Alright, this is getting serious.
For those that have also read my Way of the Tiger blog, you will remember my repeated and frustrating struggles with a certain Horned Cyclops.
No, I won’t link to those posts, because the memory is…..painful.
In any event, I’m being reminded of these struggles, as these ongoing deaths are starting to get troublesome, what with dying in the same way again and again.
Wasn’t that the plot of an awesome recent movie?
Oh yeah.
Gritting my teeth, I act like a casino boss and trust in the law of probability, resolving to take roughly the same path through this frustrating adventure.
So, book – do your worst!
Because I dislike repeating myself (yes, really), I’ll just mention that I make the same decisions all the way through until I reach Lone Wolf’s attempt to dash through the ambush at the watchtower (which, if you’ve been following along, you’ll recall is the first R10 check during this route).
I am pleased to confirm that, once more, my super (?!) horses gallop bravely through, and leave the pursuing Doomwolves in the dust.
This means that, yet again, I am able to follow the well-worn path of previous choices, all the way up until I stand (solo, naturally) before the President and the Senate, desperately pleading my case.
Because Walter White is a moral example we should all follow.
Aside : Seriously, anyone who thinks that character is the hero of the show needs to take a good, hard long look at themselves.
Back to the result of my desperate, impassioned speech.
I am somewhat relieved when the jet of red flame indicates that the President is in a bad mood today, and the Senate’s vote has gone against me, since this will at least lead me to a new set of possibilities.
Adam West, you are a treasure.
As the result becomes clear, Senator Chil, naturally, urges the waiting soldiers to ‘seize’ me, and I decide that the time has come for a daring escape.
Project Aon link – Scales of Justice
Did I need an excuse to post this awesome sequence from one of the greatest action / adventures of all time?
Sold!
In any event, I engage in suitable heroics by sprinting away from my seat and towards an empty staircase. A hapless guard attempts to snare me with a net, but my completion of the Lore Circle of Fire, together with my skill of Huntmastery gives me a 90% chance of evading same.
Hmmm, I think I’ve heard that probability before.
This time,though, my R10 result of 9 is easily enough for success, and I dash down the stairs, before easily accounting for another three guards who were foolishly standing in my way at the base of the staircase.
I am now confronted with a choice. The corridor in front of me leads to the crowded entrance hall. The window to my left leads to my carriage, which stands temptingly close to the side of the building.
I don’t know if the carriage is a safe option, but the ability to quickly get out of this deathtrap of a building appears attractive.
In a classic ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ moment, the book confirms that the window is bolted shut, and that if I want to escape this way, I’ll need to leap through a pane of thick glass.
I don’t know if Joe Dever is going to base the result of this decision on unrealistic movies, but jumping through a closed glass window, notwithstanding the depiction of same in popular culture, is a really, really stupid thing to do. On reflection, I’m going to head down the corridor.
This path is easier than I thought – I am almost unnoticed in the bustling throng, notwithstanding the traditional green cloak, and I manage to sprint under the crossed halberds of the guards at the door, and into the crowd on the street.
I slip through the crowded alleys, entering an area that I (somehow) know to be called the Parish of Thieves.
The lawyers’ precinct, no doubt.
……
……
Naturally, in such a stressful moment, and, knowing that I am still a wanted man, I need a drink.
I quickly enter a nearby tavern, and take what I think is an untaken seat. Unfortunately, some ruffian is about to pick a fight over same.
Aside : What is it with this town and morons picking fights in bars for no reason??
Oh, that’s right. That’s the case for pretty much every bar in every city in the world.
This twit identifies himself as Sogh of Suentina but, before he can finish threatening me, half a dozen guards crash through the door, doubtless on the lookout for me.
Aside : No word as to whether I’ve turned my famous green cloak inside out.
In a baffling development, I am given no choice whatsoever, but rather hand over my entire (!!!) purse to Sogh in exchange for him getting me out of the tavern without being captured.
Um, what?
You said it, George.
Sogh is, at least, true to his side of the (lopsided) deal, taking me through a secret door in the ale cellar through numerous corridors and into the sewers. Given my ultimate destination, I’m thinking that underground probably isn’t the worst place to be.
Sogh pauses at a particular spot and flips a switch that opens a secret passage. Not having a whole lot of choice in the matter, I enter…..
Base Stats : CS : 19, E : 25, GC 0
Current Stats : CS : 34/34, E : 31/31
Weapons : Sword, Dagger
Weapon-Like Special Items : Silver Bow of Duadon (+3), Sommerswerd (+8 CS),
Backpack : Vial of Gold Dust, Rope, Lantern, Meals (1), Altar Cloth, Potion of Laumspur, Sacks of Silver (1), Flask of Boza
Special Items : 1. Sommerswerd 2. Platinum Amulet, 3. Invitation 4. Shield (+2 CS), 5. Padded Waistcoat (+2 E), 6. Chainmail Waistcoat (+4 E) 7. Blue Stone Triangle Pendant, 8. EMPTY 9. Quiver (6 arrows), 10. Fireseeds (6), 11. EMPTY 12. Silver Bow of Duadon.
