My Gamebook

[stevendoig]

OK, here goes.  No dice - but you'll need to make notes etc.  Be brutal - I can take it!


IRTH
SAM'S JOURNEY

Book One: THE BLIGHT





HISTORY





“Right, listen up Sam. Yer Ten years auld noo and like me and my Father before me, it's time for a wee history lesson. Pay attention, lots of people on the Mainland use symbols to pass the lesson on, but here you hae tae memorise whit I'm saying and pass it on to your bairn's as best ye can.”



Your father sits back in his small chair that he built himself. Made from wood from the forest of Montremon a few miles distant, like all islanders he waited until one of the infrequent traders made the journey across the causeway at low tide to provide the raw materials. You knew your lesson was today, your older sister had her's two years ago and would brag about how she knew more than you. You sit cross legged on the floor and listen attentively to your father's words. Hopefully many answers will be revealed today. Your father surprises you by speaking like one of the people from the north rather than in the familiar east coast dialect.



“A long time ago, no one knows how long, the world was full of people. Possibly too many, though we will never know. They built huge settlements from strange poor quality stone. They shared the world with other creatures that were like people but weren't. Some lived with them, some lived out in the wilds. The world was tired and the air was bad. Food was running out and people were at war. The other creatures became scarce and this (for some reason) became a problem.

Something happened, we don't know what, but the effects are still felt to this day. Vast swathes of the land became poisoned, fit for nothing. The huge cities were destroyed, flattened ruins all that now remain. Strange isolated buildings from those days still remain, their purpose lost to us – like the Burning Light to the North West. The creatures disappeared completely, and people almost disappeared as well. Our numbers were so low that we lost our history and the means to live as we once did. However, perhaps this was a good thing as surely the Old Time was a bad system. We only have to look at the problems it created!



Things are improving, however, and the times of our fathers were worse than they are now. The Deadlands are slowly shrinking, and more areas are suitable for growing food than before. Our numbers are increasing again, though hopefully we won't end up suffering the same disaster that befell our ancestors.



Our island life is the safest life. We are isolated from problems on the mainland – and there are problems there, don't let anyone convince you otherwise. By all means trade with our visitors, our foodstuffs are valuable, they will swap useful materials like wood and metals for them, but don't let them linger and don't be tempted to leave!”



You find all this very interesting. However, most of it you had worked out already, though you are very intrigued to learn that the Burning Light that you can see on a small hill a few miles off actually dates from the Old Time! However, you commit all that you can to memory as your Father asked and then, as you do every day, go outside to walk the perimeter of the island.





NOW





Eight years later and very little has changed in your life. You still walk the perimeter of the island, you assist with the planting and harvesting of crops, you watch as the Elders trade with the occassional visitor.

This morning is like any other. You leave your small hut and prepare to walk the coastline again. It is a bright spring morning, the sun rising. You first look North West to the Burning Light , as always and marvel at how such an ancient structure can still be standing, and how the light from the top of it never goes out. You then look to the north. You are instantly horrifed to see that the ocean has been replaced by a horrible black sludgy mess. Whatever the substance is, it washes against the shoreline and sticks to the rocks and vegetation on the shore. You wonder if it will soak through the underlying soil and destroy the crops throughout the island.



You rush to your parents hut. They were almost ready for a day at the fields. Your Fathers expression changes to one of shock when you tell him what has happened.



“Jings, son, I've heard of this. The Black Blight it was called. It was a problem two or three generations ago. I mind my ain faither telling me. Apparantely it is a form of pollution fae the Old Time, and you are right, this could very well affect our island and our future. There IS a solution to the problem, or so I was telt. The last time this happened, the Wise Folk of Dundy dispersed the Blight and our crops were unaffected. Unfortunately, I've only the maist vague idea whaur Dundy is and how tae get there, other than that it is beyond an area of high ground to the south known as the Siddlies. I've an idea though - Bill, the auld trader has stayed here overnight. If anyone can help us, he can!”



You both make your way to the causeway where Bill is beginning to prepare for his journey back to the mainland. He is the most frequent Trader who visits the island and you all feel you know him quite well. He is an oldish looking man in smart clothing. He has a large two wheeled cart which is now full of produce from your island.



“Morning people” Bill says “Not a guid one, that's fir sure. I've heard about this Black stuff afore, not a welcoming sign. It wasnae here, when I arrived, it's appeared and spread so quickly! You'll need a way tae clean it up! Ye probably ken the same as me – only the guid folk of Dundy can help ye! Now, I've never been as far as that, and I'm only heading west nowadays, but if someone wants tae come with me tae Montremon, I'm sure ye can find a Trader or two eventually who's heading that way – ye dinny want tae go that way alone.”



You father looks at you solemnly “Sam, it's a lot tae ask a young lad – but will ye go? Maist of us are either too old, or too young and besides , we need to busy oorselves saving what crop we can in case the Blight ruins everything.”



How can you refuse? Besides, a task such as this will open your eyes to a greater world. You briefly return to your hut and fill a haversack with as much food as you can, along with your tinderbox.



NOW TURN TO 1





1



You step out your hut and pause for a moment. Everything is happening so fast. This morning seemed a day like any other and now you are to be leaving your island for the first time ever. You are tempted to forget the whole affair and hope someone else will offer to help. You shake your head and stare out to the west. The Black Blight is everywhere. Even at low tide, it has left deposits all over the exposed rocks and along the causeway. You must decide what you are to do.



Will you head off with the trader immediately? - TURN TO 175

Visit your family one last time? - TURN TO 66

Or walk the coastline as you have always done at this time of day? - TURN TO 237





2



The track is very well maintained. Bushes and trees have been pruned back and as you climb up a small incline, the track straightens out and the Cairn Of Goad is visible a few minutes walk ahead. From this distance, it is hard to make out details, but it is clearly a structure of some size. Large familiar Old Time slabs can be seen piled on top of one another and they are clearly what the Cairn is primarily composed of.

As you continue walking, you notice the wind has dropped and it is now eerily silent.

The sun is still high in the sky however, and you have plenty of time to investigate the cairn.



Will you press onto the cairn?- TURN TO 101

Or return to the village? - TURN TO 159.





3



Bill greets the villager warmly “ It's guid tae see ye again Tam! That's me back fir a puckle days.”

He points in your direction “ This here is young Sam – an islander, he's nae bother at all” He converses quietly with the guard for a few moments.



You are both let through the barrier. You are now standing at the top of the main street. Bill looks over to you - “I'm going to be busy for now, but I can meet you the day after tommorow. Use your token over there-” he waves his hand toward a large building with a wooden board engraved with symbols hanging off an eave at the very top of the street. “Tam was just telling me that a group of trader's are due to arrive the day efter tommorow, so you'll hae tae amuse yersel the morn!”

Write down the word THREE.

You make your goodbyes and Bill returns to his cart.



Will you enter the building? - TURN TO 50

Or have a walk down the main street first? - TURN TO 214





4



It is dark when you return to Montremon. There are no people on the street but a few are peering out of open windows. Mostly they avoid your glance, but one or two scowl in your direction. You hear them mutter things like “Ruining it for everyone” and “Who does he think he is?”

As you head towards your lodgings a powerful hand grabs your shoulder. You turn, it is Tam the guard.



“Why are ye breaking curfew?” You start to explain but he interrupts “No excuses. Surrender all your items.”



Will you hand him all your possessions? TURN TO 15

Or refuse and attempt to escape? - TURN TO 23











5



You run up the front of the hill to the Tower. The door opens and you head directly for it. You hear your pursuer behind you and it's hot fetid breath against your neck. The whistling sound rises in pitch, somewhere to your left. You race into the doorway and it shuts behind you. You turn and watch a tall figure secure the door with a large beam of wood. Note down the word SIGN.



Suddenly the room is lit up. You are briefly blinded by the unusual intensity of the light. You are standing in a circular chamber. A flight of stairs snakes in a spiral fashion round the walls beginning opposite the door. In front of you is a woman. She is a few years older than you, and is very attractive but she looks exhausted. She has long blond hair pulled back severly into a pony tail. She is wearing a dark navy coat and matching trousers. They look extremly unusual to your eyes, and although they are clean, they are clearly very old and are patched and faded in places. Across part of the coat are a few symbols which you do not recognise.



“What the hell are you doing here?” she shouts in a strange but understandable accent. “You MUST know that no-one is allowed past the barricade at this time of year? As The Keeper, I have every right to throw you outside and let----” she tails off, sighs and starts heading up the stairs, gesturing that you should follow.



You slowly walk up the stairway, passing one landing with a single door then you continue until you reach what you presume must be the top of the tower. You step through an open doorway into a circular room. In the centre is a strange shining pillar of light, it rotates slowly of its own accord. The walls of the room are made of a transparent substance and not open to the air like the windows you have at home. There are various unexplained coloured items like narrow rope connecting the pillar to various boxes on the floor. Your mind reels at the strangeness of the situation and, combined with your experiences outside, you begin to feel a little light headed. The woman notices your predicament and provides a stout wooden chair for you to sit in.



“Happy Now?” the woman asks “This is it – nothing exciting – I keep the light burning.”



“But why?” you ask



She frowns “Why do you think? This is one of the most important jobs on Irth and my family have been keeping the light operational since The Old Time. Now, I know you're tired and I think you're probably a charming young man but obviously I can't let you stay here. Rules are rules. Ten more minutes is all I can give you, then you'll have to go.”



You don't want to argue with her and should use your limited time constructively. You may ask The Keeper THREE questions before she gets impatient and orders you out.



What was chasing you? - TURN TO 100

Any help she can give? - TURN TO 25

Safe passage to Montremon? - TURN TO 36

Bill The Trader – TURN TO 201

What lies beyond Montremon? - TURN TO 146

Who she is and where she is from? - TURN TO 235

Montremon in general? - TURN TO 189



Once you have asked three questions you must leave – TURN TO 179









6



“There's nothing bad or evil around here” Karr replies “Strange sounds come from the forest and the Deadlands all the time, I'm sure it's nothing really. We are in the company of Goad you know, how could anything awful happen when he is so close by?”



She urges you with her eyes not to continue with this conversation. The very last thing you would want to do is upset her.



RETURN TO 205





7



You show the traders the strange object you unearthed. Their eyes light up.



“You want tae gie us that fir passage ower tae the Siddlies? Aye, that'll dae nicely!”



The three traders laugh amongst themselves, but it appears they are sincere in letting you accompany them. TURN TO 250.





8



You describe your encounter with the man in the odd hat. Jim's eyes widen in an expression of total confusion.



“He's still alive? My Goad, but how did …. Listen carefully, if he's singled you oot fir attention you have tae be on yer guard. If ye see him standing watching you, approach him – I'm telt he usually runs awa'!. If he comes to you, do whit he says, within reason, but get awa' fae him as soon as possible. I'm sorry I canny be any mair help, but its entirely possible that yer tae be stuck with him fir a lang time.”



RETURN TO 97





9



Montremon's main street is very wide. Apart from the lodging house where you are staying the rest of the buildings on either side are similar in construction to each other. They are all two stories high and all look like they were built at the same time. They are huge in comparison to the dwellings on your island. Most of the shutters are closed on the single ground storey windows, but a few on the upper levels are open and from one or two , you can see a shadowy face stare down at you. You try your best to ignore the unsettling feeling the locals are giving you and walk down the street to a junction.



Will you Head straight on – TURN TO 212

Turn Left – TURN TO 24

Turn right – TURN TO 144



Alternatively , you may retrace your steps – TURN TO 170



10





The very narrow path is between two dwellings, it turns sharply to the right and ends at the back of a building. The village paths don't seem to make a lot of sense. You turn around to head back the way you came when you notice something glimmering in the dried mud. You reach down and dig out two shiny silver circular tokens. They look interesting, so you pocket them.



Will You return to the last junction? - TURN TO 24

Or retrace your steps to the top of the Main Street? - TURN TO 170







11



Kels looks surprised at your question. “Where on Irth are ye fae? Ye surely ken how and why we are here?”

You explain your situation and she relaxes slightly. “Incredible! - I kent that Islanders were a different breed but Jings, ye only bide a few hours away!Anyway, I'll make it simple. Aroond here, if a lassie is still a guid sort by the time they are twenty three then they can join us – but they hae tae stay guid thereafter. In this way, we can be close tae Goad and, erm, oorsel's.... I hope that makes sense.”



RETURN TO 88





12



If you have the word VANISHED noted down TURN TO 60

Otherwise TURN TO 83





13



The path is little used and very overgrown. However, you manage to navigate it without difficulty and within ten minutes it opens out into another clearing.



TURN TO 22





14



The trader seems quite impressed with the transparent balls you found. “Bools eh?,weel, they are rarer now than they used tae be richt enough – aye, we'll tak' ye ower the Siddlies.”



TURN TO 250







15



Tam takes all your things. “Richt, I hope you've learned yer lesson. Now, get inside and if I see ye oot efter dark again yer deid!”



You head to your lodgings and head straight to your room.

TURN TO 158





16



You tell Kels about your encounter outside the Tower.

“Hmm. That's an interesting wee story. But a story it is must remain. Goad is with us in Montremon, in a very literal sense. Nothing bad happens here.”



RETURN TO 88





17



“Me? Och, I'm naebody really! Born and bred in Montremon. I used to be a farm labourer until I smashed my leg trying tae shift mair of those Old Time slabs. The soil is getting a lot better ye ken, and if you can get rid of the rubbish thats piled on top, ye'll find decent ground underneath that will grow crops most of the time! Onyways, thats when I learned that its guid to keep in with the ladies at the Goad building, they've supported me in ma time of need, bless them all. Naebody else wants anything else tae do with me, I've still not worked oot why.”



RETURN TO 97





18



You can see Bill across the channel, heaving his cart behind him. Luckily the tide has not fully covered the causeway and you carefully negotiate the path. Unfortunately you slip on some of the Black Blight at one point and land awkwardly on your back, completely smashing your tinderbox. You pocket the iron and flint, but you now have no prepared material for starting a fire and the candle is ruined. You curse your clumsiness as you finally reach the mainland.



Bill is still pulling his cart along the track, you could easily catch up with him. However you could instead head for the Burning Light to the north west.



To catch up with Bill TURN TO 162

To Head North west TURN TO 81





19



You quickly decide to stop Bill and tell him about your discovery within the cairn. He listens with great interest, but motions to you to speak more quietly. When you are finished, he stands close beside you and whispers. “This is all very interestng young Sam, but fir Irth sake keep it tae yersel'! You went and dug up a Cairn which the folk aroond here believe houses their 'Goad'. Dinny mention this to any locals or it'll be yer end! As fir the dead thing ye found inside, weel, again, it ties in with some odd theories I've heard ower the years, but I canny stop the day and discuss it with ye. If ye get ower the Siddlies, ask around, but be careful who ye talk to!”



