 posted:

Gargan XIV closes in on you. Gargan XIII draws a knife and looks down at Golgoth, in no hurry to finish him off. Suddenly he looks up with a broad smile. She was wrong in thinking him beaten. To the contrary, he has the look of a cat who has trapped two very large mice.

Turn to 154.

Page 154 posted:

Gargan XIII follows Golgoth�s gaze to her leg, where there is a razor-thin cut through the trouser fabric. She pulls it apart to reveal a scratch on the skin. Golgoth holds up a small needle he had hidden in the palm of his hand.

You see now that Gargan XIV has a similar scratch on her forearm. �Cyanide,� explains Golgoth. �Should take about five seconds now... four... three...�

The Gargan sisters exchange a look. There is no time for words. Suffering identical stabs of pain, they crumple to the floor. By the time you feel for a pulse, they are already dead. �They went two seconds sooner than I thought,� says Golgoth in a curious tone. �Must�ve been their faster metabolisms. Well, let�s see what they�ve got.�

Stripping the bodies of equipment, you find two barysal guns (each with three charges), a flashlight, a medical kit, a stun grenade and three food packs. Golgoth offers you the choice of any four items you like.

Add these to your list of possessions and then turn to 176.

: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!

I'll assume we're dropping the vine killer. We can take the flashlight, kit, and grenade and still have two meals left, but I'm open to other suggestions.

Page 176 posted:

You return to the surface. Janus Gaunt and Thadra Bey are already back at the camp. They tell you they explored a warren of tunnels under the plaza but to no avail. �All we found were vaults full of mildewed grain,� growls Bey.

The long light of sunset is bathing the ruins by the time Vajra Singh and the baron reappear. You soon learn that they set out along different routes which converged at a long underground hall. They are obviously excited by what they discovered. �We have identified the temple precincts,� announces Vajra Singh, gesturing to a cluster of buildings across the square. �The Heart of Volent lies somewhere below. Tomorrow may be the last day of the search.�

Turn to 38.

: Excellent. Everything is proceeding according to plan...

Page 38 posted:

If you have the codeword Uruk, delete it and note Enkidu again.

As night falls, an eerie glitter of lights appears in the sky, like a translucent curtain draped across the cosmos. Janus Gaunt gazes up and tells you it is the aurora cordis, caused by particles from outer space falling into the field of paradox radiation emanating from the Heart of Volent.

You stand in awe, humbled by the magnificent sight. The curtain of light ripples and stirs in the heavens. �It seems staggering,� you remark to Gaunt in a whisper, �to think that just a fraction of the Heart�s power could create something on such a scale.�

He laughs. �The Heart�s power is much greater than that. Power enough to shape worlds and shift the stars in their courses, if the legend is to be believed.�

�And do you believe it?�

He gives you an odd, half-frightened look. �Believe it? I have studied the scientific records. I know it for a fact.�

~~If you have the codeword Nemesis, turn to 60.~~
If not, turn to 82.

Nope, STILL don't have Enkidu. Just in case you were curious.

Page 82 posted:

The moon rises, wreathed in a haze of frost. In the crisp cold light, the ancient halls and towers look more than half unreal. You watch the others huddled by their campfires. No one has much to say. Each of them is absorbed in private hopes, dreams and fears of what tomorrow will bring. And each knows that their brittle truce is in its final hours. When the Heart is found it will be every man for himself. Who would expect anything else, when the prize at stake is nothing less than the power of a god?

Vajra Singh and Thadra Bey have retreated to their respective tents and scarcely seem to invite conversation. If you wish, you can talk to one of the others � either Chaim Golgoth (turn to 126), Kyle Boche (turn to 104), Janus Gaunt (turn to 148), or Baron Siriasis (turn to 170).
Alternatively, you could just turn in for the night (turn to 192).

: Have you ever heard of a kind-hearted Baron? Or even a Baron that wasn't downright wicked?

: Ummmm. You've got me there.

: Let's find out just how mustache-twirlingly evil he is!