Extra Special Item : Receipt
Kai Monastery storage :
- Backpack Items : Sack of Silver
- Special Items : Mao of Tekaro, Diamonds (2), Boat Ticket, Power Key, Copper Key, Ornate Silver Key, Jewelled Mace, Dagger of Vashna, Brass Whistle. Quiver (4 arrows), Pass, Vial of Clear Liquid, Crystal Star Pendant
Magnakai Rank : Principalin
Magnakai Disciplines : Weaponmastery (+3 CS in Sword, Bow, Mace, Dagger, Spear, Quarterstaff), Pathmanship, Huntmastery, Divination, Invisibility, Nexus
Lore-Circles : Fire (+1 CS, +2 E), Solaris (+1 CS, +3 E)
Kai Disciplines : Camouflage, Animal Kinship, Tracking, Hunting, Sixth Sense, Healing, Mind Over Matter, Mindblast (+2CS), Mindshield, Weaponskill (+2 CS in Short Sword)
Paragraph : 135
LONE WOLF PLAYTHROUGH 
I suppose you could’ve been given the choice of surrendering and being handed over to the Darklords, but Joe assumes you’d prefer not to do so. It would have been an interesting ending to see be written, though.
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In fairness you can have that ending in Shadow on the Sand being forced to bow before Darklord Haakon before being strangled. So its being done.
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I now realize you could’ve tried throwing your green cloak onto Sogh and seeing if the guards take the bait. Even use your fabled ventriloquist skills. “Guards, it’s the Kai Lord! Get him!” *guards stop, look confused* “I mean … seize him!” *guards tackle Sogh*
Did you hear, they’re remaking one of Errol Flynn’s movies? It ” follows Flynn as a young man whose magnetism inspires a rag-tag team of friends to set sail on a thrilling adventure in search of elusive New Guinea gold”. That must have been quite a film, oh, wait, I think I misread something. Hmmm, apparently, this wasn’t a movie, it was something Flynn actually did before becoming an actor, and his films may have boring compared to his real life. The biopic “In Like Flynn” *snickers* *because I know what that means* *and even if I didn’t, I know enough about his reputation to read between the lines* should open next year.
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“In Like Flynn” was a pretty universally recognised expression in the actor’s heyday (did you know he grew up in Australia? Yep!) to the extent that he wanted to call his autobiography “In Like Me”….
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Ok, firstly can I just say that when you said you were going to reference your favourite escape I was thinking “Oh please be Oh please be YES! It’s Robin Hood”. I think its over twenty years since I last saw that scene, love the line “Quick Close the gates, there’s a traitor inside trying to escape”. Now to the usual cynical critical cutting review.
Should be pointed out that if you did try to link to all the posts where you ended up as Cyclops stew it would have doubled the size of this page. But to your credit you found an impressive array of anger or despair pictures for them.
You made the same decisions??? Including dumping the sack of silver instead of putting it in safe storage? /Hurriedly glances over inventory/. Honestly Aussiesmurf, its almost as though you don’t view unusable wealth in a fantasy world as real! Wait… /Fenrir moves on before his brain has a chance to analyse what he just wrote/
Best comment IMHO on Walter White was from the author: “loathsome and sympathetic”, full credit to Bryan Cranston for managing it.
And this is probably the only time when you’ve gone “Yes!!!” at being unable to persuade a court to take your side 😈 Btw, your link re leaping through panes of glass, finding out they used to use sheets of sugar left me in a daze, I’ld have just settled down to eat the whole window 😊
And NOW you object to the loss of imaginary wealth. I suppose mere silver is beneath you but GOLD is valuable…. actually I too mourn the loss of the belt pouch 😢. Btw, in my wife’s part of India they won’t touch White Gold because it looks too much like silver, they want proper yellow gold jewellery.
Now to discover is their honour among thieves.
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1. The best line in that sequence is the ‘brave’ High Sheriff of Nottingham’s “Such impudence, your Highness! If I could only reach him!”
2. I’m beginning to think that the ‘Sack of Silver’ isn’t going to be permitted to be used in place of ready money any time soon.
3. Walter White was a little sympathetic for the first few episodes, but that didn’t last long. The most interesting characters, by miles, were Hank and Skylar.
4. The window thing has always annoyed in movies, particular the way in which characters do it rather than take an extra few seconds to, you know, open the window / door.
5. My wife’s wedding and engagement rings are both white gold, at her preference.
6. The Senate was very much not a Court.
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I made sure my ring was white gold, mostly because I had just read the Thomas Covenant series.
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Thomas Covenant is not a role model….
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1) While its a great line, played with perfect body language, Robin Hoods “There’s a traitor inside” has the “He did’nt say that, will he get away with it? Yes! He did” factor making it my favourite.
2) Rather like the various diamonds you’ve found. Joe Dever did say from the start that some items are of no use whatsoever but things like the Kalte Firesphere last for years.
3) No disputing that.
Lunch over. More later.
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@Nathan. Over several wedding anniversaries I got my wife a ring, necklace and earrings all with the same type of ruby. Officially this was purely as a set, unofficially I didn’t have internet then and had gotten confused on the gear of Witchhunters of Solkan from Warhammer. She doesn’t know and will NEVER know.
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4) In “Where the heart is”, a horribly slushy melodramatic romance film that I was only able to watch from the moment I turned it on to the end of the credits, one character has to be stitched up by the doctors after going through a plate glass window and it was considered something extraordinary, plus he shielded himself with his coat … but he was still able to deliver a baby before the doctors arrived. That remains the closest to realistic that I’ve seen myself.
5) Kerala, wife’s state, has about 2.5 % of India’s population but, in 2011, 60 % of its gold sales, and it all has to be the yellow stuff.
6) A jury of 12 Senators and a President to rule when the jury is hung (or should be hung in this case). Yeah, “court” was the wrong word but debonaire Lawyer about town hasn’t gone arguing in any parliaments that I know of either so I was stuck for the right word. Should have said something like “this is the first time you’ve gone “YES” when failing to persuade people in a debate”. … slightly better.
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