Return to 129







20



You approach the hut and realise it is in very bad condition. The roof is sagging and ready to collapse. You walk up to the door and gently push it. It appears to be jammed, possibly swollen.



Will you push the door more forcefully? TURN TO 244

Or investigate the exterior of the hut further? - TURN TO 91







21



You return to the Goad building. Kels appears from behind a pillar with an odd expression on her flushed face and walks briskly towards you. You tell her that you made the offering at the Cairn. She looks delighted.

“Oh, weel done Pilgrim! Was it not as I said? Did you feel the presence of Goad?”

You shrug your shoulders and decide to remain silent. Kels continues.

“Aye, often have Pilgrim's been struck dumb efter making an offering! Goad is with you , for now and ever mair! Yer a lucky lad!”

She hands you a wooden medallion with a neatly carved picture of the Cairn on it.

“If, on yer travels you ever meet any other Woman Of Goad and you show them this, they will do anything for you – well, within reason.”



 – TURN TO 159





22



The clearing is large and nearly circular in shape. The ground is entirely free of vegetation. You step further into the clearing and find that the earth is tightly packed, allowing not even a few weeds to grow. Someone has been keeping this area free of greenery – but why? As you ponder your latest discovery a small movement catches your eye in the trees beyond the clearing to the North West. You can't make out any details as yet, but an extremely large form is moving slowly through the forest in your direction!



If you have the word LATE noted down TURN TO 213

Otherwise TURN TO 102





23



You turn to make a run for it, but Tam is too quick for you and grabs you with one strong hand. Propelling you outside the village barrier into the darkness he chuckles slightly and says “Watch oot fir the whistler!”



Your night will be a short one.





24



You continue along a much smaller path running between two terraces of houses. They are all curiously dull looking and without individual character. The path continues for a few minutes and you reach another junction with similar sized paths branching off.

Will you –



Head right? TURN TO 87

Turn left? - TURN TO 10

or continue ahead? - TURN TO 160.





25



“Hmmm, Have I not helped you already?”

You do your best to look a little embarrassed. The Keeper sighs and continues. “For your cheek, I suppose you can have one of my keepsakes. I buried it in a circular clearing in the forest. Follow the main forest trail from Montremon and head straight on. You'll know when you are there – the clearing is completely empty! - and no, I have no idea why, it's always been that way. I buried it in the centre, under a small slab.”



If you find a circular empty clearing, add 50 to the reference you are on and turn to the new one. For now RETURN TO 5





26



You carefully leave the path and walk to the tideline. The Old Time ruins are exposed directly in front of you. They are clearly the remains of three buildings, although only the last few courses of bricks are left. You used to play around them when you were young but have never really given them much thought before. How old are they? What were they used for? You idly kick away a few rocks and looking down you notice two orange coloured metal discs. You pick them up and study them. They are clearly very old as they feel brittle and pieces are already crumbling away at the edges. You decide to pocket them.



Will you now visit your parents? - TURN TO 66 Or return home? - TURN TO 114 Or run and catch up with Bill? - TURN TO 175





27



Despite your doubts that the bag of scrap your mother gave you is actually worth anything, you risk asking the woman if it would be suitable for trading. To your surprise she agrees! You may choose any two items from the list below. Remember this reference and return to it when you are done.



To ask about the map TURN TO 150

Or the book TURN TO 85

Or the bricks TURN TO 127

Or the food TURN TO 51



Otherwise RETURN TO 170







28



Kels demenour changes instantly. She rages at you “Who on Irth are you, tae refuse to have a pilgrimage to the Cairn? You must think yer above Goad himself! Leave this building and do not return!”



She hastens you out of the Goad building. RETURN TO 170



29



You have no choice but to head south on your own. You walk past the village barricade and find the south cart trail easily enough, there are still some woods here, although this area is clearly where the inhabitants of Montremon harvest their timber. Suddenly, you hear a sound behind you. You turn around and see a familiar figure with a strange hat briskly walking down the trail towards you.



“Ye canny be meaning tae travel south all on yer ain? Trust me, you wid be deid before the day is oot! You need me – I reckon that'll become clear very soon. ”



Will you let Sten accompany you? - TURN TO 46

Or refuse – TURN TO 58





30



You pull out the odd smelling offering and place it between two of the Irth boulders. You step back quickly, ready to feel the awesome presence of Goad and hopefully to feel entirely fulfilled.



Absolutely nothing happens.



Note down the word PILGRIM and RETURN TO 90





31



You open the shutters and peer into the street. It is now quite dark and the only light is from two torches attached to the main entrance to the lodging house. As your eyes adjust to the gloom however, you can make out the same strange figure with the odd hat that you encountered at the ruins standing across the street staring up at you.



Will you call out to him? - TURN TO 59

Or close the shutters and get some sleep? - TURN TO 50





32



You half walk, half run back down the trail, making sure you don't trip on the long brown objects or any stray branches. The whistling sound increases in pitch. As you pass the spot where you were sure you saw something, you risk a glance into the undergrowth. You spy a large shadowy form huddled next to a tree trunk. Although you have no time to make out any details you feel it is watching you. You see the junction ahead and race to it and then pick up speed down the incline. The whistling sound slowly fades away and you make it safely back to Montremon.



TURN TO 159





33





“People have been digging things up fir years and years” Karr explains “Eventually my grandfather suggested that the best, or the most interesting items should be housed in a special building. Traders and other visitors come in frequently fir a look and if they like onything, we can usually work oot a swap. It's amazing what seems like rubbish tae us is highly desirable tae others! Look at these - “ She holds up strands of long shiny things. “There's a very fine metal inside these, I've no idea whit they are, but some of the traders from ower the Siddlies are desperate fir them! Same fir these clear balls -” She points to a display with several small transparent balls with a fleck of colour inside “These are useless as far as I can see, but they are used as currency by some people! I'm sorry, I can go on a bit!”



Do you want to continue listening to Karr? - TURN TO 218



Otherwise RETURN TO 205





34



You show the landlord the pouch your mother gave you. He at first scratches his head and gives you an odd look. You plead with him to take it as payment for a room. He looks uncertain but then relents, takes the pouch and lets you stay for two nights.



TURN TO 93





35



You get out your tinderbox. You are quite skilled at its use and after a few minutes you have the candle on top lit. You very carefully shine it into the hole. The rectangular chamber is perhaps as high as yourself and nearly as wide. Its is carefully built with small Irth slabs. In one corner a figure is sitting slumped against a wall. You just manage to reach further into the chamber with your arm outstretched. The light brings into focus the dried out remains of a creature. Perhaps slightly smaller than yourself and very slender, it's face points up in your direction. It has huge black eyes, no nose and a tiny lipless mouth which hangs open in a final silent scream. It is completely bald. It is wearing a very shiny red one piece overall which seems far better preserved than the creature itself. Its long, spindly arms end in three fingered hands which are covered in a dried green substance. The hands seem badly damaged.



Suddenly the whistling noise reaches a new and almost painful volume. You pull yourself out of the hole, extinguish your candle and start climbing down the cairn. The noise continues to increase but seems to be coming from somewhere in the forest behind the cairn. Note down the word BURIED. You decide it would now be sensible to leave the Cairn Of Goad.



TURN TO 65







36



“Well, there are no guarantees, but normally it's more or less safe in the daytime. However, you've brought something up to the Tower and you can only hope it's gone now. Hopefully it'll have cleared the Barricade now there's nothing left for it to hunt. Usually, if you keep your eyes fixed to the horizon and keep walking, no matter what you think you see or hear, you should be fine.”



RETURN TO 5





37



Karr grimaces slightly when you describe the man - “Of course I ken the man ye mean. You must be mistaken though, he was dealt with nearly three years ago – I'm hardly likely tae forget. Let's talk aboot something else – like yersel' mebbe?”



RETRUN TO 205





38



All seems quiet again but you have no desire to linger. As expected, you are back on the main trail and, when you reach the junction you hurry downhill and return to Montremon.



TURN TO 159





39



You move closer to the wall until you are within touching distance of it. You stand for a moment in silence, then clear your throat. Suddenly, a rough looking middle aged man wearing a very odd brown conical hat, springs up from behind the wall. Presumably he was intending to frighten you, however his completely neutral expression gives nothing away. He regards you with lifeless eyes, adjusts his hat, then turns his back to you and walks slowly across the Deadlands.

Note down the word HAT.



Will you – Follow the strange figure? - TURN TO 153



Or catch up with Bill – TURN TO 221





40



Do you have a Silver Token? - If so TURN TO 225

Otherwise TURN TO 172





41



You show the woman the silver tokens you received from Jim. Her eyes widen and she agrees to let you have any item in exchange for each silver token. The items of most interest are listed below. Decide if you wish to make a trade or not. Remember this reference and return to it when you are done.



Map – 150

book -85

Plastic bricks – 127

food - 51



Otherwise RETURN TO 170





42



You continue walking through the woods. After a few hours the trees start to thin out even more and the cart track winds left and right for no obvious reason. Eventually there are no more trees and the landscape opens out in front of you. You are at the top of a crest of a small hill. Beyond this you can see a great distance. There is nothing but the by now familiar Deadlands as far as you can see. However, on the far distant horizon are a range of large hills, presumably the Siddlies and the next step in your mission.



“Aye, thats whaur we need tae get tae” says Sten, who has appeared in front of you, although you had no inkling of his presence for the last few hours. “If I mind right we'll be walking fir a day and a wee bit mair. I hope ye realise whit yer getting yersel' into, Deadlands are no' a safe place tae be – but ye ken that already don't ye?”



You nod, but decide not to comment.



“ Now, come on lad, get oot yer map - we need tae work oot the best route.”



Do you have a map? If so TURN TO 197

If not TURN TO 182





43



“A book? - sorry lad, nane of us here can read , so we've nae idea if it's worth onything or not! - Do you have onything else?”



RETURN TO 129





44



You walk for a minute or so and wait for your eyes to adjust. In the distance, you can make out a small hill, a tower and a light on top. You suddenly realise it is another Burning Light! From what you can make out, almost identical to the one next to your island.



You suddenly hear a whistling sound between you and the trench. You turn around, and in the gloom see a figure squatting on the ground not far from you.



Will you – Walk toward the figure? - TURN TO 125

Or move in the opposite direction? - TURN TO 155





45



Half crawling, you try making your way toward Sten, who is still holding his hat outstretched. You get to within ten feet of him when something huge lands on your back and starts crushing the life out of you.......







46



Sten smiles “Of course lad, efer all, whit choice do ye have? Without me yer deid. - Let's get a move on.”



You start to walk along the track, Sten walking a few paces behind you. He is completely silent. After a few minutes you turn and can no longer see him. You presume he isn't far away.....



TURN TO 42





47



Suddenly a huge shadow falls over you. The whistling sound increases somewhere to your left. You feel a stabbing pain in your ankles and fall to the ground. A heavy blow lands on the back of your head and everything goes black....





48



You quickly open the shutters and stare into the night. Unfortunately it is almost pitch black outside you can make out very little. There is a man across from the building standing and gesticulating in your direction, but you can make out no details. After a while he moves away toward the main gate.



You close the shutters and decide to get some sleep – TURN TO 50





49





Montremon is a big place – at least compared to what you are used to. The wooden barricade surrounding the settlement is slightly higher than you are, there are large gates in front of you, but they are already open. You can see dozens of buildings running down both sides of a wide street. Just inside is a small structure, and a powerful looking man in brightly coloured clothing appears from within it and walks towards you. His expression is unreadable.



If Bill is with you TURN TO 3



Otherwise TURN TO 117





50





You awaken feeling very refreshed. After getting ready, you head downstairs. You are surprised to find that Breakfast is included and you sit at a large wooden table and enjoy a bowl of porridge. There is one other person having breakfast at the same time as you. He is a large, jovial looking man with a huge beard. Seeing you he speaks- “Its rare tae have ony overnight visitors tae Montremon at this time of year! I'm only here because my ain hoose is being repaired. What brings ye tae oor village?”



You explain your situation to him, he listens with apparent interest.



“ I've heard aboot the Black Blight of course, although I'm sure it wouldnae affect anything this far inland. While yer waiting for help, ye'd be as well tae explore oor lovely wee village. I'm sure it's not as exciting here as yer 'Island' but I can tell ye a few places worth visiting if you like.”



You nod and tell him that you would love to know all about Montremon. He looks delighted.



“Weel ye see, like a'body else, we're not too sure of our history. But there are no Old Time ruins in the village itself which is interesting. Most of the buildings ye see are new, there was a cleansing fire when I was a laddie and the whole of Main Street was rebuilt, apart fae the Goad Building & the House of Relics. Both are worth a wee visit by the way, and the lassies there are worth a blether. Past Main Street are a few wee paths which really go nowhere. There is a forest trail back oot the village and immediately to the west. One leads to the Cairn of Goad and the other will take ye deep into the forest. Ye'll need tae set apart a guid part of the day tae go there, so ye would be best tae hae a wee look roond the village afore ye go. Or mebbe ye dinnae want tae go there onyway.”



The man's expression changes slightly as he says his last few words and there almost seemed to be a hint of concern in his eyes. He stands up, wishes you well and leaves.



Now TURN TO 170





51



You tell the woman that you would like to buy some food, enough to last for a weeks travel. She looks out an assortment of biscuits and dried fruit, more than enough for your travels.



“I'm being awfy generous” she says “Pretty cheap I ken, but obviously theres no' any Pudds the noo, who wid want to collect them from the forest at the moment??”



You ask her what 'Pudds' are but she merely rolls her eyes.



Choose whether you want to trade with her then return to the previous reference you were on.





52



You quickly reach the small trail. The path is uneven and there are many overhanging branches which you manage to avoid. There is no sign of anything following you now and the whistling sound is fading. Shortly, you reach a clearing. There is a small wooden hut in the centre. It has a sturdy looking wooden door and a shuttered window. A large trail leads off to the south and swings west. If you have the word BEEN noted down TURN TO 183. Otherwise will you-



Approach the Hut? - TURN TO 191

Or head along the trail? - TURN TO 38





53



You find a small path which takes you round the back of the building. There is a small open space and from the shadows a now familiar figure with a strange conical hat steps out.



“Nice tae see ye again. Yer later than I thought you would be. I've only time for the one question – I'm a busy man and I'm no' really meant tae be here, but who's caring?”



Choose ONE question only from the list below.



Who he is? - TURN TO 77

Who the whistler is? - TURN TO 107

What lies buried in the Cairn? - TURN TO 61





54



The traders leave, laughing and sneering at you. You walk around Montremon for the rest of the day. It is very quiet and the shop, house of relics and building of Goad are all closed. You stop one of the few locals you find on the street and they mutter something about it being 'Goad's day'. As evening approaches you are ejected from the village by a guard for having no means of support – TURN TO 247





55



You continue on the trail to the left. Although not as well kept as before, it is still clear. The trees are beginning to look ominous however, and although not a sound can be heard you are certain you are being watched. The path is littered with long brown objects which you can only guess have fallen from the trees. After ten minutes or so the trail takes a turn to the left and opens up to reveal a small pond. The path ends at the water's edge. As you near the pond you notice it is covered in bright green leaves. You notice many of the leaves are moving and the surface of the water is being disturbed in places.



