X-Git-Url: http://git.projectaon.org/?p=project-aon.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=xml%2F03btng.xml;fp=xml%2F03btng.xml;h=f5c40f158a165d40f652637b2e5a89111a433fa2;hp=8a46e042cabf53d7262953c9235125c3e4cc3aab;hb=d0f4cf629754629a3f22a4bf4e06fce4969d210b;hpb=c89a964f4ba22f0debfa98f4bfa2ec7df2c34051 diff --git a/xml/03btng.xml b/xml/03btng.xml index 8a46e04..f5c40f1 100755 --- a/xml/03btng.xml +++ b/xml/03btng.xml @@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ $Id$ $Log$ +Revision 1.3 2005/04/01 22:31:03 jonathan.blake +Illustration code added by jffdougan - still needs dimensions + Revision 1.2 2005/03/10 18:21:51 jonathan.blake Removed link to old staff email address. @@ -684,6 +687,14 @@ Initial revision

You find Oz-na-Mun sitting before his shack, staring at a tall mass of moist, red clay before him. His gaunt face is full of sorrow and he does not even look up when you approach. So you have come, he says, flatly.

+ + + Paul Bonner + Oz-na-Mun is sitting before his shack, staring at a mass of red clay + + + +

You knew I was coming? you reply, surprised.

He has been here; your shadow brother, your dark self. There was a girl with him also.

I seek the Moonstone of the Shianti, you state. Do you know where it is and how it may be found?

@@ -1046,6 +1057,14 @@ Initial revision

With smiling faces and much laughter, the Elessin lead you to their home. As you draw closer to the Singing City, you gaze in wonder upon the dazzling display of glass and fragmented light that gleams beneath the bright sun. Rainbows of colour splash from the delicate spires and splendid ivory towers that point towards the sky. Like the distant ringing of a million tiny bells, the music of the city reaches your ears. You hear the warm resonance of a shifting bass accompanied by pure, whispering harmonies as delicate as a breeze, and you are awestruck by the magnificence of the city. The Academicians told you that the Elessin are cruel creatures, but their city suggests a purity of spirit beyond any mortal imagining.

+ + + Paul Bonner + The Singing City with its delicate spires and splendid ivory towers + + + +

You pass through the arched gateway of the city and walk along a long avenue of crystal paving stones.

Turn to 238. @@ -1065,6 +1084,14 @@ Initial revision

You enter a door. To your surprise, you and Tanith find yourselves standing in a circular chamber filled with a milky-white light. Your heart lifts when you recognize that the source of the light is the Moonstone itself. So you found it at last, says a voice behind you. It is the Jahksa.

+ + + Paul Bonner + You and Tanith find yourselves in a circular chamber filled with milky-white light + + + + Turn to 275. @@ -1094,6 +1121,14 @@ Initial revision

Hastily, you walk across the plane of clouds, crossing the Neverness and gaining on the Crystal Tower, which gleams faintly with a strange light. The tower is built from great shards of black crystal, and its design is entirely alien to your eyes.

+ + + Paul Bonner + The Crystal Tower gleams faintly with a strange light + + + + Turn to 167. @@ -1154,6 +1189,14 @@ Initial revision

Soon you are back where you started, having completed a circuit of the Crystal Tower. To your immense surprise, however, there is now a door beneath the metal plate. Tanith has an incredulous look upon her face. There is strange sorcery at work here, she comments.

The iron-shod door is tall and uninviting. You try the handle but the door is locked. You notice a keyhole and five Keys hanging on five hooks by the door. Each Key has been shaped into the likeness of a beast.

+ + + Paul Bonner + The iron-shod door is locked and five keys are hanging by it + + + + If you wish to use the Serpent Key, turn to 240. If you wish to use the Eagle Key, turn to 227. If you wish to use the Wolf Key, turn to 235. @@ -1202,6 +1245,14 @@ Initial revision

You take out the Gyronome. To your surprise it is still emitting its familiar, high-pitched note. You are further confused when you discover that the device continues to sound at the same volume wherever you point it. You depress the foot bar. The mist within the glass dome begins to swirl and its ghostly light grows brighter, but there is no sensation of movement, even with the bar pressed all the way down to the floor. You fear that you are stranded&emdash;becalmed upon an alien sea.

A thread-like line of white light in the distance gives you fresh hope. Your flesh begins to tingle&emdash;an unpleasant sensation that seems to be drawing the strength from your body (lose 2 ENDURANCE points). The horizon of white light thickens until it splits the darkness in two, and yawns like an infernal chasm. Terrified, you hurtle towards the momentous shaft at an incredible speed.