Character Sheet posted:

Jay 'X' Sherman the Mutant Cyborg

Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, PARADOXING, ROGUERY

Life Points: 5

Scads: 30

Possessions: Psionic Focus, Skudge Bars x4, vine killer, barysal gun [I], Little Gaia

Codewords: Talos, Lunar, Hourglass

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd

# ? Jan 29, 2016 06:57

AJ_Impy: Jun 17, 2007; SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?; Yam Slacker

Hmm. The thought occurs we can ditch our Barysal gun for one with more charges. Janus.

# ? Jan 29, 2016 08:20

Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 148 posted:

Gaunt walks with you to the outskirts of Du-En to show you the night sky. His undead xoms stalk silently alongside bearing glow-lamps. At the city gates, they dim the lamps and you are left with the light of ten thousand glittering stars. The snows of the Sahara are swallowed by darkness, but you get the impression of standing at the hub of infinity.

For a long period neither of you speaks. Then Gaunt recites softly, �Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I�ve tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate to say that ice is also great, and would suffice.�

�What�s that?�

�The words of a poet of long ago.� He gazes to the north. �My home city lies under a shield of ice a kilometer thick. Soon the world will slip into a coma, like a man frozen at the point of death. The polar caps will meet and everything will end.�

�Unless we find the Heart and use its power to set things right.�

He turns with a smile almost of delight. �Is that why you�ve come here? I fear you�ll be disappointed. The Heart must inevitably fall into the hands of the one who is most ruthless. To seize true power, a man must have a heart of ice. When the powerful do good deeds � I speak of Caesar, Alexander, Napoleon, Mao � they do so inadvertently. The good and honest of the world are always the most impotent.�

It suddenly occurs to you that Gaunt hasn�t a chance of surviving here. He is too intellectual to vie with the others for the Heart.

If you tell him that, turn to 279.
If you ask what he thinks of the others, turn to 258.
Otherwise, you can return to the main square and seek out Kyle Boche (turn to 104) or turn in for the night (turn to 192).

: Oh Rusty, come keep me company tonight.

: I'll have you know these joints are kept devoid of any defects and finely oiled.

: *wiggles mustache suggestively*

: Oh for the love of...

Character Sheet posted:

Jay 'X' Sherman the Mutant Cyborg

Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, PARADOXING, ROGUERY

Life Points: 5

Scads: 30

Possessions: Psionic Focus, Skudge Bars x4, vine killer, barysal gun [I], Little Gaia

Codewords: Talos, Lunar, Hourglass

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd

# ? Jan 30, 2016 06:21

Thuryl: Mar 14, 2007; My postillion has been struck by lightning.

Since we've apparently determined that he's smart but not a serious threat to us, we should ask him about the others.

# ? Jan 30, 2016 08:04

No Gravitas: Jun 12, 2013; by FactsAreUseless

Well, there's my favourite poem.

Anyone who is that clever should live.

Tell him.

# ? Jan 30, 2016 08:58

AJ_Impy: Jun 17, 2007; SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?; Yam Slacker

Ask the intelligent and observant guy about the others.

# ? Jan 30, 2016 11:40

Cathode Raymond: Dec 30, 2015; My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.; Soiled Meat

Please add "post apocalyptic hell puppets" to the "kills" list. A properly updated kills list is the hallmark of a conscientious adventurer. :colbert:

Ask the dude about the other dudes

# ? Jan 30, 2016 17:20

Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Cathode Raymond posted:

Please add "post apocalyptic hell puppets" to the "kills" list. A properly updated kills list is the hallmark of a conscientious adventurer.

Thanks, kinda spaced on the first request.