Will you investigate further? - TURN TO 126

Or retrace your steps to the village? - TURN TO 159







56



“Of course you heard it – who hasn't? Keep away from the whistler, but remember that the source of the sound isn't necessarily the most dangerous thing about.”



RETURN TO 97





57



You remember your brief encounter from the previous night and walk to the man's house. His window shutters are open and you can see him hobbling back and forth inside.



Do you wish to knock on his door? - TURN TO 240

If not then TURN TO 170





58



“Ye would turn me away?” Sten says, calmly “Why would you do that?”

He sits on a rock and is silent. You walk on down the track for a few minutes. Suddenly a whistling sound starts up. You hear commotion behind you and start to run. Suddenly something jumps at you and pushes you to the ground. The last sound you hear is a far off chuckling.....





59



You call out to the man, but he doesn't seem to react and continues to stare up at you. A deep voice shouts from the small structure near the main gate. “Shut yer puss ye eejit, get tae sleep!!”



You decide it would be best to do as he says, so you close the shutters and go to bed. TURN TO 50





60



You kick down on the rotted plank, it breaks easily and falls down into a chamber. The whistling sound increases in volume and you quickly gaze around and catch a disturbance in the trees some way off to the north east. You strain your eyes against the sunshine and breifly glimpse a shadowy form pressed tightly against the trunk of a mature tree. Possibly because it noticed you, it quickly slides from the tree and hides from view. The whistling continues at an even higher pitch. You gaze back to the newly exposed hole. It is about two foot wide and pitch black within.



Do you still have your tinderbox? If so TURN TO 35

If not you can stick your head in the hole and try to see - turn to 140

Walk around the cairn – TURN TO 200

Or walk back down the trail? - TURN TO 65





61



The man gets raises his voice slightly “See, why did ye bring that up? I said we were tae start again. Ye've mucked it all up laddie. Onyway, I canny believe ye saw fit tae bust yer way intae the Cairn.. Who knows what'll happen noo that ye broke the plank! Even I ken better than tae muck aboot with things I dinnae remotely understand. There's no way I can see ye again, I'm sorry.”



He slowly walks away.



 – TURN TO 159



62



“Bairn's toys! - If we were going anywhere except Dundy mebbe! - Got onything else?”



RETURN TO 129





63



You turn your back on the man and try your best to ignore him. You focus your attention back to the chamber you have uncovered.



“Ignore me wid ye!” The man shouts and hurls a small rock at you.



In your precarious position at the top of the Cairn, you stumble and fall back, cracking your head on a slab. As you lie dazed the whistling increases in pitch. As everything starts to darken you faintly hear the man call out - “Aye, ye can whistle – he's up on the Cairn and I couldnae care less whit happens to him.....”







64








65



As you walk back down the trail, you pass the spot where the figure with the hat was standing. You stop and look around. There is an area of trampled vegetation and looking closely, you notice a very small trail on the left, which you presume he must have headed along which you may take by turning to 249



Otherwise you return to Montremon – TURN TO 159





66





You make your way to your parent's hut. They must have seen you coming as they push aside the sheeting from the doorway and step out to greet you.



“Thocht ye'd be gone already lad” says your father “You better hurry if you want to stay with Bill”



You explain that you wished to say a proper goodbye and embrace them both warmly. Your mother wipes a tear from her eye and hands you a large pouch. You look inside and find it full of various rough pieces of metal.



“Doesn't look like much son” says your mother “But you might be able to buy passage with some traders with it, or at least stock up on food – and a map if you can find one!”



You thank them and leave, turning once to wave goodbye. As you step outside, you are surprised to see your father following you. He leans in close to you and whispers



“Sam, take care. None of us here really kens whit it's like on the mainland. We've all been telt that Deadlands are no' safe, but no one has ever found oot why. Same for the people. Bill's an ootsider, he seems fine enough but these mainlanders are different tae us and you shouldn't trust onybody until ye have reason tae do so. Mak' sure ye come back in one piece son, no' just for the sake of the island, but for yer family! “



If you have two rusty orange discs TURN TO 18



Otherwise, you run to quickly catch up with Bill – TURN TO 175







67



Karr seems flattered by the attention. “ Weel, I suppose I'm here tae make sure nothing gets stolen, to see if onyone wants to dae a swap,and tae mak' sure oor most precious items dinny get traded away! Thats whit I think onyway. My Dad said I was here because the Traders like a bonny lassie, but I hope thats no' it.”



Karr looks a little embarrased and turns her head from you slightly.



RETURN TO 205





68



The gates are open, so you pass through the barricade and head west along the cart track. You walk past the length of the village and then reach a junction on the right which must be the trail you are looking for. You look along the cart track and notice it stretches on as far as you can see. You wonder how far it goes and how many villages and towns it passes through.



You turn onto the trail. You enter the forest immediately. The trail is wide and well kept. There is a slight breeze and the smell of the trees and the rustling of the leaves makes for a pleasant atmosphere. You walk on, enjoying this new experience. After a short time the trail splits in two. The left hand path has a neat wooden board with symbols on it and a carving of what is presumably the Cairn. The other path is unmarked.



Will you head left to the Cairn? - TURN TO 2

Or investigate the forest? - TURN TO 113





69



You again start walking across the Deadlands. The whistling sound eventually fades away. After a time the land very slowly starts to improve and eventually you reach fields which have been planted with crops. There is a thick band of trees to the left and you take a guess that Montremon must lie beyond them. You stand for a while and marvel at the trees which previously you have only seen at a distance. Finding a good path through the narrow band of woods you finally reach the village.



TURN TO 49





70



Jim looks delighted. “Braw! This shouldnae tak' lang,I'd dae it myself, but my leg has been causing me bother the last week or mair. If ye could find Har – he's easy to recognise being half the height of masel'! - and give him this wee note. He should hae something for ye to return tae me. If ye head tae the bottom of the Main street then take a left, then right and anither left ye should find him at his workshop. Thanks a lot fir daein' this!!”



Note down the word HELP



RETURN TO 170





71



“Oh, that man. Oh we ken him very weel. Such a.... charmer shall we say. Of course, no' everyone agrees, and the last I heard he was dead. Wonderful to hear otherwise, he gives all the woman here....hmm, inspiration! Yes, that's close enough.”



You feel a bit confused.



RETURN TO 88





72



Remembering what the Keeper said, you walk to the centre of the clearing. There is a small slab half buried in the earth. You scrape away at the edges with your hands and remove it. You dig and kick at the soil beneath and uncover a small wooden box. You shake it and something rattles inside. You wonder why the Keeper buried something here in the first place. You decide to open it once you are out of the forest.



When you are back in your room minus 20 from the reference you are on and turn to the new one to discover what you have found.



For Now RETURN TO 22





73





You show the Trader the wooden medallion. “Been on a pilgrimage eh?” He chuckles. “Weel, I hope it was worth yer while! However, these medallions are hand made, so I suppose it'll just about cover the trip... Aye , go on then, we'll tak' ye ower the Siddlies!”





TURN TO 250





74



The Trader is not impressed “Whit wid we be needing a map fir, ye cheeky eejit? Do ye not think we ken the way already? Get oot of my sight!”



You have to leave TURN TO 147





75



Sten, who until now has said nothing, stops walking and gestures at the entire settlement, his voice for the first time weak and quavering.



“Telt ye – pointless coming here! Whit a waste of time. Dead end as weel, we'll hae tae retrace -”



He is interrupted by various shouts and moans. A few of the doors to the buildings swing open and around a dozen sickly looking villagers wander out and converge on Sten. Although he is quick, there are too many of them, and he is carried away to a sinister structure beside the largest building which consists of a tall post with a device sticking out the top. As Sten is brought to the post, one of the villagers loops a rope around the top of it and then ties the other end around Stens's neck. With a shiver, you realise what is happening and turn away. Sten, to your amazement has not made a sound since the villagers grabbed him and you wonder what on earth he did to deserve such an end.



You bow your head in silence and a few minutes later, a group of villagers approach you , as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. You decide to play along, as you have no wish to suffer the same fate as Sten. They are dressed in worn clothes and are clearly starving. A man, not much older than yourself and in better condition than the rest steps forward.



“A stranger eh? Ye must ken no' tae come here. The ground is knackered and there's a poison aboot. Trouble is, there's nae place handy we can go and live, not in oor state – weel, with a full belly I'm sure I could mak' the trip tae Tailen and look fir help.”



If you have food purchased from the store in Montremon and wish to share it TURN TO 239

Otherwise, it's fairly obvious that you are not welcome here so you decide to backtrack to the junction – TURN TO 168





76



You recognise the figure as the man you spotted staring at you earlier. His odd behaviour is starting to become irritating.



Will you shout loudly at him? - TURN TO 104

Walk toward and confront him? - TURN TO 188

Or ignore him and either

Walk around the cairn? - TURN TO 223

Climb onto the cairn itself? - TURN TO 90







77



The man smiles. When he speaks it is in a strange lilting sing song tone. His words seem rehearsed and you get the feeling he's said these exact things to others.



“It's aye nice tae be asked. My name is Sten. I'm no from aroond here, and yet in anither way, I am. I wear this hat so a'body kens me and respects me. I find ye interesting and I'm no' going tae leave ye alone fir a long time – we micht as weel be clear on that now. I'm friends with those ye dinny see and thats why they leave me be. I'm going tae be aroond for a while. You'll be seeing me again really soon.”



He performs what you can only presume is his own unique version of a bow and leaves. Note down the word STUCK.





 – TURN TO 159





78



The route to the Siddlies seems fairly straightforward. You wonder what new dangers may lie ahead on this trail. You are also concerned about your lack of supplies and items for barter.



However, you've made it this far, and hopefully with more luck and ingenuity you will soon be at your ultimate destination.



The path leads on through some some tall unfamiliar crops. The land is very fertile here. Occasionally you see a farmer and they wave and call out in a friendly fashion. You pass a few well built houses with healthy looking children playing in front of them. Clearly the people here are living comfortably.



The hills grow closer and closer and after a time you reach a junction. The south path winds up the hills in a meandering fashion. The croplands extend in a narrow belt west as far as the eye can see but the hills are covered in silver coloured trees and the ground surface is smothered in a short straggly plant with a tiny attractive purple flower. It is a very pleasant landscape and, compared to the various places you have visted so far on your journey it looks welcoming and safe.



You take a short break and consume the last of your food supplies. Hopefully, your journey over the Siddlies will be a short and uneventful one.



COMING SOON – BOOK 2: The Siddlies and beyond.





79



You slowly and nervously head down the south cart trail. The trees are thinning out and the area is obviously where the villagers harvest their timber. However there is still plenty of thick undergrowth.

To your right a bush starts to shake. You hear a whistling sound behind you so you break into a run. Something huge knocks you over. You feel an agonizing pain in your neck and everything starts to go dark.











80



You find Bill easily enough. He seems pleased to see you. “That you all ready tae leave young Sam? I hope yer wee visit tae Montremon was a memorable one! I'm sorry I canny help ye much mair, but I'd like ye tae hae this, They're bonny wee things”



Bill hands you a small pouch which you open, inside is an assortment of small polished stones. You try your best to hide your puzzlement.



“Thats me awa' as weel lad. Guid luck and stay safe!” Bill hoists up his cart and slowly pulls it down the track to the west.



If you have the word BURIED noted down TURN TO 19

otherwise,

RETURN TO 129





81



You stare up at the Tower you have admired from a distance your whole life. You begin the short climb up the steep hill.



Suddenly, you are aware of the whistling noise again. The source of it appears to be just behind the wall. After a few moments you sense a huge being leap the wall and land at the foot of the hill.



The light on the tower flickers twice.



Will you – Run up the slope to the tower? - TURN TO 5



Or try and head back through the tunnel? - TURN TO 96





82



You walk up to the group of people. They are dressed in worn clothes and are clearly starving. They notice you approaching and all as one turn to face you, looking you up and down. A man, not much older than yourself and in better condition than the rest steps forward.



“A stranger eh? Ye must ken no' tae come here. The ground is knackered and there's a poison aboot. Trouble is, most of us are too weak tae head elsewhere. Saying that, with a full belly, I'm sure I'd be able tae work up enough energy to dae something.”



If you have food purchased from the store in Montremon and wish to share it TURN TO 239

Otherwise, it's fairly obvious that you are not welcome here so you decide to backtrack to the junction – TURN TO 168





83



You kick down on the rotted plank. It breaks easily and falls down into a chmaber buried within the cairn. The whistling sound rises in intensity and, as you gaze around you notice a disturbance in some trees not far to the north east. Before you can do anything further an angry voice shouts out from the foot of the cairn.



“Whit the Irth do ye think yer daein'??”



You turn around and see a roughly dressed man wearing a strange brown conical hat, presumably the figure you saw earlier.



“Things get covered fir a reason ye eejit! Get yersel' doon and we can get awa' before everything goes wrang.”



Will you do as he says? - TURN TO 122



Or Ignore him? - TURN TO 63





84



You awaken after a surprisingly good sleep and look for Sten. You can't see him in the trench so you climb out. There is still no sign of him, but you presume he is somewhere nearby so you continue walking down the track. After a few hours of uneventful travel you finally reach the junction marked on your map. As you are wondering which route to take, Sten appears at your side.



“Kept the track quiet did I no' just? Ye dinny need tae thank me, but I think ye will in time. Now, come on, we'll be heading for Tailen. Klass isn't worth a visit – trust me on that ane.”



Will you head south west to Tailen – TURN TO 139



Or south to Klass? - TURN TO 222





85



You ask the shopkeeper for a look at the book. She hands it too you and you are immediately struck by the unusual material used for the cover. “Careful!” the old woman says “Thats real luther, Sten used some tae bind a bunch of books. That was way back when Sten was guid for something”



You open the book. The pages are thick and covered in symbols. There are one or two diagrams but it is impossible to tell what the book is for.



“Its a nice ane is it no'?” continues the woman “I like ye though, and tae be honest I dinny want any of Sten's stuff in ma shop noo, so thats why you can hae it so cheap!”



Decide if you wish to make the trade or not and then return to the reference you were previously on.





86



You calmly ask Sten what he is doing.



“Och, lad, I'm jist having a nosy! Surely ye can trust me now. Besides, yer bag is full of rubbish, it must weigh ye doon!”



Suddenly a loud whistling noise starts up outside. Without a sound or change in expression Sten leaps up and heads to the window, opens the shutters and sticks his head outside. He mutters under his breath, “No seen ye fir ages” then removes his hat, holds it in both hands and places his hands outside the window. The whistling sound moves down the street and seems to hang around your window. Sten looks down, he moves suddenly as if tugged and he lets out a very small sound of surprise. He is then tugged again, far more violently and is pulled out the window without a sound.