+ + + Paul Bonner + The horizon of white light splits the darkness in two + + + + If you wish to try to slow your pace, turn to 74. If you wish to continue at the same speed, turn to 310. @@ -1368,6 +1419,14 @@ Initial revision

At first they are distant specks but they are moving towards you at high speed and soon you are able to distinguish details. You give an involuntary gasp: the creatures have oily, purple-black skins with slickly matted feathers; their eyes protrude like two swollen bruises from the sides of their heads and their cry is hoarse like the ringing of a cracked bell. The Ethetron moves sluggishly as the very last of the grey mist seeps from its dome. You turn the ship towards the Trianon but the malformed birds (if birds they are) are gaining on you.

+ + + Paul Bonner + The creatures have oily, purple-black skins with slickly matted feathers + + + + If you wish to attack one of the Chaos-birds at long range with your Wizard's Staff, turn to 64. If you wish to wait for the Chaos-birds to draw nearer, turn to 108. If you have the Magical Power of Elementalism and wish to use it, turn to 78. @@ -1557,6 +1616,14 @@ Initial revision

Immediately, you are standing in the court of the Chaos-master. The high walls ripple with light as the strange architecture of the Master's hall changes constantly. In the centre of the hall, upon an obsidian throne, is seated the Chaos-master himself, ruler of the Realm of the Paradox. He makes a disturbing sight: a giant over thirty feet in height, his facial features and characteristics are in a state of constant flux, continually melting into new and hideous guises. You glimpse dark and loathsome creatures, beasts and beings of indescribable horror, writhing within this awesome god.

+ + + Paul Bonner + The Chaos-master continually melts into new and hideous guises + + + +

Welcome to the Master's court! he bellows. Allow me to introduce my guests.

Slowly a dark-robed figure walks into the hall. He wears a hood and carries a black staff. Following immediately behind is Tanith. She gives you a brave smile.

May I present the Wizard, Grey Star.

@@ -1686,6 +1753,14 @@ Initial revision

You are led to a high-ceilinged chamber lit by a curious, pulsing light. The room is filled with strange, ornate machines of gleaming metal. Lights flicker and you hear a throbbing hum and a continual, metallic, mechanical ring. Several Academicians tend the machines, pushing buttons and pulling levers, though to what purpose you cannot guess.

Grey Star, Tanith&emdash;allow me to introduce you to Crabkey, one of our greatest and most ingenious inventors.

+ + + Paul Bonner + Allow me to introduce Crabkey, one of our most ingenious inventors + + + +

You recognize the shabby man who turns to greet you; he was the man who sat in the armchair when you first entered the chamber of the Academicians. In the strange lurid glow of the laboratory his shadowed, bulging eyes make him appear even more sinister than before. We meet again, you say uncomfortably.

Crabkey stares at you without speaking. Spittlethrift breaks the silence: Mr Crabkey is the inventor of the machine that will enable you to journey to the Realm of the Singing City, aren't you, Crabkey, old chap? Crabkey continues to stare at you insolently. With a slow blink of his huge eyes, he makes an unintelligible sound in the back of his throat and nods.

Yes, yes, says Spittlethrift half to himself. Come now, young Wizard and pretty mistress Tanith, come see his wonderful creation. Mounted on a small dais in the centre of the laboratory is a most unusual machine. This, says Spittlethrift proudly, is the Ethetron, the flying machine that will carry young Grey Star through the realms of the Daziarn, and to the Singing City to fetch our prize.

@@ -1824,6 +1899,14 @@ Initial revision

The Ethetron is quite unlike anything you have seen before. It has a railed platform, and is shaped like a saucer, except that its stern is pointed like a lizard's tail. It bears a large glass dome in its centre. Passing through the top of the dome is a single black shaft like the mast of a sailing ship. The single sail resembles a giant bat's wing and is made of a strange material that shimmers like water and looks like metal but is like fabric to the touch. A closer inspection of the glass dome reveals that it contains a swirling, grey-white mist.

+ + + Paul Bonner + The Ethetron's tail is like a lizard's, its sails like bats' wings + + + +

It is the raw stuff of the Daziarn, unformed power for the craft, explains Crabkey. Without it, the craft would fall from the sky. To steer, he continues, you must operate this lever&emdash;pull to climb, push to dive, left and right as normal. To draw more power from the glass dome you must press this metal bar at your feet; to slow down, release it. If you apply no pressure, the craft will remain where it is; if you push the lever to the left or right without power, the craft will spin on its axis. Beware, these controls are very sensitive. You need apply very little pressure to make the craft change its course.