Page 258 posted:

When he folds his hands across his chest and speaks in his mild whimsical way, Janus Gaunt puts you in mind of a priest. �Vajra Singh is the lion among us,� he says; �proud, brave and noble � but cross him, and you�ll measure your remaining span in seconds. So, if Singh is a lion, Golgoth is a fox, agile and crafty. For Baron Siriasis�s totem I would suggest the spider: a brooding, spiteful, sinister creature, always ready to cast its net.�

�And Thadra Bey is evidently a tigress,� you say, �for I have never seen a woman so sleek and fierce. And Kyle Boche?�

�Boche?� He gives a snort of contempt. �He is a jackal... no, an albatross around your neck, I think.�

�And what about you, Janus Gaunt?� breaks in a voice abruptly. You turn to see Kyle Boche sauntering out across the snow. He casts a hooded glance around the throng of silent xoms. �Perhaps you�re the worm of the group? The maggot that eats from within?�

Gaunt turns on his heel and stalks away without reply, his xoms clustering along behind like sleepwalkers. Boche takes your arm and leads you back to the main square. �You should be more careful,� he chides. �Gaunt might have murdered you out there and turned you into one of his undead. You�re lucky I came along when I did.�

Turn to 104.

: Right this way fella. Bygones and all, we've both made it this far anyhow.

Page 104 posted:

Boche struts around the fire under the colonnade while outlining his plans for how you will share the power of the Heart. Lost in your own deep reverie, you hardly hear his words. Finally you look up and ask him, �Why do you want ultimate power, Boche?�

He stops short and looks at you sharply. For a moment you think he is about to give you a straight answer, but no. �What are you saying? Are you having doubts? Surely not, when we are on the verge of triumph. You must not be so timid!�

~~If you have the codeword Nemesis and want to suggest an alliance, turn to 236.~~
If you would rather get some sleep, turn to 192.

: Yeeaahhhh, I think I'm just gonna saunter on over here.

Page 192 posted:

You return to your campsite in the shelter of a ruined building and settle down for the night. The flames of the fire throw long capering shadows across the walls. The ground is so cold that it seems to suck the vitality out of you. How long has it been since you ate? If you have a food pack, you can regain 1 Life Point. You can regain another 1 Life Point if you have a medical kit. (Note that if you possess a Manta sky-car, its storage locker contains a medical kit and several food packs.)

If you have the codeword Hourglass, you lose 1 Life Point while you sleep.

Once you have made the necessary adjustments to your Character Sheet, if still alive to see the dawn you can turn to 83.

That's overall a gain for the good guys.

Page 83 posted:

The sky is clear and blue, with high wisps of grey cloud. The snow crunches underfoot as you walk across the square to join Kyle Boche. Floating out of his tent comes the legless Baron Siriasis. You look around but the square is otherwise deserted apart from clumps of servants waiting beside the tents.

�The others have already descended,� Boche tells you and the baron. �Vajra Singh went with Golgoth, down through the main temple complex. Thadra Bey took herself alone into the adjoining subway tunnels. Janus Gaunt was gone before I woke.�

�I suggest we three team up, then,� says the baron briskly.

Boche nods. �Agreed. If we find the Heart, our alliance holds until the other teams are dealt with. Where shall we descend?�

Last night you noticed an icy crevice beside the building that Singh leveled with his mantramukta cannon. You point it out to the others. �It looks to give onto the cellars, and there may be a way through to the temple catacombs below.�

The baron gazes down into the crevice, then gives a curt nod. �I sense it is a favourable route. It will lead us to the Heart.�

~~If you have a Manta sky-car, turn to 17.~~
If not, turn to 39.

Page 39 posted:

You ease yourselves down into the crevice. The walls are slick with frost and you have to brace your back against sharp rocks to keep from slipping. At last you see a glimmer of light below and you emerge onto a ledge overlooking a large underground cavern. A distant howl of rushing air reaches your ears, magnified by the vast space surrounding you. The light is a dull grey phosphorescence from deep in the rock. Climbing down to the floor of the cavern, you advance through a forest of slender stalagmites which glisten like old candles.

Baron Siriasis bobs along beside you like a grotesque broken manikin. He points. �Ahead is a chasm. Fortunately for you both, there seems to be a bridge across it.�

As you step out from among the stalagmites, you fail to notice at first that a thick glowing vapor is roiling around your feet. Boche heads towards the chasm, but stumbles and gives a cry of alarm as the vapor begins to creep up around his limbs. With a groan, the baron seems to sag and drift down to the cavern floor. You take another step, then you realize that the mist is draining your strength. It rises across your vision, a luminous fog that seeps into your skin like ice water. You can no longer see your comrades. Then you see a sight that sends a tingle of dread through you. Taking shape within the mist, reaching towards you with ghastly imploring fingers, is a horribly twisted figure that looks like a squashed effigy of white clay.