You wait a few moments and creep to the open window. You carefully look outside but can see nothing. Puzzled and afraid, you close the shutters and huddle in your bed. You get very little sleep for the rest of the night.



The next morning you head downstairs and are given a small breakfast. Very little is said between you and the other patrons and soon you feel it would be best to leave.



You study your map and work out the best route to take.



TURN TO 78





87



You continue down the small, tedious narrow streets. You pass very few other people and those you do see ignore you completely. Eventually you reach another junction.



To Continue ahead TURN TO 202

To turn Left TURN TO 176





88



You enter the Building of Goad. It is quite bright inside, the large windows and numerous torches giving the vast empty room a friendly, positive feeling. There are two doors at the other end, and a few pillars holding up the roof.



Suddenly one of the doors opens and a woman stumbles out, her clothing in disarray and her face flushed. “Hmm..” she says in a pleased fashion “We've not had visitors for a few days, we weren't expecting anyone, so , obviously we had to amuse ourselves – as per the will of Goad, of course”



You stay silent, slightly confused. The woman is in her late thirties and very attractive. She has pale skin and dark shoulder length hair. She wears a long purple gown with a cord tied around her middle.



“My name is Kels” she says “It is nice of you to visit the Building of Goad. I don't think I've seen you here before. How can I help you?, are you interested in performing a ritual?”





If you have the word HAT noted down TURN TO 71

If you have the word SIGN noted down TURN TO 16



Otherwise Will you ask about their beliefs? - TURN TO 115

Ask about their various rituals? - TURN TO 145

Ask about themselves? - TURN TO 11



When you are finished RETURN TO 170





89



You quickly show the Keeper the bizarre object you unearthed. She seems delighted! She holds it briefly and hands it back to you.



“My goodness, you were led to one of those! I hope it wasn't too dangerous. Come in-” She points agressively at Sten “Yes, even you.”



The interior of the tower is identical to the other one and you travel up until you reach the small half landing. The woman ushers you both inside a small room with rough mattresses laid on the floor.



“Yes, we do get visitors now and again, but at the right time of year of course. Make yourselves comfortable, it's getting dark. Tommorow you must leave I'm afraid. You can't distract me from my work. The whole system would fall apart – as you know very well.”



She leaves without another word. You are very tired and try to sleep. You are distracted by Sten who keeps pacing up and down the small room, but eventually you drift off.



In the morning, the woman provides you both with oatmeal biscuits and a map of the surrounding area (see reference 64). She wishes you well, (while largely ignoring Sten) and ushers you out the door.



Looking at your map, you realise cutting through the Deadlands would take you to a crossroads where you could head either to Tailen or Klass. You ask Sten which of the two places you should head for. He amswers immediately and forcefully



“Tailen, whaur else?, Klass is a waste of time, I've been there once and I canny go back.”



After a tiresome climb through some ruins you reach the crossroads as marked on the map.



Will you – Go to Tailen – TURN TO 139

Or Klass? TURN TO 222





90



You walk forward past the boulders and clamber onto the surface of the cairn. It is an unstable structure and the slabs shift under your weight. Various large voids can be seen within the cairn and it takes a few minuutes to negotiate a safe route to the summit. A large rectangular slab sits loosely at the top and you gingerly stand on it and survey your surroundings. Looking down at the cairn itself you can see an obviously backfilled hole only a few feet to your right., the hole has been filled with Irth materials rather than Old Time slabs. You glance over your immediate surroundings. The undergrowth surrounds the cairn. On the side opposite the track, the trees grow taller and more densely packed together.



Will you – Investigate the filled hole? - TURN TO 143

Climb down and walk around the cairn? - TURN TO 223

Or return to the village? - TURN TO 65





91



You notice the shutters to the windows are slightly ajar so you pull them open. You peer inisde the hut. It is very dark and smells very strongly of damp. You can make out a table and a chair on the far side of the hut to the left, and another item of furniture on the right. If you wish to climb in through the window and investigate -



TURN TO 244 If you still have a tinderbox

Otherwise TURN TO 151



Alternatively, you may decide to try the door – TURN TO 244

or head back to the village – TURN TO 159

Or try the west trail – TURN TO 130





92



You hurry towards the small trail. The light is fading fast and you have to be careful not to trip as the trail has clearly not been used for a long time. You hear a sound to your left, glancing in that direction something clips the side of your head and you stumble and fall. A huge shadow falls over you.....





93



You are shown to your room on the first floor. You are immediately shocked by the size! It is bigger than your entire hut back on the island. It is sparsely furnished. A small bed, a table, chair and a chest. Suddenly you hear a sharp sound coming from the shuttered window. The sound is repeated and you realise someone must be throwing objects at the shutters to get your attention.



Will you – Look out the window? - TURN TO 185

Or go to sleep? - TURN TO 50





94



There are numerous tracks leading in various directions. The traders pull their carts to a particluar one. The cart track winds down the gentle slope and in no time you are amongst the Deadlands again. This time however, they are a far more depressing sight as they are so expansive. There are less Old Time ruins here but far more open patches of bare, dead ground. Eck and his companions are silent and keep their eyes firmly on the path ahead as they pull their carts. After a few hours the track sweeps around a hollow, the Traders leave their carts but beckon you to follow as they leap into it.



“We're stopping noo” Says Eck “Night is coming soon and we've used this old den before with nae bother. Get a fire going lads.”



You scramble down a steep bank into a trench around six foot deep, six feet wide and perhaps three times as long. Some of the sides of the trench have been crudely lined with slabs and a stone hearth has been set up in one end. Clearly this place has been used many times. You watch as the traders quickly build a fire.



“We leave at first light” Eck continues “Dinny sleep in, we need all day tae get tae Tailen, the wee outpost at the foot of the hills. Shame Klass wasnae still a decent place tae go but there ye are.”



Eck moves away and leaves you in peace while you eat the last of the food you brought with you from your island. You are not particularly tired, and, noticing the Traders are already asleep you risk climbing out the trench for another look at your surroundings.



In the fading light you can still see the range of hills you are heading for, directly to the west and not very far enough you see a bright stationary light. However, the fire in the trench is affecting your night vision and it is hard to make out details.



Will you – Walk a short distance for a better look at the light? - TURN TO 44

Or climb back into the trench and get some sleep? - TURN TO 209







95





There is no barricade surrounding this village, however there are a few guards standing at the top of the town. They are dressed in very smart, clean uniforms and cradle long metal items in their arms. You have no idea wihat they are but the guards manage to make them look menacing. As you get closer, one of the guards gestures to you to stop.



“Come on lad, ye ken the rules – a'body has tae pay the tax – how many tokens do you hae?”



You have no desire to antagonize them so if you have any silver tokens or scrap metal you must hand them ALL over to the guards. If you have none, the guards are skeptical but after searching you decide to let you in after all.



The village of Tailen is very small. However, all the buildings are very well built and look new. The single wide street is very busy with groups of people heading one way or the other. However, most of them seem to be entering or leaving a very large building at the other end from where you are standing. You walk towards it and realise it is a lodging house, similar to the one in Montremon apart from the sheer size of the structure.



You can either look around the rest of the village – TURN TO 110



Otherwise, you enter the lodging house.



The ground floor is a vast open area. A huge fire burns in the centre of the room and there are many small booths along the walls as well as a full length counter at that far end where many people are standing drinking and talking loudly amongst themselves. You should try and find the means to stay the night here.



You approach the crowd and decide to talk to some of the groups.



Will you -



Talk to two very attractive woman in purple robes? - TURN TO 186

A large group of traders? - TURN TO 156

A tired group of farmers? - TURN TO 232







96



You turn and run back toward the tunnel. You hear the whistling sound fade in volume and for a moment you feel safe. Suddenly ,something huge and powerful runs at you from the side and knocks you over. You have no time to recover as a huge rock is thrown at your head....





97



You tell Har that you have a message for him and hand him the note. He opens it, scans the symbols and tells you to wait for a moment. He heads indoors briefly and returns with a similar note for you to give to Jim. You thank the small man and head back.



You find Jim still in his house. You hand him the note and his is delighted. “Weel done boy! Saved me hobbling doon they awfy wee paths. Here – take this” He hands you two small silver tokens. “I ken yer no' fae aroond here but these can be spent in oor shop, other shops in ither places nearby tae!”

Will you

Ask about some of the other places? - TURN TO 131

Ask about himself? - TURN TO 17

If you have the word SIGN noted down, TURN TO 56

If you have the word HAT noted down TURN to 8



Otherwise RETURN TO 170





98



Kels smiles broadly “Ah, this is indeed most wonderful! We rarely get visitors so it's been some time since the last pilgrimage!”

She vanishes through a door and returns moments later with a long thin object wrapped in dirty grey rags. She gently presents it to you. It smells most unusual.

“Careful with it now! You must promise no' tae unwrap it as that wid displease Goad greatly. Here is what tae do. When you reach the cairn, place this, erm, offering between two of the Irth boulders that surround the site. Then stand back. Almost immediately you will feel the awesome power of Goad! The feeling will pass in time, sadly, but for those precious moments you will feel fullfilled and satisfied! When you have done your pilgrimage please return to me.”



When you have the oppurtunity to climb the cairn, turn to 30 to place the offering between the boulders. For now Return to 88





99



“Leave this tae me” says Peem “I ken one of these lads a wee bit.”



Peem walks up to the farmers and talks to them for a few minutes. He then waves you over.



“This is Ric. The landlord of this place owes him a favour. I've telt him whit ye did for me, so it's arranged – ye can hae a room here for the night! Thanks for everything Sam, yer a guid lad!”



TURN TO 149







100





“The Whistler makes the noise and the big thing runs. Thats really all I know. To be honest, I don't want to know more! They've never jumped over the Barricade until now, which is concerning. There's more than one whistler about, I know that, because I've heard them communicating at night sometimes. You don't get them where I'm from and obviously by your question they are new to you as well. I don't know anymore I'm afraid.”



RETURN TO 5









101



You decide to continue on to the Cairn. As you get closer, the track widens slightly, then splits and runs around the cairn's perimeter. You reach the forecourt of the structure. The Cairn is around 20 foot high and composed mainly of man made slabs from the Old Time. Around the front of the cairn is a tightly packed edging of boulders from Irth itself. Vegetation is presumably removed by the locals frequently as there is not a trace of greenery beyond this edging.



It is so still and calm. You glance back the way you came and see a figure wearing an extremely odd pointed hat standing at the top of the incline.



If you have the word HAT noted down then TURN TO 76

Otherwise

Will you – Walk around the cairn? - TURN TO 223

Climb onto the cairn itself? - TURN TO 90

or go back and confront the figure? - TURN TO 188





102



It is still fairly bright. Suddenly, you watch in horror as a huge indistinct leathery form slinks between the trees and crouches at the very edge of the clearing. You notice one huge dark eye fixed intently upon you, but most of the creatures bulk is hidden in the undergrowth. A whistling sound starts up to the north. You desperately look for a viable exit. You can see two.



Will you take a trail to the east? - TURN TO 52

Or one to the south? - TURN TO 246





103



You step inside the general store. Shelves line all four walls and are packed mainly with foodstuffs. There is a large wooden counter at the bottom. An old frail looking woman is behind it stacking a small unit with interesting objects. She sees you, and stops what she is doing.



“A stranger eh? And no' ane of those traders either – curious! Weel, you've come tae the only shop in Montremon. I'm jist stocking up at the moment. A young lad like yersel' might like a look at my non food items.”



The woman points to the unit she was filling and you have a look. It is filled with lots of items which you do not recognise, but a few things may be useful. Lying behind the counter is a map which shows a far greater area of land than what you have seen in the past. There is a very well preserved book, a rarity! There is also a small box filled with small shiny bricks. Of course, for your journey to come you should probably stock up on food as well. There is also the problem of paying for the goods.



If you have a bag of scrap metal TURN TO 27

If you have collected any silver tokens TURN TO 41



Otherwise you will have to leave – RETURN TO 170





104



You shout loudly to the man that you wish he would either leave you alone, or instead come and talk directly to you.



Even at this distance, you see the man nod and walk up the hill towards you. He stops in front of you and fixes you with an unreadable expression.



“Weel said, young lad. Now we can begin a healthy relationship I'm thinking.”



When he speaks again it is in a strange lilting sing song tone. His words seem rehearsed and you get the feeling he's said these exact things to others.



“ My name is Sten. I'm no' from aroond here, and yet in anither way, I am. I wear this hat so a'body kens me and respects me. I find ye interesting and I'm no' going tae leave ye alone fir a long time – we micht as weel be clear on that now. I'm friends with those ye dinny see and thats why they leave me be. I'm going tae be aroond for a while. You'll be seeing me again really soon.”



He turns and runs back down the track toward the village. Note down the word STUCK



Will you now walk around the cairn? - TURN TO 223

Or Climb onto it? - TURN TO 90





105



You reach the end of the path and you push your way through the undergrowth. In front of you is a cleared area. From where you stand you can see a narrow trench sloping downwards and turning a corner to the left. The structure is built of huge stones and boulders and looks incredibly old.



“The fowk of Tailen are proud of this ye ken.” says Sten “They say it was built at the very beginning of the Old Time, and tae be honest, I believe them. Have ye seen the carvings?”



Sten leads you to the trench opening and points out a squarish boulder with a deeply incised spiral design. Elsewhere on the rock are strange circular holes.



“They're obviously auld, and naebody kens what they mean. Onyway, ye can get a guid look at the whole structure fae up there-” He points to the highest point of the cleared area. “ Best no' tae go inside it, if ye ask me.”



Will you study the structure from above? - TURN TO 119

Or walk through the trench – TURN TO 148





106



You leave Sten behind and try and find the main track to Tailen. You rush past some ruins and trip on some undergrowth. The whistling sound rises in pitch and a dark shadow crosses your path. You close your eyes and await your fate.









107



Sten suddenly appears more animated. “ Ach, ye didnae listen, did ye,? Never mind. Ah, the Whistler. But which one? I've counted five so far. The forest ane is my favourite – such character! You and he could have been close. But nothing guid comes of footering aboot on the Cairn. You watch yersel' because I'll no' be there tae help!”



He leaves abruptly.


. TURN TO 159





108



You leave the main trail and start clambering over and around broken masonary, slabs and other Old Time ruins. Eventually you reach the trees. They are surrounding a square, clearly man made pond. The sides of the pond are sheer and the water looks very deep. However, the sun is still bright and from where you are, you are sure you caught a glimpse of movement in the water.



Will you walk around the pond for a closer look? TURN TO 198

or return to the main trail and head to Tailen? - TURN TO 180







109



The path clearly hasn't been used in years. You weave and duck around branches and roots. The undergrowth presses in and creates an unsettling atomsphere. You continue on for a few minutes and reach a large clearing.