When Crabkey is satisfied that you understand the controls, he introduces you to another Academician, Slypate, who hands you a shining sphere of red and yellow metal. This is a Gyronome. There is no north, east, west or south in the plane of the Daziarn, nor is there time as you perceive it, says Slypate. The only way of finding the Singing City is with the aid of this device. When you draw it out, it will emit a sound if you are heading for the Singing City. The louder the note, the surer your course. To return to the Crystal Tower, the Gyronome must be absolutely silent. It is very accurate: I invented it myself, he says with pride. You take the Special Item and place it in your pocket. (Remember to mark the Gyronome on your Action Chart.)

Soon you are ready to leave. The Academicians offer you the choice of the following items to aid you in your quest. (Remember that you may carry only two Weapons and a maximum of eight items in your Backpack.)

@@ -1904,6 +1987,14 @@ Initial revision

You head across the cloud plane towards the hunched figure. The man turns and looks at you, apparently unsurprised by your sudden appearance. He is dressed in grey, tattered rags and, with a start, you see that the flesh of his hands and face is almost transparent, revealing the veins, bones, and tissue that lie beneath his skin.

+ + + Paul Bonner + The hunched figure is dressed in grey rags and the flesh of his hands and face is almost transparent + + + +

No peace. No peace, he mutters to himself. So many interruptions&ellips; the passage of strangers, asking directions and breaking the silence. He gazes at you with a sad but steady stare. I am Drear, wanderer between worlds, he says, as if reciting a litany. Sailor upon pointless seas, traveller of timeless lands, born of a world grown old and tired. You are in the Neverness, my children, the unformed and unclaimed void of the Daziarn, where no one yet resides.

What of yonder building? you ask.

The Crystal Tower, home of the Academicians, scientists and scholars from another plane. They are mad, my friend. Do not waste your time with them. Instead, follow me and find peace in the calm of wandering; shed all purpose and responsibility. Come, follow! I seek the salvation of silence, the tranquillity of endlessness.

@@ -2098,6 +2189,14 @@ Initial revision

You use another WILLPOWER point but this time you feel the balance of power shift in your favour. Before your enemy is able to pour extra force into his counterspell you order the wind spirits away. At the abrupt change in the force of the wind the Ethetron lurches violently and, as you struggle with the controls, the Jahksa staggers backwards. Tanith seizes her chance and, rushing furiously, she runs headlong into the Jahksa and heaves him over the rails. You both give a triumphant shout of joy and you quickly bring the Ethetron under control.

As you draw closer to the Moaning Mountain you soon locate the cavern in its side and, with some skilful manoeuvring, you line up the ship with the yawning cavern mouth.

+ + + Paul Bonner + You soon locate the cavern in the side of the Moaning Mountain + + + + Turn to 300. @@ -2334,6 +2433,14 @@ Initial revision

You pick up the road out of sight of the poor survivors and follow it to the next village. This village is also ablaze. No one attempts to put out the fire; instead, everyone stares at a figure dancing maniacally on the roof of a house. It is a familiar and disturbing sight: Jahksa. Even now he is hurling bolts of magical flame into the thatched and wooden roofs of the village houses.

+ + + Paul Bonner + Everyone stares at a figure dancing maniacally on the roof of the house + + + + If you wish to attack the Jahksa at long range, turn to 154. If you have the Magical Power of Elementalism and wish to use it, turn to 169. @@ -2488,6 +2595,14 @@ Initial revision

A sky-blue sea with foam-crested waves rolls where the sky should be. Green hills and fields ripple and undulate like an ebb tide and the Ethetron begins to rock violently. Mountains stand on their peaks and towns and cities float haphazardly in the air. Night becomes day and day becomes night in the blink of an eye. A huge fist rears up, poised to strike, then passes through you like a phantom. All around you is the sound of crazed and forlorn laughter.

+ + + Paul Bonner + Mountains stand on their peaks and cities float haphazardly in the air + + + + If you have the Magical Power of Enchantment, turn to 156.

If you do not have this Magical Power, pick a number from the Random Number Table and add it to your WILLPOWER score.

If the total is 20 or more, turn to 86. @@ -2947,6 +3062,14 @@ Initial revision

Tense with anticipation, you wait as the figures draw near. Each wears a short white toga; they have blonde hair and strange, circular ears.

As soon as they arrive they begin speaking to you in a language you cannot understand. Their voices are soft and flute-like and there is a lilting quality to their speech. These are Elessin, inhabitants of the Singing City. Excitedly, they chatter on, pointing at both the Ethetron and the sky. You soon realize that they wish you to go to the Singing City with them.