~~If you have the codeword Enkidu, turn to 105.~~
If not but you have the codeword Talos, turn to 127.
~~If you have neither of those but you do have LORE, turn to 171.~~

~~Otherwise, there is nothing you can do to stop the phantom from reaching through your skin and extracting your life-essence, and your adventure is at an end.~~

: *whirr* *squeal* *bzzzt*

Page 127 posted:

The glowing phantom is leeching the strength from your living tissue, but your artificial body parts are not affected. Lunging out with your metal arm, you seize it by the neck. Your cyborg leg carries you forward with a lurching gait until you stand on the brink of the chasm. The phantom squirms in your unbreakable grip, its form twisting and flowing like melting wax. As its fingers penetrate the circuitry of your arm there is a flash of sparks and the feedback causes you 2 Life Points of damage.

If still alive, you manage to throw the phantom down. Its thin bleating cry echoes up from the depths as it falls, trailing its gleaming wisps of vapor like a comet�s tail.

Turn to 149.

: Suck gravity, weirdo ghost!

: Well, that was convenient.

Page 149 posted:

Slowly the chill leaves your bodies. �Curious,� mutters the baron, floating over to peer into the chasm. �It seemed to be a genuine ghost, so far as I could tell. I could not read its mind, at any rate.�

�Just as long as it�s gone now,� grunts Boche. He gestures at a narrow stone bridge spanning the chasm. On the far side, an archway opens onto a tiled hall. �Who wants to go first?�

The baron gives him a scornful look and hovers out across the drop. As you watch him drift to a halt on the far side, it occurs to you that he looks a rather ghostly figure himself.

Boche glances at you, shrugs and strides rapidly across the bridge. �It�s not too bad as long as you don�t look down,� he calls over his shoulder.

They are waiting for you to cross. As you step onto the bridge, you find your gaze drawn downwards in spite of Boche�s advice. The walls of the chasm plunge dizzyingly into feculent darkness. Then you notice something else. Set into the rock walls, about five meters below the level of the bridge, are a row of metal grilles.

If you climb down to investigate, turn to 193.
If you continue across the bridge, turn to 215.

: OOOOOOHHHHH, a THING!

: It's a grille.

: I've got to explore it!

: Why? It's just a grille!

: But it'll be GRATE!

: I'm suddenly wishing we both hadn't survived the long, arduous trek to Du-en.

Character Sheet posted:

Jay 'X' Sherman the Mutant Cyborg

Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, PARADOXING, ROGUERY

Life Points: 4

Scads: 30

Possessions: Psionic Focus, Skudge Bars x2, barysal gun [III], Little Gaia, flashlight, medical kit, stun grenade

Codewords: Talos, Lunar, Hourglass

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines, a troupe of post-apocalyptic hell-puppets, a weird future ghost thing

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd

# ? Feb 1, 2016 03:34

Cathode Raymond: Dec 30, 2015; My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.; Soiled Meat

Get all down in that grille

# ? Feb 1, 2016 03:44

AJ_Impy: Jun 17, 2007; SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?; Yam Slacker

A thing needs looked at.

# ? Feb 1, 2016 14:45

Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 193 posted:

If you have either AGILITY or a ~~length of rope~~, turn to 237.
If not, your footing slips on an icy outcropping as you are making your way down and, having no wish to fall to your doom in the bowels of the earth, you scramble back up onto the bridge; turn to 215.

Page 237 posted:

Reaching the nearest grille, you find it rusted and easy to wrench out of the wall. Narrowing your shoulders, you squeeze through into a small tomb chamber. A body lies on a low carved slab, withered but preserved by the cold dry breeze gusting up from below. The robes suggest this was one of the priests of the Volentine cult. Hearing the others calling you, you make a hurried search of the tomb, finding nothing of interest except for a speculum jacket. This gives some protection from barysal gunshots.