TURN TO 22





110



Although Tailen is very small, you take some pleasure in admiring the very fine architecture. The buildings are in an immaculate condition. After some time however, you feel some of the locals are growing suspicious of you.



If you have the word PAL then TURN TO 184

Otherwise you may either leave the village – TURN TO 128

or return to the lodging house – TURN TO 95





111



You watch as Sten pulls your book from the haversack. He looks at it in awe for a few moments. You decide to calmly ask him what he is doing.



“Och, lad, I canny believe ye've got ane of these – I had my doubts any were still left. I was so guid at my job, this book looks as guid as new! And no' just books - trousers, jerkins - and hats , obviously. Naebody ever knew what or where the source of the Luther was – except me, of course, This almost brings a tear tae my tired een-” Suddenly a loud whistling noise starts up outside. Without a sound or change in expression Sten leaps up and heads to the window, opens the shutters and sticks his head outside. He mutters under his breath, “No seen ye fir ages” then removes his hat, holds it in both hands and places his hands outside the window. The whistling sound moves down the street and seems to hang around your window. Sten looks down, he moves suddenly as if tugged and he lets out a very small sound of surprise. He is then tugged again, far more violently and is pulled out the window without a sound.



You wait a few moments and creep to the open window. You carefully look outside but can see nothing. Puzzled and afraid, you close the shutters and huddle in your bed. You get very little sleep for the rest of the night.



The next morning you head downstairs and are given a small breakfast. Very little is said between you and the other patrons and soon you feel it would be best to leave.



You study your map and work out the best route to take.



TURN TO 78







112



You show the trader the two rusty coins you found in the ruins. He laughs



“Twa Old time pennies? Dinny waste my time! Get lost boy”



He turns his back on you. TURN TO 54





113



You take the path into the forest. The path heads up a gentle incline. The trees get taller and more numerous with each step you take. The undergrowth is thick and dark. However, the trail is well kept and clear. The sun is high in the sky and you are enjoying the walk. You pass a tiny path on your left which presumably leads to the Cairn, but you decide to press on.



TURN TO 154





114



You return to your hut. Pushing aside the plastic sheeting you step inside. You sit on the edge of your bed and ponder on the days events so far. You look around your sparse room, and suddenly feel afraid. Surely someone else could make the journey? You are needed to walk the perimeter.



It doesn't take long for you to change your mind. You decide to stay.



The island is doomed.









115



“Surely ye ken aboot Goad already?” Kels asks, clearly shocked. You stumble a bit but manage to convince her that you are interested in the small differences between her beliefs and yours.



“Of course” she says “Goad, as ye ken, is the originator of the Irth as it noo is. During the Old time, there were many deities who watched ower the world, and when the Old Time came tae its disastrous end, they were rejected by what was left of society, and luckily, Goad was ready to help.

Goad was watching during the Old Time but only appeared in oor greatest hour of need. He helped rebuild our broken civilisation and shaped oor present culture. If we respect him and worship him, we will see him when we pass away. He loves us and wants us to , ahem, love ourselves. In fact that is probably the maist important thing, and something we all adhere tae maist strongly in this building.

Now, the most exciting thing that happened back then was when Goad decided he had accomplished all he could at the time and wished to rest for a very long period. A Cairn was constructed to house his essence, and this cairn is just outside the village! We are so fortunate, are we no'?”



RETURN TO 88



116



You examine the relics on the right hand wall. You are puzzled why so much of it has been kept. Many of the items are the sort of Old Time rubbish you often found washed up on the coast of your island. There are rolls of the shiney sheeting, dangerous looking pieces of a transparent substance, lots of Old Time slabs, assorted scrap metal and much more besides, some familiar , some not but to your eyes, all rubbish.



RETURN TO 190





117



The guard gets angry and for a moment you are worried he might get violent. Instead he points toward a large building to your right. “Get yersel' a room in there, there's a curfew on, and ye're not to be roaming the streets in the evening.”



TURN TO 40





118



You tell Sten that you have met a Keeper previously.



“Me too lad! Bonny looking woman some of the time, completely crazed mind...”



He makes a start walking up the hill toward the tower and you decide to follow. Once Sten reaches the door he gestures for you to knock, which you do. Sten steps to one side and conceals himself as best he can. After a few moments, you hear the door being unbarred and it swings open.



“You shouldn't be here at this time of year – surely you know that?”



You are astounded to see that this Keeper is identical to the one you encountered a few days ago. Her clothes, face, hair, age and way of speaking are exactly the same!



“Speak up young man, whatever is the matter?”



Sten suddenly steps forward “I would imagine he's dumbstruck by a Keeper's beauty – jist like the rest of us!”



The Keeper looks shocked “You! - How are you even, I mean, I was there when they – “



Sten interrupts with a sly smile “I'm harder tae get rid of than ye might think.”



“It makes no difference anyway - how dare you come back here!” She turns back to you “Give me a reason I shouldn't slam this door in your face”



Do you have a keepsake from the last Keeper you encountered? - If so TURN TO 89

If not, she slams the door without another word, and you and Sten make your way back to the path. TURN TO 136





119



You stand on the highest point and look down on the Irth Hoose. From the narrow entrance it sweeps to the left, widening considerably and curving around until it eventually ends in a bulbous chamber faced with a massive slab. The walls reach over six feet in places and you have no idea what the structure was used for though, presumably it had a roof at one point in the distant past. You can also see another two boulders with odd carvings on them.



After a few minutes, Sten suggests it is time to leave and you both make your along the small path and reach the main track.



TURN TO 133







120



You offer to pull Bill's cart and he does not object. It is hard work but at least you can take in your surroundings, you are disappointed that the land surrounding you is so desolate, consisting of Old Time slabs and ruins. Bill notices you gazing around, and remarks - “Aye, just Deadlands aroond here, though we're lucky really, in some areas they can stretch as far as the eye can see. At least we're no' far fae the forest over there -” He points “-and of course the Burning Light. The forest is a mair healthy place tae be, same with the fields. The fowk fae Montremon are clearing away the bad places fast. When I first came here there were no fields east of the village, but we'll be approaching them soon. If it wasnae for the trade I pick up from your island, I wouldn't see Deadlands at all. The cart track leading west from Montremon runs through forest and then the fertile “Lands of Strath” as the folk fae Frir like tae boast. I canny be daein' with them really, but they grow stuff that naebody else can. They hae fash too – I dinny ken onywhere else that does.”



You ask Bill what 'fash' are, but he shakes his head and laughs-



“Nah, I'm no' tellin' ye! - It wid make ye jealous, and I wouldnae want tae dae that tae ye!”



Afer a few hours the land around you starts to improve, there are less Old Time slabs and some vegetation can be seen. Eventually you reach some fields with sickly, withered crops planted in them. With each passing field you notice the crops looking healthier.



“Montremon up ahead lad – ye can see the barricade from here! Lets tak' a wee break, we're making guid time, thanks to you. In fact, I'd better gie ye this as payment” - Bill hands you a large silver token with symbols on both sides. “It's a Dundy token, but they'll tak' it in Montremon nae bother! Its enough tae get ye board at the lodging hoose fir two nights.”



You thank Bill and keep pulling his cart towards the barricade. It is comprised of wooden poles hammered next to each other. You wonder why they need such defences.



You reach the barricade shortly after.



Turn to 49





121



You walk down the short path. It is very neat and obviously well cared for. It ends at a row of straggly bushes which you push through easily.



You now find yourself in an area of cleared ground which rises slightly ahead of you. There is the start of a narrow ditch ahead of you which is lined on both sides with carefully built walls, of considerable age. You walk to the opening of the ditch and notice a large boulder at the front which has a strange spiral symbol deeply encised upon it. There are also a few circular holes in the same boulder. The ditch itself sweeps slowly round to the left and the walls rise as the ditch progresses.



Will you walk through the ditch? - TURN TO 163

Or stand on the hill and look down on the bewildering structure? - TURN TO 251

Or return to the main trail to Tailen? - TURN TO 180





122



You carefully clamber down from the cairn. The man stands impassively as you do so and says nothing until you reach the ground. “Yer a complete eejit, but at least you've come doon. Time tae leave, yer bound tae have made him angry.”



Both of you start walking down the track. The whistling increases pitch, but the man stops, turns, touches the brim of his hat for a moment and the sound fades away. You continue walking. As you head downhill you try to engage the man in conversation but he remains silent. Not until you reach the forest junction does he speak.



“No' the noo, but meet me roond the other side of the Lodging Hoose once yer back. Ye've tae promise no' tae mention any of the stupid things ye were doing, nor any of the things ye heard. I want tae start oor relationship fae scratch. Its important that ye dae this. Now, let me get awa', I'll see ye in a bit”



The man runs ahead of you down the trail and is soon out of sight.



Note down the word ARRANGED and TURN TO 159.





123



You tell Sten that he is most welcome to travel to Tailen alone. He shakes his head and with a grim expression walks down the path beside you. It is long and straight and, off in the distance you can already see the settlement. The Deadlands are at their most depressing here. There are no ruins whatsoever but the entire landscape is bare and dead, with not a trace of vegetation.



Within two hours you are close to the village. Here and there are now a few fields, however, the crops in them are withered and dead. As you reach the village you realise it is far smaller than Montremon. There are no more than ten buildings, and most of them look in a bad state of repair. You walk into the centre of the village. It appears empty of life.



TURN TO 75





124



As soon as you step out from beneath the tree a huge form leaps onto you and then swats you into the water. You cannot swim, and, as you struggle to stay afloat, you can hear Sten roaring in anger....





125



Against your better judgment you start walking toward the figure. In the near darkness you watch as it pulls up from the ground and stands facing you. With the small amount of light cast from the fire in the trench you make out a few details. It seems to be a male, though at least a head shorter than yourself and impossibly thin. Its arms hang way below its knees and the only facial features you can make out are it's huge round eyes and completely bald head. The whistling sound continues but the figure slowly backs away from you. As you walk forward, it leaves the vicinity of the trench and you are able to drop back inside. The Traders have not noticed your absence so you try your best to get some sleep, and hope that you won't be disturbed.



TURN TO 209





126



You timidly walk towards the pond. Peering into the water, you are filled with a strange mix of emotions. Creatures!, there are creatures in the water! They are small beasts, not any bigger than the palm of your hand. They have long powerful back legs and shorter front ones, they are a mottled green colour. You watch in fascination as some of them prople themselves through the clear shallow water and others writhe with each other. You notice throughout the pond clumps of a strange substance with black dots in them, the nature of which you cannot guess. One of the creatures pulls itself out of the water and stares at you with unblinking orange eyes. You tentatively reach out a hand toward it but it springs back into the water with surprising speed. You could watch these beings for hours, but the sun is getting lower.



Will you – Stay a while longer? - TURN TO 142

Or retrace your steps back to the village? - TURN TO 159





127



You ask to about the small box filled with shiny bricks. The woman smiles. “Ah! - Do ye like them? A bairn's toy fae the Old Time! Weel made stuff and they look as guid as new. No' sure what use they wid be tae ye, but if ye have family then they wid make a braw gift!”



Return to the reference you were previously on.





128



You have little choice but to leave the village. Night will be falling soon and you will need to find shelter. You walk through Tailen and continue down a long trail. The land is fertile and full of crops here. There are no suitable places to settle down so you continue walking as long as you can.



You are very tired when something knocks you over, and have no strength left to defend yourself.....



129



You wake, make yourself ready and head downstairs for another breakfast. The owners of the lodgings make it clear that you are now to leave.



If you have the word THREE noted down, TURN TO 80.



Outside, you notice several groups of traders have arrived. None of them look particularly friendly but you have no further time to waste. You head over to them and explain your intentions. Most are either on an east-west route or are staying at Montremon for a few days, but one group of three roughly dressed men are heading south.



“Aye, we'll be heading over the Siddlies” says the leader of the three. “A risky trip. Normally we wouldnae want onyone else with us, but fir the right price......”



You may have picked up a few items over the last two days. If you wish to try and buy your passage with any of them, try from the references below.



A book - TURN TO 43

Medallion – TURN TO 73

Glass balls – TURN TO 14

Keeper's item – TURN TO 7

Rusty orange discs – TURN TO 112

Silver tokens – TURN TO 216

Food – TURN TO 238

Plastic bricks – TURN TO 62

A Map – TURN TO 74

Polished pebbles – TURN TO 230



If you have none of these items or you would rather keep all the items you have found, you must leave Montremon on your own. - TURN TO 147







130



The path is little used and you duck around and underneath vegetation. After ten minutes or so, you reach another clearing.



TURN TO 22





131



Jim grins, rubs his hands together and tells you to take a seat.

“Weel, young lad, ye've asked the richt person! I'll tell ye whit I can. Obviously ye ken whit lies due east of here, but if ye follow the same track west there are no Deadlands whatsoever! Ye walk through the forest for a full day until ye reach a large town called Frir. It's built on the remains of an Old Time settlement and the locals never tire of telling ye how important it used tae be! They call the surrounding area 'The Strath', or something like it. I think a long way west of Frir is yet anither town but I dinny ken its name. South of Montremon takes you past where we harvest oor timber. The track winds in funny directions, I'm no' sure why and after two days or mebbe a wee bit less ye reach the foot of the Siddlies. Ye have tae go through a lot of Deadlands tae get there though. There's a wee village there, mainly for Traders to meet. I've been that far, back when it was much safer tae do so, but never ower the hills themselves. Dundy itself lies somewhere that way, and as ye probably ken, it's supposed tae be a huge place, full of educated people. There, I hope that helps ye!”



RETURN TO 97



132



You examine the displays on the left hand side. They appear to be filled with random Old Time junk. The only items that catch your eye are a group of bottles, not earthenware like you are used to, but of the opaque material you sometimes find washed up on the shore in dangerous, sharp pieces. In the neck of each bottle is a small ball made from the same substance.



RETURN TO 190





133



When you are within ten minutes of reaching Tailen, Sten speaks once more.



“Ah, it's been a lang whiley since I've been here. There's a few things I'll hae tae sort oot first. I always seem tae make a name fir masel' wherever I go! But I'll no' be lang– never fear, meet me in the street – dinny bother with the lodging hoose yet!”



He runs at an incredible speed down the track into the village ahead of you, and is soon lost to your sight.



Note down the word PAL



TURN TO 95





134



You ask Bill how long he has been a trader.

“Fifty one years now, I started when I was fifteen. I worked the fields fir a few years afore that but I wanted tae see at least a wee bit of the world.”

You are incredulous. The only people you've ever known that have lived to be over sixty were bed ridden! You tell him so.

Bill laughs “I'm getting auld, aye, but there's a few year left in me yet! I dinny come fae aroond here, I think living so near to Deadlands shortens yer lifespan, yer best oot of it, even if ye can solve yer island's problems! Don't mention that tae the fowk at Montremon, they reckon their village is built on sacred ground and wouldnae appreciate being telt that this area is bad fir them! Anyway, less blethering, it's time tae get moving again.”