+ + + Paul Bonner + The Elessin have soft, flute-like voices and wear short togas + + + + If you wish to go with the Elessin, turn to 45. If you wish to attack them with your Wizard's Staff, turn to 6. @@ -2958,6 +3081,14 @@ Initial revision

The webbed claw rakes the side of the Ethetron, but your swift reflexes save you from certain death. As the monstrous limb sinks back into the mist, Tanith points to a crack that has appeared in the glass dome that contains the power which drives the craft. The Ethetron starts to lose height, sinking slowly into the swirling mystery below.

Suddenly, there is a hideous roar and seven eyeless heads on long, slender necks wave before you like monstrous flowers in a breeze. Twenty feet tall, with teeth like razors, they sway this way and that, blindly seeking you out. A giant head sways barely a few feet away and a yawning mouth bears down on you.

+ + + Paul Bonner + Seven eyeless heads on long, slender necks wave before you + + + + If you wish to attack the creature with your Staff, turn to 194. If you wish to manoeuvre between the long-necked monsters, turn to 171. @@ -2969,6 +3100,14 @@ Initial revision

You pass through the Gate, past a shimmering waterfall, and into the foothills of a mountain range towards a lush, green valley. You land the Ethetron and you and Tanith disembark.

Everywhere is a growing, verdant splendour. The air is fresh and invigorating and you suddenly realize that you have not eaten since you crossed the Shadow Gate. You mention this to Tanith and she nods in agreement, pointing to the berries of a nearby bush. Perhaps more familiar natural laws apply in this realm. You eat your fill of the delicious berries; restore 2 ENDURANCE points due to their great nutritional value.

+ + + Paul Bonner + Everywhere is a growing, verdant splendour + + + + If you have the Magical Power of Alchemy, turn to 177. If you do not have this Magical Power, turn to 293. @@ -3240,6 +3379,14 @@ Initial revision

The man leads you into a vast hall. Its incredibly high ceiling is supported by hundreds of transparent columns that contain a many-coloured liquid. At the far end of the hall is a pillar of swirling light that illuminates a grotesque but life-like statue of a child. Welcome, says a voice in your head, to the Palace of the Screaming God. Instinctively you spin round to look at the man with the golden hair. He is a telepath, and since the language of the mind is universal, you are able to understand everything he says. I am the Guardian of the Threnogem, he informs you. And you are Grey Star. Pray tell me, why have you come to the Realm of the Elessin?

+ + + Paul Bonner + In the palace of the Screaming God there is a grotesque but life-like statue of a child + + + + If you wish to attack the Guardian of the Threnogem, turn to 322. If you wish to snatch the Threnogem from the statue's mouth and try to break out of the Palace of the Screaming God, turn to 71. If you wish to tell the Guardian your true purpose, turn to 259. @@ -3366,6 +3513,14 @@ Initial revision

Splendid! Splendid! says a cheerful voice. You spin round to see a little fat man, dressed head-to-toe in a black gown. He claps his pudgy hands together and smiles happily.

+ + + Paul Bonner + Spittlethrift claps his pudgy hands together and smiles happily + + + +

Who are you? you ask, still breathless.

I am Spittlethrift, scholar, professor and master of the Crystal Tower. Yes, yes&ellips; a tower of learning, a veritable pillar of wisdom and knowledge, ha, ha, indeed! He takes a pair of wire-framed spectacles and places them on the end of his smudge of a nose. You are not alone, I see. He squints at Tanith. Most pleasing, enchanting&ellips; yes, yes, well done! You have passed the test; you will suffice. He turns towards the door and flutters his hands in an agitated manner. Come now, you must meet the rest of us. Oh yes, delightful, engaging, so wonderfully entertaining!

The excitable little man leaves the room, still chuckling to himself, and you follow close behind. Soon, he ushers you into a dim room, which is dusty and full of cobwebs. The air is stale and thick with tobacco smoke and seated opposite in a large armchair is a thin, straggling man, roughly Spittlethrift's height, with bulging, shadowy eyes. Reclining in various positions around the room are several others, all approximately Spittlethrift's height, and all similarly dressed.

@@ -4007,6 +4162,14 @@ Initial revision

You thank the Vale people for their kindness but insist that your quest is urgent and will brook no delay. You ask if they will show you to the Gateway to the Realm of the Moonstone, and they agree. That night they take you to the Silver Lake, which lies high in the mountains. They instruct you and Tanith to climb aboard the Ethetron and fly above the lake. As the night grows older, and the moon climbs higher in the sky, the waters are bathed in a beautiful shimmering light, like that of polished silver. Then, they say, must you fly into the lake itself, for it is the Gate and the moon its key.

+ + + Paul Bonner + The Vale people take you to the Silver Lake which lies high in the mountains + + + +

You do exactly as they say and when you reach the surface you discover no water at all; merely the passing touch of something as light as gossamer.

Turn to 247. @@ -4830,6 +4993,26 @@ Initial revision