Note the speculum jacket on your Character Sheet. Since the others are anxious to be off, you climb back up to rejoin them without inspecting the other grilles.

Turn to 215.

: Speculum jacket?

Page 215 posted:

You reach the far end of the bridge and pass through into the tiled hall beyond. The architecture here is the same oppressive design as on the surface: the heavy harshly-chiselled lintels and monumental bulbous columns, the gigantic vaults and grotesque carvings. You have a choice of routes on from here: either of two wide passages directly ahead, or a doorway to your left.

If you go through the door, turn to 259.
If you take the left-hand passage, turn to 3.
If you take the right-hand passage, turn to 128.

Come to think of it, we probably should have eaten and disposed of a meal last night, so we've got inventory space for the speculum jacket, whatever the heck it is.

Character Sheet posted:

Jay 'X' Sherman the Mutant Cyborg

Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, PARADOXING, ROGUERY

Life Points: 4

Scads: 30

Possessions: Psionic Focus, Skudge Bars x1, barysal gun [III], Little Gaia, flashlight, medical kit, stun grenade, speculum jacket

Codewords: Talos, Lunar, Hourglass

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines, a troupe of post-apocalyptic hell-puppets, a weird future ghost thing

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd

# ? Feb 2, 2016 04:05

Thuryl: Mar 14, 2007; My postillion has been struck by lightning.

Woooo, a blind choice. Door, I guess, on the strength of it being different from the other two options?

# ? Feb 2, 2016 06:02

Odysseus S. Grant: Oct 12, 2011; Cats is the oldest and strongest emotion
of mankind

Go left.

# ? Feb 2, 2016 08:55

No Gravitas: Jun 12, 2013; by FactsAreUseless

Go right.

# ? Feb 2, 2016 09:10

CirclMastr: Jul 4, 2010

Door because exploring side paths leads to loot.

# ? Feb 2, 2016 09:53

90s Cringe Rock: Nov 29, 2006

Thuryl posted:

Woooo, a blind choice. Door, I guess, on the strength of it being different from the other two options?

Door is also on the left.

# ? Feb 2, 2016 10:18

AJ_Impy: Jun 17, 2007; SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?; Yam Slacker

Left. The other left.

# ? Feb 2, 2016 10:51

Cathode Raymond: Dec 30, 2015; My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.; Soiled Meat

Door

# ? Feb 2, 2016 16:32

Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 3 posted:

The passage is lit by gleaming blue-white tubes along the ceiling. They cast a garish glare in which the sight of a dead body ahead seems like a glimpse of a nightmare. Boche and the baron watch while you stoop and inspect the corpse. You roll it over, surprised at how well the shrivelled flesh has kept in the cold air. �His own mother could still recognize him,� you remark with grim humour.

�Except she�ll have been dead two centuries as well,� says Boche. He gazes off along the corridor, then gives a start. �There�s another one!�

The baron sweeps on ahead and hovers low over the next body. �He died of a broken back.�

�So did that first one,� you say as you come hurrying up with Boche.

A metallic scuttling sound resounds from the far end of the passage. Instantly your whole body is tensely alert, nerves jangling in fear of the unknown. Then you see it approaching along the passage like a giant robot spider: the body a glass bubble filled with blue fluid, surrounded by legs formed from long articulated steel pipes. Inside the glass bubble floats a lumpish embryonic figure pierced by many tubes. Its eyes are open and it is watching you.

Boche gives a gasp of disgust and fires his barysal gun at the glass bubble. But the thing has already raised a row of its legs to form a shield, and the blast splashes away leaving hardly a mark. �I think we�d better run,� he says, backing away.

If you want to try and outwit the thing with CUNNING, turn to 40.
If you confront it with AGILITY, turn to 62.
If you use PARADOXING and a psionic focus, turn to 84.
If you hurl a stun grenade, turn to 106.
Otherwise your only option is to retreat and take the other passage: turn to 128.

: Oh dear.

: That's one ugly...thing. I'll leave it at that.