If you have the word HAT noted down TURN TO 224

Otherwise TURN TO 120





135



You continue south west to Tailen. The Traders are clearly getting tired and you decide to help in pulling their carts, which they accept without comment. After a few hours travel the silence of the Deadlands is shattered by a piercing sound. It is so loud that you fear for your ears and fall to the ground clasping them with your hands. You were in front of the others and can hear them calling behind you, but you feel disorientated and stay on your knees. After a few minutes where you feel your eardrums must be close to bursting, a terrifying shriek cries out from their vicinity then all is silent.



You stand up and turn. Eck and one of the traders are looking at a bloodied patch on the ground, they stare in your direction and their expression changes to anger. Eck walks up to you and roars - “Did ye not hear us shouting! Ye must know what happens when that sound starts up! Ye get under cover, not squat there in the open. Now my pal is deed, and it's your fault. Get awa' fae us, afore I sort ye oot proper!”



You don't quite grasp what exactly has happened, but you start running down the track as fast as you can. After a time you look behind you and realise you cannot see Eck and his companion anymore.



Note down the word FLED.



TURN TO 171







136



You continue along the track in the fading light. You notice a stack of slabs which may make a suitable shelter. As you approach them to see, something knocks you to the ground. A whistling sound starts up, something jumps onto your chest, and again, Sten is nowhere to be seen.....





137



You creep back through the structure. Suddenly a huge 'something' leaps from the outside and knocks the wind out of you. As you lie on the ground panting, the whistling sound increases in volume and you can only guess as to what will happen to you....





138



You open the Keeper's box. Inside is a piece of wood with a massive length of extremely fine wire wrapped around it. You have no idea as to its purpose or why the Keeper buried it in the woods. However, the wire looks as if it could be put to use somewhere, so you decide to keep it, and put it safely back in the box.



RETURN to 129





139



“Guid lad” says Sten “Though this last wee stretch of road is the worst bit. We should be alright, ye've got me with ye – and that helps.”



As he finishes speaking, you notice for the first time a slightly nervous expression on his face. The path at the moment is clear and the Deadlands here look no different to the rest you have passed through.



Sten leaves your side again at one point but you are by now unconcerned by his eccentric behaviour. However, after some time you suddenly hear a shocking piercing sound which is so painful you collapse to your knees. You look up and see Sten standing motionless thirty or so feet away. His eyes are fixed to a point somewhere behind you. He takes off his hat (revealing lank brown, receding hair) and holds it outstretched in his hands, as if offering it to someone. The piercing sound is just as intense and seems to be directly behind you.



Will you try your best to move toward Sten? TURN TO 45

Or turn to the source of the sound? - TURN TO 234



140



You let your eyes adjust to the dark, but you cannot see very much. You do however think you can make out a strange form hunched in a corner. Without a light source it is impossible to see any clearer. The whistling sound increases in volume.



Will you now climb down the cairn and walk around it? - TURN TO 200

Or return to the village? - TURN TO 65





141



You have no idea where to go. You walk straight through the village and continue along a long wide track. The land here is very fertile and full of crops. After around an hours travel you reach a junction with innumerable small paths leading off in different directions, all roughly in the direction of the by now much closer Siddlies.



Suddenly you are pushed to the ground by an immense being. Your breath is knocked out of you and you have no strength to avoid what comes next....





142



You continue to quietly observe the fascinating creatures. You estimate there are over 100 of them in the pond. Their purpose looks random, but you feel there is meaning behind it all.



Suddenly you hear a strange whistling sound from somewhere in the trees beyond the pond, and although there is no wind, some of the branches and bushes seem to be stirring. The whistling sound increases and you feel it would be a prudent time to leave.



You turn with the intent of retracing your steps. You catch a glimpse of something leaving the trail and pushing through the undergrowth. It was clearly a sizeable form and you now feel very uneasy about walking back the way you came. Looking around, the only other possible route seems to be a small overgrown path to the right of the pond.



Will you – Try this new path? - TURN TO 173

Attempt the main trail? - TURN TO 229

Or remain where you are? - TURN TO 47





143



The Irth rocks are not large and, standing where you are at the top of the cairn, you find it easy to stretch out and remove the rocks and throw them over the cairn's edge. After clearing a few feet you expose a wooden plank. You gently press down on it and find that it is rotten and would break easily. As you decide what to do, you are startled by a strange whistling sound. It is hard to pinpoint but it appears to be coming from near the track.



Will you break the wooden plank? - TURN TO 12

Climb down and walk around the cairn? - TURN TO 200

Or return to Montremon? - TURN TO 65





144



The small path continues on then ends at the barricade. There is a smaller gate than the one you entered yesterday but it is open and presumably leads to the forest.



Will you leave the village? - TURN TO 68

Or retrace your steps? - TURN TO 170





145



Kels looks a little embarrassed. “Do you wish to ken all that goes on within these walls? Some things must remain a secret. Be assured however, that all we do within these walls are approved by Goad. Even the maist personal, thrilling things. However, there is one ritual you could easily perform yersel' – How wid ye like tae go on a short pilgrimage?”



If you would then TURN TO 98

If not TURN TO 28





146



“Silly question! Everything else! This land is huge – or so I've been told. I've been a day west and the forest just goes on and on, and I've met people who have travelled south to the big hills – much bigger than this one! Other than that, I'm not too sure, you could ask some Traders but I sometimes think they don't travel anything like as far as they make out.”



RETURN TO 5





147



The Traders do not want you near them and you feel they may get violent so you leave hastily.

If you have the word STUCK noted down then TURN TO 29

Otherwise, you find the south trail easily enough – TURN TO 79





148



You tell Sten you wish to walk through the Irth Hoose.



“Please yersel' lad, I'll stand guard here.” Sten replies “Dinny be lang.”



You walk down the small trench, it widens considerable and the walls stretch above your head. The structure sweeps around to the left and you follow it, pausing briefly to look at another boulder carved with a spiral. The trench continues to curve left and then ends in a wide chamber faced with a massive back slab.

You turn and start making your way back. Suddenly you hear a sharp whistling sound and Sten calls out to you, but you cannot make out his words.



Will you stay where you are? - TURN TO 169

Or continue walking through the Irth Hoose? - TURN TO 178





149



Your room is much smaller than the one in Montremon but it is clean and the bed looks comfortable. After eating a vegetable salad provided by the landlord you get ready to settle down for the night.



After a few hours you are awoken by a high pitched whistling sound. You sit upright and listen as the sound seems to move down the street outside and settle directly beneath your window. You sit in silence and after a time the sound moves on. Suddenly a man and a woman start screaming and their sounds are cut off very abruptly. You shiver and have very little sleep for the rest of the night.



In the morning, you make your way downstairs. The landlord and a few other people are staring at you. A large burly farmer walks towards you and makes it very clear that you must leave immeditely. You cannot argue.



You hurriedly leave the lodging house.



Do you have a map? - If so turn to 78

If not – TURN TO 141





150



You decide the map would probably be a wonderful item to own. To stare down at far off places you would probably never get to see fills you with joy. The old woman pipes up “Aye, thats a fine map – accurate tae, or so I've been telt. It shows the lie of the land fir a guid forty miles in all directions! Imagine travelling that far!”



Decide whether you would like the map or not and whenever you wish to look at it then you will find it at reference 64. Now return to the reference you were previously on.





151



Note down the word BEEN. You clamber through the window and enter the hut. It is very dark and you wait a few moments for your eyes to adjust. You examine the table and chair, they are springy and rotten to the touch. The other item is a small table which is in a similar condition. You find nothing of interest. Suddenly there is an ominous creaking sound from the roof. The structure is definitely unsafe and you make your way out.



Will you now Head west? - TURN TO 130

or head back to the village? - TURN TO 159





152



You stay with Sten. He pulls you under one of the trees and you both crouch beneath it. The whistling is still some way off but Sten is still focused on a point in the other direction.



“It canny be oor friend fae the road, it's too soon. There must be anither ane – damn! I'm no' sure whit's happening the noo lad, but it's almost like they're interested in you in particular. Fair enough I suppose, who can blame them?”



You both remain under the tree for some time until Sten decides it is safe to leave.



TURN TO 124





153



You quickly walk through the ruins and beyond the wall, intent on following the figure. Just past the wall is a square wooden panel, flush with the ground. There is a metal handle attached to it. Against the wall is a darkish smelly wet patch, which you do your best to avoid.



Will you investigate this? - TURN TO 207

Continue to follow the figure? - TURN TO 245

or alternatively, you still have time to catch up with Bill. - TURN TO 221





154



The well kept forest trail continues up a slight incline. The trees are fully mature here and quite close together. The dense undergrowth allows very little light into the woods and you begin to feel slightly uncomfortable.

There is not a breath of wind however and the sun is still shining. All is silent. Presently you come to a three way split in the path. The trail continues in much its present state to the left and right. There is also a much narrower path straight in front of you, which although overgrown, looks passable.



Will you – Head right? - TURN TO 210

Head left? - TURN TO 55

Head for the path ahead? - TURN TO 109

Or return to the village? - TURN TO 159





155



You slowly walk away from the whistling sound and the mysterious figure. Suddenly a massive form bounds into you from your right and knocks you over. As it leers over you ready to deliver a fatal blow, you hear the whistling rise in volume.





156



“Look at this ba'heed coming” One of the Traders says, loudly. “Aye – we're talking aboot you – we've heard aboot you and all yer rubbish – get oot of this place afore we do ye in!”



You don't recognise any of the men and you hope you have been mistaken for someone else, however you make a hasty departure from the building.



TURN TO 110





157



You wait quietly at the end of the structure. The whistling sound increases in volume and you can hear something moving about above you. After some time all falls quiet and you decide to risk walking back through the trench. You climb back out and look around and can see and hear nothing. You walk quickly back along the path and rejoin the main track to Tailen.



TURN TO 180







158



You return to your room. You eat a few of the dried biscuits that you took when leaving your island and mull over your experiences so far. The last two days have been the most eventful of your life! Hoping you can continue your journey to the Siddlies tommorow, you settle down to sleep.



TURN TO 129





159



You arrive back beside the lodging house.



If you have the word ARRANGED noted down, then TURN TO 53

If you have the word PILGRIM noted down, then TURN TO 21



Otherwise TURN TO 158





160



You walk along another small path between some buildings. The path turns slightly and stops at a wall. You have no idea of the logic behind the villages small paths



Will you – retrace your steps to the last junction? - TURN TO 24

Or head back to the main street? - TURN TO 170





161



You walk along the small path for a short time.



TURN TO 144





162



You walk as briskly as you can, beaking into a jog whenever the path is completely clear of Old Time rubbish. You will catch up with Bill soon. However, to your left, just off the track is a ruined structure which catches your eye as it is slightly more intact than anything else you have passed.



Will you stop briefly to inspect the ruins? - TURN TO 217

Or keep moving and catch up with Bill? - TURN TO 221





163



You start walking through the structure and follow it to the left. The walls rise to over six feet and taper inwards suggesting that at one point in the past it probably was roofed.



You slowly continue walking, noticing the fine quality of the walls and you also notice two more boulders with the same strange spiral markings on them. After a minute or so the passage ends in a bulbous shaped chamber faced by a massive back slab. You are at a loss as to the meaning of the structure and why it so obviously well cared for.



Suddenly a familiar whistling sound starts. Distant at first, it is clearly getting closer.



Will you wait in the chamber? - TURN TO 157

or quickly run back the way you came? - TURN TO 137





164



You show the woman the Medallion you received.



“Look – a pilgrim! Oh, you are a blessed young man. I can tell you were filled with the power and essence of Goad himself. I bet a wee bit is still in ye tae. So few take the pilgrimage nowadays – surely we can help ye in some way.”



You explain your situation and how you will be needing somewhere to stay.



“Weel, ye can't stay with us! Much as that wid be nice, we have our personal things tae do when we're on oor own. Tell ye what though, the landlord is a soft touch, five minutes with him, and we'll get ye a bed for the night.”



You watch as the two woman find the landlord and whisper things in his ear. The man seems pleased and much hilarity passes between them. However, all sounds are being drowned out by the general noise and you have no idea what is happening.



Five minutes later, the ladies are as good as their word and have arranged a bed for you!



TURN TO 149





165



You have never felt so sick in your life. You sit back down and hope the feeling will subside. Suddenly the urge is greater than ever. You don't have the energy to leave the building so turn slightly in your chair and vomit all over the floor. Karr shakes her head in complete disgust and leaves the building. You feel your stomach heave and you vomit once again.



All the patrons stare at you. No one looks remotely amused or sympathetic. Suddenly all you want is to be back on your island.



Before you can even wipe your mouth, Tam the Guard, who you hadn't noticed until now appears, drags you silently from the building and ejects you from the village entirely.



He shouts at you from a distance “And dinny come back ye total wee mink!”



TURN TO 192





166



You turn onto a small path. The Deadlands are thinning out now, and there are stunted bushes growing between the ruins. Directly ahead of you is an area of thick undergrowth. A short distance to the south west, off the path are a group of fairly large trees.



“Funny whit ye forget” Sten says, pointing towards the trees “There's a Fash Pond ower there. Another diversion, but worth a look. Still, mebbe we should be sticking to the paths right noo.”



Will you – continue to the Irth Hoose? - TURN TO 105

take another diversion to the Fash Pond – TURN TO 194

or return to the main track and Tailen – TURN to 133





167



Glancing around, you notice Bill propped up at the large counter. You walk over to him and he gestures for you to sit on the stool next to him. “Ah, young Sam, ye made it back! Did ye visit the Burning Light?”

You tell him of your encounter in the deadlands and your meeting with the Keeper.



“Shh, no' too loud!” admonishes Bill “Some of these villagers are funny fowk, they dinny like tae be reminded of the Whistling Man. We've all heard him – especially oot this way, usually just at night though, thats why its never been much of a bother travelling this way during the day That's worrying news lad, hopefully it's just a one off. As fir the Keeper, I've never met that one! I've been up tae the tower on business a fair few times ower the years and its aye been an auld wifie I've dealt with. Not that it matters, naebody kens whit they're up to, and neither do they, I reckon. Anyway, it's been nice tae see ye Sam, I meant tae give ye this token if I saw you again, the Landlord should let ye stay two nights with it. After that, well, you should find someone tae help ye by then, I've been telt a large group of traders should be arriving the day after tommorow.”



Bill hands you a large silver circular object. You thank him and find the landlord and give him the token. He agrees on a two night stay and shows you to a room.



TURN TO 93





168



Are you travelling alone? - If so TURN TO 231

If someone is with you TURN TO 95





169



You remain where you are until the whistling stops. You then tentatively move back through the structure until you reach the entrance. You climb out and look around for Sten. There is no sign of him. Shrugging, you make your way back to the path then head to the main track, presuming that Sten will reappear later.



TURN TO 180



170



The sun is shining and there is only a slight breeze when you leave the lodging house. You stand at the top of the main street.. If you have the word LEG noted down TURN TO 57



Choose from the options below, you may only visit each location once.



Investigate the Building of Goad? - TURN TO 88

The General Store – TURN TO 103

The House of Relics? - TURN TO 190

Walk straight down main street? - TURN TO 9

Leave the village and head for the forest? - TURN TO 68



When you are finished you return to the top of the main street. - TURN TO 159





171



You slow down to a steady walk. The Deadlands are slowly changing to more healthy looking land as you notice a few sickly bushes and shrubs growing amongst the ruins and even the occasional tree amongst the open spaces.



You shortly reach a wooden board on the right of the track. It has a few symbols etched on its surface and also a large red arrow painted on it. The arrow points to a small path leading west. You pause and look down it. It progresses for a short time and ends at a stand of fairly dense looking vegetation. Off the path to the south west is a group of large healthy looking trees. This route is amongst ruins and looks like it may take some time to reach.



Will you – continue to Tailen – TURN TO 180

walk along the small path – TURN TO 121

or investigate the stand of trees? - TURN TO 108







172



There is no way the landlord is going to let you stay in the lodging house for nothing!



If you have the word STORY noted down TURN TO 167

Otherwise, if you have a bag of scrap metal TURN TO 34

If not then the landlord insists you leave. TURN TO 247





173



Nervously you make your way to the small path. The whistling sound increases in pitch somewhere to your left. The path is very narrow and has not been used in a long time. You creep under branches and around roots. The whistling continues but appears to be fading. The sun is now very low and you despair of reaching the village now. After making your way along the trail for some time you reach a large clearing. Note down the word LATE and TURN TO 22





174



You tell Eck you want to visit Klass. He laughs, shakes his head and continues pulling his cart onto the other track. You walk along the southern route, alone. It is long and straight and some distance away you can already see the settlement. The Deadlands are at there most depressing here. There are no ruins whatsoever but the entire landscape is bare and dead, with not a trace of vegetation.



Within two hours you are close to the village. Here and there are now a few fields, however, the crops in them are withered and dead. As you reach the village you realise it is far smaller than Montremon. There are no more than ten buildings, and most of them look in a bad state of repair. You walk into the centre of the village. A group of dishevelled people are huddled together around a small fire.



Will you talk to them? - TURN TO 82

Walk around the village? - TURN TO 242

Backtrack and walk to Tailen? - TURN TO 168





175



You reach Bill just as he is packing the last of his goods away.

“You're coming with me, aye?” Bill says. You nod and he smiles. “Nae bother! Help me secure a' this and we'll get going. We dinny want to be travelling through Deadlands in the dark!”



You spend a short time securing his stock to the cart and then you are both ready. The tide is low and the causeway is clear. You watch as Bill heaves the cart with surprising ease, especially considering the mess left by the Black Blight and very soon you are standing on the mainland for the first time in your life.



It feels no different to your island, despite all the warnings over the years from your parents and fellow islanders. You stand for a moment and survey your surroundings. The cart track travels up a very gentle slope ahead of you. The land around you is almost entirely dead. Old time ruins are everywhere and there are vast patches of bare ground where nothing whatsoever is growing. Toward the horizon however, you can make out the beginnings of the vast forest you've always been told about. To the north east the barren land continues, apart of course from the small green hill with the burning light atop it. Way to the north you can see a substantial mountain range. You have seen them your whole life, and they are so far away that it would obviously be impossible to ever visit them.



Will you continue to Montremon with Bill? - TURN TO 134

Or head North east on your own? - TURN TO 227





176



The tiny path continues for a few steps then turns sharply to the right and ends in a small courtyard. There is a very small but very powerful looking man working on a wooden structure of sorts. He sees you as he lifts a tool and briefly acknowledges you before returning to his work.



If you have the word HELP noted down TURN TO 97



Otherwise you do not wish to disturb the man so retrace your steps back to the main street – TURN TO 170





177



You decide to try and make your way back to the main trail. You burst from cover and run as fast as you can across the ruins. In your haste you stumble and fall. You sense a large form approaching and brace yourself for whatever is about to happen.....





178



You carefully walk back through the Irth Hoose. The whistling sound stops suddenly. As you approach the entrance you look for Sten but there is no sign of him. A familiar brown hat lies on the ground a few feet away. You begin climbing out the structure when suddenly a huge form lands on your back and pushes you to the ground. It remains there, crushing the life out of you.







179



You leave the Keeper and the Tower. She has opened the gate for you and after making sure there is nothing dangerous on the hill, you make your way down toward the Barricade and the exit. You then head south west towards the village as you were instructed. There is no clear path and the journey is tiresome as you weave around and over broken structures, slabs and other ruins from the Old Time. After an hour or so of travel you sit on a huge piece of rubble and eat some of the dried biscuits you brought with you. Suddenly, you hear the whistling sound again, fairly distant, but definitely getting closer.



Will you start walking again? - TURN TO 69

or stay put and try to pinpoint the sound? - TURN TO 236





180



You continue your walk toward Tailen. You notice with some relief that the land is now almost entirely devoid of ruins and there are many small fields with crops growing in them.



Within a short time you reach the village.



TURN TO 95



181



You run as fast as you can around the hill. You hear your pursuer getting closer. You estimate you are more than half way around and you have still not found an entrance in the smooth surface of the wall.



TURN TO 228





182



You explain to Sten that you don't possess a map and that you were hoping he knew the way.



“Och ye stupid eejit! Obviously, we need tae go over there-” He points towards the hills “There's a bunch of paths heading south and this one tae the west which obviously leads tae a Burning Light. Although it's no' the maist direct route I wouldnae mind seeing a Keeper again. Lead on lad”



You head west along the track. You are still at the top of the gentle ridge with the forest some distance away to your right. It is a pleasant journey and you are glad that you can stay in sight of the woodland for a bit longer. Sten keeps appearing and disappearing as you continue.



After an hour or so of travel, the track heads down the ridge and heads south west amongst the Deadlands. After some time you notice a small hillock a few hours away with a tower exactly like the Burning Light beside your island. Sten re-appears soon after and comments “Aye, there's the Burning Light! - Strange how such an obvious thing can be overlooked.”



You realise you should have noticed the tower from the ridge, but decide not to remark to Sten how you missed it.



For the next few hours you have a quiet journey through the Deadlands with nothing unusual or untoward occuring, and soon you are at the foot of the small hill upon which the Tower is built.



Have you met a Keeper before? - If so TURN TO 118

Otherwise TURN TO 215







183



Knowing how unsafe the structure is from your last visit, you decide to head for the south trail. TURN TO 38





184



Sten appears at your side, once again.



“Telt ye I'd be back. Got a wee drappie of the local tokens as weel, it's no' what ye ken, but who ye ken! - follow me!”

Sten leads you into the lodging house. He approaches the landlord and he hands him some tokens. The Landlord pulls a face and says something to Sten that you can't make out. Sten reaches into a pocket and gives him another token. The landlord seems satsified with this. Before long you are in a small room together. There is only one bed – a small one at that. You glance in Sten's direction.



“Jings! Laddie, I'm much aulder than you, dinny be so daft. I'll no' be sleeping onyway. We havenae heard the last of oor pal fae the road, so I'll be ower by the windae. You get some sleep if ye can though, we've a big walk ahead of us the morn I reckon. Oh, I nearly forgot, I want ye tae have this-”



Sten hands you a small doll, about four inches high. It is carved from wood in a highly detailed manner. The clothes are made from a type of fabric and after a few moments you realise it is supposed to be a representation of you! You are unsure whether to be delighted or concerned, but you thank Sten anyway. He smiles briefly and stands by the window.



You lie down and get settled. A couple of hours later you are awoken by the sound of rustling. You open your eyes and can see Sten, rummaging through your haversack.



Do you have a book? - If so TURN TO 111

Otherwise – TURN TO 86





185



If you have the word HAT noted down TURN TO 31

Otherwise TURN TO 48





186



You politely interrupt the two woman and they both turn and smile at you. The taller of the two, a slim woman with long blonde hair and wide friendly eyes speaks first.



“Oh! A nice looking young man – we must certainly store his image awa' in oor heeds, should we no'?”



The shorter woman, who has dark brown hair with a lustrous sheen, nods and agrees.



“Have ye ony experience with a woman fae the Building of Goad? We are woman of talk, but no action, weel, no action with anyone else! We're merely passing through this wee place until we can find someone tae escort us back to oor Building in Montremon. Whit an adventure we both had! Oh, I hope Goad will approve.”



Do you have a wooden medallion? - If so TURN TO 164



Otherwise you pass a short time with them, but their strange attitude and perplexing comments start to make you feel a little confused and embarrased. You make your excuses and leave.



RETURN TO 95



187



You freeze and stay as still as possible. After a while the sound fades away. You stand up and feel something push you from behind. You stagger slightly, slip on some roots and plunge into the water. Despite the warm day it is extremely cold. You try your best to stay afloat, but you have never learned to swim and the banks of the pond are too sheer to grab....





188



As you start walking back towards the figure, he turns to your left, steps off the track and vanishes into the undergrowth. His progress is visble through the trees and bushes for a short time, but he is soon lost to you. You continue to walk down the trail and, reaching the point where he was standing, you notice a very small and overgrown path to the left. You think you can still hear the figure moving through the trees some distance from you. Glancing back toward the cairn, you suddenly spy some movement to one side of it. Note down the word VANISHED.



Will you – Follow the new path? - TURN TO 249

Turn back to the cairn – and either walk around it – TURN TO 200

or climb onto it? - TURN TO 90



Or you could return to the village? - TURN TO 159





189



“Montremon is a funny place. The villagers on the whole seem nice and perhaps they are. They give the impression that they know more than they let on. You shouldn't have too much trouble with them, but don't break the evening curfew, and don't mock their beliefs.”



RETURN TO 5





190



The House of Relics is a squat ugly square building across from your lodgings. You enter to find one large open hall with shelves on the left and right walls packed with random items. A large desk is in the middle of the room and a very attractive woman around your age is sitting, writing symbols on some paper. Seeing you enter, she looks up and smiles, shyly.



Will you – Examine the shelves to the left? - TURN TO 132

or the shelves to the right? - TURN TO 116

Or speak to the woman? - TURN TO 205





191



As you come nearer the building you realise it is in very bad condition. The roof is rotten and looks like it may collapse at any time. You walk to the door and gently push it. It moves slightly but appears to be stuck. The whistling sound starts up again.



Will you force the door? - TURN TO 244

Or head for the trail? - TURN TO 38





192



You stagger around in the dark outside the village. You can still see Tam standing guard at the entrance. You vomit a few more times and then you feel slightly better and sit down. Suddenly Tam shouts over to you “Heard the Whistler yet? - He'll no' be far awa'!”



Your night will be short.





193



You walk around the hill to the right. The whistling sound rises in volume and you sense that the source of the noise is very close. Suddenly you hear something very large approach from directly behind you.



Will you continue to your right? - TURN TO 181

Or back to the left? - TURN TO 228





194



You step off the path and head for the group of trees. They are very healthy looking and of a completely different type from those you saw at the forest. As you get closer you notice water beyond them.



“There's the pond” Sten says “ The sun's nice and bright, so mebbe we'll see something.”



You walk to the trees. The pond is clearly man made as it is completely square in shape with sharp edges plunging vertically into what looks like very deep water. You follow Sten who is walking around the pond as best he can. He suddenly stops and points towards the water. You follow his hand but are suddenly interrupted by a distant whistling sound. You turn toward it, but Sten gazes in another direction.



“This was a bad idea. My fault really. Sorry lad. If we bide here the noo, we should be alright.”



Will you stay with Sten? - TURN TO 152

Or try and make it back to the main trail? - TURN TO 106





195



You decide to try the Tattie based drink. Karr fetches two large tumblers and brings them to the table.



“Careful, it's strong stuff mind! If yer just a beer drinker it'll go tae yer heid quick!”



You sip from the tumbler and feel a sharp warm sensation which seems to burn your stomach as you swallow. You smile to Karr and drink some more. Karr continues talking in her inimitable fashion and you find yourself becoming very attracted to her. She asks you questions about yourself and you reply as best you can, although as time wears on you find it harder to stay coherent. Karr notices your predicament but merely nods and says “See, I kent it wid go tae yer heid!”



After your third drink you start feeling the worse for wear.. You are slurring your words and feel quite dizzy. You stand up to attend to a call of nature when all of a sudden you feel the urge to vomit!



Will you run out the building? TURN TO 211

Or would you rather not leave, sit back down and hope the feeling will subside? - TURN TO 165





196



You take a chance that you have been reading the signals correctly and lean over the table toward her and you both kiss. You pull back and stare at her. She seems as delighted and happy as you are.



You have not had much chance for romance in your short , island life. However, you go no further than the one kiss as you have an important task to perform and a long way to go. Even though you have only known her for a few hours, you have the feeling you could be easily distracted from your mission and end up remaining in Montremon for longer than you should. You tell Karr your issues.



“Oh, Sam! I understand, but surely ye can come back tae me! I know all the lads around my age in Montremon and you're the nicest by far! Do whit you need tae do to rid yer island of this Black mess yer talking aboot , but say you'll come back.”



At this moment you can think of nothing more certain, and you tell her so.



“Sam , this is wonderful! Be as quick as ye can, and take this with you for now. I know it's not much but I made it years ago and hopefully when you look at it, you'll think of me”



Karr hands you a small fabric flower. It is very well made and you will treasure it until your return. You kiss Karr briefly one more time and return to your room in an elated mood.



TURN TO 158







197



Studying your map, you work out the best track to take and you and Sten walk down the ridge into the Deadlands. They are very familiar by now but there are less ruins than the ones you passed through a few days ago but there are larger areas of bare dead ground. At the moment all is quiet and Sten walks beside you.



After some time Sten exciteadly points out something to the North West - “Ach, there it is – a Keeper's Tower, amazing how something big and bright can stay hidden is it no'?”



You look to where Sten is pointing and there is indeed a Burning Tower only a short distance off, and you cannot understand how you could have not noticed it until now. However, it is not on your route and you don't need anymore distractions so you continue walking. After a few more hours you reach a strange ditch in the ground.



Sten leaps into it and runs to the far side. He busies himself with something and you slide into the ditch.



“I mind this place! Plenty of folk use this place as an overnight stop. Let me get a wee fire going and we'll be fine.”



He soon gets a fire burning on an old hearth and you settle down as best you can. Sten sits across from you and stares at a point behind you with a vacant expression. You try your best to ignore him and settle down to sleep. TURN TO 84





198



You carefully make your way around the pond, keeping your eye on the water. Suddenly you see movement again near the middle and you stop and watch as a dark form around a foot in length just beneath the water's surface swims swiftly towards the far bank. You cannot fathom what you have just seen.