Character Sheet posted:

Jay 'X' Sherman the Mutant Cyborg

Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, PARADOXING, ROGUERY

Life Points: 4

Scads: 30

Possessions: Psionic Focus, Skudge Bars x1, barysal gun [III], Little Gaia, flashlight, medical kit, stun grenade, speculum jacket

Codewords: Talos, Lunar, Hourglass

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines, a troupe of post-apocalyptic hell-puppets, a weird future ghost thing

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd

# ? Feb 3, 2016 03:35

CirclMastr: Jul 4, 2010

We can finally Paradox something! Maybe!

# ? Feb 3, 2016 03:39

Cathode Raymond: Dec 30, 2015; My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.; Soiled Meat

Finally, a chance to paradox!

# ? Feb 3, 2016 03:40

AJ_Impy: Jun 17, 2007; SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?; Yam Slacker

A paradox, a paradox, a most ingenious paradox!

# ? Feb 3, 2016 03:42

I brought my Drake: Jul 10, 2014; These high-G injections have some serious side effects after pulling so many jumps.

(Para)doxx it.

# ? Feb 3, 2016 09:57

SatansOnion: Dec 12, 2011

Yes! Finally we get to do some brain magic!

# ? Feb 3, 2016 14:32

Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 84 posted:

You see the air twist inside out as the baron projects a bolt of psychic force against the oncoming creature. Like Boche�s gun blast, the bolt is deflected by its shield of metal legs. �It is a robot, immune to paradoxing,� shouts the baron. �We must retreat!�

You have a better idea. You may not be as powerful a psionic as Baron Siriasis, but that only means you�ve learned to be smarter. Instead of channelling your psi-force as a direct bolt, you use it to transmute the blue fluid that fills the glass bubble. Within moments the gnarled little homunculus inside is floating in acid. The thing rears up on its long legs like a dying spider, then topples to the floor. By the time you go over to look, the body inside has entirely dissolved away. �Not a robot,� you say to the startled baron, �but a cyborg. You should have attacked the organic part.�

He glares at you, then gives a curt nod of respect. �It seems I can still learn new tricks of my craft, even from a youngster like you.�

Together you head on to the end of the passage.

Turn to 281.

: Why, yes, thank you.

Page 281 posted:

You enter a lofty room plunged in gloom. Boche flicks his torchlight around and it falls on a curious sight. The light seems to spill slowly, like a puddle of oil, through a zone several meters across. In the middle stands a man in old-fashioned military dress. Beside him on the floor lies a metal globe about the size of an egg, covered with glowing studs.

�It is a stasis bomb, I believe,� announces the baron in his stern clipped tones. �Watch.�

He glides off, skirting the zone where the torch beam slowed down. You see him drifting around the far perimeter. But then suddenly he comes back into view around the edge of the zone, even though you can still see his image moving beyond it.

�The stasis bomb slows down time in a two-meter radius,� explains the baron. �Light takes several seconds to cross the zone, which is why you can still see my image floating on the other side.�

As you watch, the image moves around the zone, disappearing like a ghost as it reaches the edge. �How long has that man been frozen there?� wonders Boche.

�Probably since the fall of Du-En. Almost two hundred years. That period will have seemed to him like only a few seconds.�

~~If you have LORE, turn to 323.~~
If not, you can try to free the man using either a charged barysal gun (turn to 345) or PARADOXING and a psionic focus (turn to 366), or you can leave him frozen and continue on your way (turn to 388).

: Eh, he might just be a giant embryoniccyborgspider engineer.

: True, but how else will we know if we don't ask him?

Character Sheet posted:

Jay 'X' Sherman the Mutant Cyborg

Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, PARADOXING, ROGUERY

Life Points: 4

Scads: 30

Possessions: Psionic Focus, Skudge Bars x1, barysal gun [III], Little Gaia, flashlight, medical kit, stun grenade, speculum jacket

Codewords: Talos, Lunar, Hourglass

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines, a troupe of post-apocalyptic hell-puppets, a weird future ghost thing, embroyonic cyber-spider mech

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd

# ? Feb 4, 2016 02:35

Thuryl: Mar 14, 2007; My postillion has been struck by lightning.

I'd bet even money that LORE would tell us we're better off keeping him in stasis, but sure, let's paradox him free and see what happens.

# ? Feb 4, 2016 03:13

AJ_Impy: Jun 17, 2007; SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?; Yam Slacker

If ripping people from the past without heed to consequence via paradox is wrong, I don't want to be right.

# ? Feb 4, 2016 03:36

Cathode Raymond: Dec 30, 2015; My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.; Soiled Meat

I agree that another paradoxing is called for.

I mean, if Stasis Man is really such a rough customer we can just paradox him too, right?

# ? Feb 4, 2016 03:58

Tuxedo Ted: Apr 24, 2007

Five bucks says he's probably got a giant nuke somewhere nearby thats slooooooowly counting down, and the moment we free him from the stasis we'll be moments away from vaporization.

So hey, let's paradox poo poo.

# ? Feb 4, 2016 05:03

90s Cringe Rock: Nov 29, 2006

Paradox. Sure, shoot him, maybe in a century the shot will hit something.

# ? Feb 4, 2016 08:09

Ratatozsk: Mar 6, 2007; Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 366 posted:

Using the sheer force of your mind, you reach into the time distortion zone and deactivate the stasis bomb. As the flow of time returns to normal, the man stares at you in surprise and takes a hesitant step forwards. He has no idea that that step has taken him two centuries to complete. You can pick up the stasis bomb if you want.

Add it to your list of possessions and turn to 409.

: Where we're going, we won't need food!

: What?

: Endgame, mate.

Page 409 posted:

The man tells you that he is Captain Casimir Novak, commander of the High Priest�s personal guard. �The populace became crazed,� he says indignantly. �They stormed the temple. I was escorting the High Priest to safety when a group burst in here and hurled that stasis bomb. It is the last thing I remember.�

�It was all a long time ago,� you say.

�One thing I must know. Did the High Priest get away?�

You spare Novak the details. Let him have the satisfaction of having succeeded in his duty. �Picard? He got away. No one else did.�

Boche and Baron Siriasis are both looking at him guardedly. You can guess what they�re thinking. How will Novak react when he learns you have come here to take the Heart � the sacred object of his faith?

�Let us worry about explanations later,� says the baron, reading your mind. �For now, we must hurry or the others will reach our goal ahead of us.�

Record the codeword Mallet and then turn to 388.

Page 388 posted:

You make your way along a wide passage where your footsteps echo stonily on the hard tiles. As elsewhere in the catacombs, light comes from a row of globes along the ceiling. Some have dimmed over the years, but most still burn brightly. When you wonder aloud what the power source is, the baron is in no doubt: �The Heart itself. The tiniest fraction of its power is enough to illuminate all the cities of the world.�

At last you arrive at a domed hall. Beyond lies a network of tunnels. �Scout ahead,� the baron tells you. �One of those tunnels must lead to the Shrine of the Heart.�

If you do as he says, turn to 430.
If you bridle at being ordered about, turn to 450.

: OK Bugenhagen, let's dance.

: I don't think he's got the rhythm for that.

: Well...then how about I just shoot him?

: I guess that would be appropriately roguish.

Character Sheet posted:

Jay 'X' Sherman the Mutant Cyborg

Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, PARADOXING, ROGUERY

Life Points: 4

Scads: 30

Possessions: Psionic Focus, barysal gun [III], Little Gaia, flashlight, medical kit, stun grenade, speculum jacket, stasis bomb

Codewords: Talos, Lunar, Hourglass, Mallet

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines, a troupe of post-apocalyptic hell-puppets, a weird future ghost thing, embroyonic cyber-spider mech

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd

# ? Feb 5, 2016 03:05

Cathode Raymond: Dec 30, 2015; My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.; Soiled Meat

I think this heart is going to be only marginally more impressive than the time dilator your just picked up, but w/e.

Anyway, tell Psoriasis to go gently caress himself.

# ? Feb 5, 2016 03:22

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 24, 2024 05:43

Tuxedo Ted: Apr 24, 2007

There's no I in Team! Let's cooperate. And take any loot we find without sharing.

# ? Feb 5, 2016 04:11

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Heart of Ice: [CYOApocalypse]

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