Suddenly you hear a familiar piercing noise from somewhere behind you.



Will you stay where you are? - TURN TO 187

or try to run – TURN TO 177



199



The entire hill is surrounded by a wall, around eight feet high. Its is composed of an entirely unfamiliar smooth substance and there would appear to be no way of scaling it. You start walking around the perimeter to the left and, in line with the Tower's entrance is a huge gate, made of a different but still completely smooth material. It is firmly closed and you hammer on the surface a few times, to no avail.



An eerie whistling sound starts up somewhere to the west. You look in the general direction of the noise and briefly glimpse a slender figure dart between some ruins. You decide to try and find a way into the tower.



Will you walk round the hill to the right? - TURN TO 193

Or to the left? - TURN TO 203





200



You walk around the cairn starting from the left hand side. The track is not as well maintained here and many branches and small bushes are growing over it. You duck under a large branch and reach the back of the cairn. As you turn to study the structure, a strange unsettling whistling sound starts. Suddenly you feel a sharp pain in the back of your legs and you fall to the ground. Through tears in your eyes you watch as a large indistinct form approaches you.....





201



“Bill the trader? - Of course I know him!He used to come here for years and years. He would drop off supplies then head north to meet with my family to settle up. It's a hard journey up that way, and he was one of the few traders who would do it. A very nice man – treat him well and I'm sure you would be rewarded.”



RETURN TO 5





202



The path ends at an old looking wall. It is however broken at one end and you scramble through it and continue along another path. You continue past a junction to the right and continue onwards.



TURN TO 161





203



You walk past the gate and soon find a neat circular hole broken into the surface of the strange wall.You stare into it and there is a neatly made tunnel, wide enough for you to crawl through. The whistling sound is moving closer to you, so you pull yourself inside. After pushing your way through the hole, it widens slightly and branches in two.



Will you take the left tunnel? - TURN TO 248

Or the right? - TURN TO 219





204



You clamber onto the surface of the cairn. The whistling sound increases in intensity and you stumble slightly. As you pause for a moment you are hit in the side by a large rock. You stumble again and crack your head on a slab. As everything starts to darken, you notice the shadow of a huge 'something' fall over you.





205



You introduce yourself to the woman and she tells you her name is Karr. She smiles and you are struck by how attracted you are to her.



If you have the word SIGN noted down TURN TO 6

If you have the word HAT noted down TURN TO 37

If you would like to ask her what she does here, TURN TO 67

Or how all the items on the shelves ended up here? - TURN TO 33



Or you can leave by turning to 170





206



You try your best to flirt with Karr and generally act like an incredibly fun person to be with. She seems very surprised at the sudden change to your character. Your masculine posturing is not going down at all well with her, and after half an hour of your shenanigans she stands up, shakes her head and walks to the other side of the building to converse with a group of young men.



Dejected, you return to your room for the rest of the evening – TURN TO 158





207



You tug on the handle, and the piece of wood lifts up easily, revealing a dark room below the surface. You can't see much and don't think it would be safe to drop into the hole without a light source.



Do you still have a tinderbox? - If so TURN TO 233

Otherwise, you return the wooden hatch to it's position and return to the main track.

Within a short time you reach the edge of the village. - TURN TO 49





208



Note down the word BEEN. You quickly use the contents of your tinderbox and light the candle on top. You clamber inside the hut and shine your candle over the furniture. The table and chair are ancient and are clearly half rotted away. The other item to the right is a small table in a simialr condition. You notice a small drawer under the table which you open and inside you find four small perfectly round balls made of the see through material you have periodically found washed up on your island. You pocket them.



There is a sudden gust of wind, the floor and roof of the hut shake and make ominous creaking sounds. You realise the dangerous condition the hut is in and decide to leave.



Will you – Leave by heading west? - TURN TO 130

Or take the main trail back to the village? - TURN TO 159





209



You awaken after a disturbed and restless sleep. Eck and his companions have almost finished their prepartions for leaving. After a short time you leave the trench behind and head down the cart track once again. The unvarying landscape of the Deadlands makes for a monotonous journey. At one point you hear a far off indistinct noise, but Eck merely shakes his head and points ahead. After a few hours travel you reach a crossroads. The Traders choose to rest for a few minutes and you decide to ask Eck where each path goes.



“We'll be sticking with the south west track, it'll get us tae Tailen in guid time. The south track leads tae Klass, it's a shorter route but they've got problems there and naebody will go near it. “ Eck seems to read the interested expression on your face and continues “If ye want tae go there, I'm no' bothered, but we're no' waiting fir ye! - ye'll come back with all sorts of fusty problems.”



Will you head to Klass on your own? - TURN TO 174

Or continue south west? - TURN TO 135









210



You head right along the trail. It is reasonably well maintained. The trees on either side are tall and the undergrowth thick and somehow threatining. Eventually the trail takes a sharp left and you enter a large grassy clearing. There is a large wooden hut in the centre. The one window is shuttered and the sturdy looking door is closed.

You look around for other exits. Apart from the one behind you, you notice a very small trail heading west.



Will you – examine the hut? - TURN TO 20

Head west along the new path? - TURN TO 130

or retrace your steps to the village? - TURN TO 159





211



You manage to leave the building without disgracing yourself. You stumble a few feet down the main street and vomit over the ground. Alarmed at this change in circumstance you decide it would be best to leave the village until you feel better. It will soon be dark, but you manage to find the main gate and you find somewhere to sit in view of Montremon. You vomit a further six times and wiping your mouth you swear never to touch alcohol again. It is nearly dark when you feel better so you re-enter Montremon TURN TO - 4





212



You continue further down the strange pointless seeming little paths. Eventually you reach a sharp bend .



To turn right along the bend TURN TO 161

To retrace your steps to the main street TURN TO 170







213



The light is fading fast. In the gloom, a huge shadowy form detaches itself from the trees and slowly makes it s way into the clearing. You peer into the forest and desperately look for an exit. A whistling sound starts up from within the woods to the north. You make out a small trail heading east from the clearing and another path heading south.



Will you – Head east? - TURN TO 92

or South? - TURN TO 246





214



The light is fading so you decide to have a brief walk down the main street to get a few ideas for where to go tommorow. People completely ignore you in their haste to be indoors and you decide you should return to your lodgings. Suddenly, a tall wiry man with a bad limp points at you and then hobbles towards what is presumably his house. As he opens the door, he beckons you in. You decide you really shouldn't until the morning and ignore him for the present.



Note down the word LEG and TURN TO 40





215



You stare up at the tower, wondering what you should do. The track continues past it and you consider continuing walking despite the lateness of the day. Sten however marches confidently up the hill and stands in front of the sturdy, secure looking door of the tower. He beckons you to follow. You shrug, but decide to do so. When you reach it, Sten gestures for you to knock, which you do. After a short time, you hear the door being unbarred and it is slowly opened.



In front of you is a woman. She is a few years older than you, and is very attractive but she looks exhausted. She has long blond hair pulled back severly into a pony tail. She is wearing a dark navy coat and matching trousers. They look extremly unusual to your eyes, and although they are clean, they are clearly very old and are patched and faded in places. Across part of the coat are a few symbols that you don't recognise. She looks you up and down, then does the same to Sten. A sign of recognition crosses her face and she calmly but strongly speaks with a strange but understandable accent.



“You! But how is this possible? I was there when they –“



Sten interrupts with a slight smile on his lips “It's no' easy tae get rid of me, ye ken.”



“So it would appear. However it changes nothing. Do not think that by bringing a nice looking young man with you it would make any difference! Go away.”



She quickly slams the door and you hear it being barred again.



“Worth a try” Says Sten “Ach weel, come on, we'll hae tae find somewhere safe tae spend the night”



You both walk down the hill and continue along the track. TURN TO 136







216



You show the Trader the Silver tokens you have in your possession. He seems quite interested.



“These aren't as guid as ye think lad, they're local tokens – sometimes ye canny get rid of them elsewhere. Lets think....”



If you have three such tokens he will agree to take you over the Siddlies – TURN TO 250

If you have less than three, after some consideration, he decides not to help you and asks if you have anything else of value – RETURN TO 129





217



You move off the cart track to inspect the ruins. They are clearly the remains of two buildings and why they are more intact than anything else in these Deadlands is a mystery. A part of one wall on the left building is still standing around four feet high. As your eyes fall upon it, a strange brown conical shape appears above the wall then dips back under it. You listen carefully, and hear a sound that reminds you of someone urinating. You shiver slightly.



Will you – move closer to the wall? - TURN TO 39

Or catch up with Bill? - TURN TO 221





218



Karr continues to talk freely about her work, her experiences and life in general.. Although very little of what she says is useful to your mission, you find her to have a charming and attractive personality. After 20 minutes of pleasant conversation she pauses and looks at you with a curious expression.



“Listen tae me go on and on! I've not let you get a word in, and I'm certain you'll hae some interesting stories. Tell ye whit though, I've nothing in particular tae do the nicht, and I ken it's a wee bit forward but do ye fancy a few drinks in the lodging hoose after I've closed? I'll hae an awfy drouth by then, and I'm sure you will tae!”



If you would like to take Karr up on her offer of a drink, then, when you have finished exploring Montremon and it's environs and you have the option to return to your room turn to 243 instead of 158.



For now RETURN TO 205





219



The tunnel is very narrow and you have difficulty navigating it. It sweeps round to the right and abruptly ends. You have absolutely no idea of the purpose of the tunnel, it must have been created for a reason, so why build a dead end into one branch? You have no room to turn around so push backwards in the hope of returning to the junction.



TURN TO 228





220



You tell Karr that you are used to drinking Beer so it would be sensible to stick with what you know. She smiles, goes to fetch the drinks and returns with a huge tumbler for you both.



You take a large gulp, it tastes exactly like the beer you are used to at home. You can handle a good few tumblers of this!



Your shyness soon fades as more and more beer is drunk. Karr is a tremendous conversationalist and you sit, relaxed and happy in her company. She asks you questions about yourself and why you are here and seems genuinely interested in your replies.



The Lodging house is getting busier and two or three men around your age approach your table with the obvious intent of speaking to Karr, but she poiltely waves them all away. After your third beer she moves her chair closer to yours, and the two of you are almost touching. She sips her beer while never taking her eyes from yours. The conversation becomes easier and more personal.



Eventually, you realise that you are very quickly falling for her. With a few beers inside of you, you feel confident enough to kiss her. But is this the right thing to do?



To risk all and kiss Karr – TURN TO 196



To flirt and joke in the hope that this will help smooth the way. TURN TO 206



Otherwise, after a pleasant evening of drink and conversation, you head to your room. TURN TO 158



221



You run down the cart track as fast as you can. You see Bill in the distance, and marvel at the speed he maintains considering the heavy load he pulls behind him. Within a short time however, you catch up with him.



“Ah, there ye are young Sam, I didnae think ye'd abandon yer island tae that Black mess. Let's get going then, I'm making guid time the day!”



TURN TO 134





222



You tell Sten you intend to travel to Klass.



“But thats nae use – I telt ye there's nothing there worth seeing! Please lad, believe me – I really shouldn't go there. I said I'd stick by ye, and of course I will, but nothing guid will come of a visit tae that place.”



If you wish to change your mind and go to Tailen after all – TURN TO 139



Otherwise, you tell Sten you are determined to travel to Klass – TURN TO 123







223



You walk around the cairn starting from the left hand side. The track is not as well maintained here and many branches and small bushes are growing over it. You duck under a large branch and reach the back of the cairn. As you turn to study the structure a strange unsettling whistling sound starts. It seems to be coming from some huge trees directly behind you. You turn quickly, you can't be sure but you think you saw a large form moving from one tree to another.



Will you now climb the cairn? - TURN TO 204

Or return to the village – TURN TO 65





224



You mention your brief encounter at the ruins.



“A man wearing an odd hat? Well, tae be honest, it's mair odd that he was hanging aboot Deadlands on his ain. He must be local to the area. I would ask the people of Montremon if ye have a chance. But be careful, they are a sensitive lot, he might be on one of their 'pilgrimages' and ye wouldnae want tae upset them!”



NOW TURN TO 120





225



The ground floor of the building has a huge open hearth with a warm fire burning in the centre of the room. A few locals are warming their hands around it. A large counter is at one end and a woman is serving drinks behind it. One or two men are leaning against the counter. There are tables and chairs alongside the walls but most of them are empty. A simple wooden ladder leads upstairs and the landlord takes you to the first floor and shows you to your room.



TURN TO 93





226



“Och, come on ye wee rascal! Help me with ma wee job first and then we'll see whit I can dae fir ye!”



Will you help him? - TURN TO 70

Or return to the main street? - TURN TO 170





227



You tell Bill of your intentions.

“Och, I understand lad! Ye've seen that thing yer whole life and finally yer close enough tae visit it! The gate through the Barrier will be closed at this time of year though. Whit ye dae is walk round the hill tae the left of the gate. There's a wee hole in the surface. Crawl through and stick to the left side and ye'll be fine. Tell ye what, I'll be staying at Montremon fir two nights, so once ye've been tae the Tower, tell me all aboot it!”



Note down the word STORY.



You head in the direction of the burning light. Although the terrain is more or less flat, it is hard work climbing over all the Old Time ruins. Nevertheless you make good time, and arrive at the foot of the hill in a few hours.



TURN TO 199





228



Something grabs you. It will not let go. In your present circumstances there is nothing you can do. You await your fate.....







229



If you have the word JOIN noted down TURN TO 47

Otherwise TURN TO 32





230



“Yer an ungrateful ba'heed are ye no'? I just saw Auld Bill give ye them. Get oot of my sight ye ignorant wee eejit!”



The trader turns his back to you.



TURN TO 54





231



You walk the long track back to the junction and take the other route to Tailen. There is not much of the day left and you will need to find somewhere to sleep soon. You look around and find some ruins which should provide a little shelter. As you make your way to them a piercing noise cuts through the silence. You collapse to the ground, your hands cupped to your ears. You cry out and something lands with tremendous force on your back and pushes you to the ground. You lie there and feel the breath from your attacker as the sound continues.........





232



Is Peem with you? If so TURN TO 99. Otherwise, the farmers are pleasant enough in their own gruff fashion but do not particularly want to talk to you.



RETURN TO 95





233



You manage to get a small fire going, although it takes longer than usual, light your candle and look down the hole. It is only about six feet deep and clear of any obstacles so you carefully lower yourself in.



You are now standing in a small square room. There are wooden shelves on all sides. One shelf has clearly been used for the preparation or eating of food as it is covered with crumbs. One of the other shelves has a pile of material the like of which you have never seen. At first glance you assume they are squares of flax or linen. They are brown in colour and have a tough, but smooth texture. They smell completely unfamiliar. You have no idea of their purpose. They don't look like they are made of plants, or trees, but they do suggest that they have an organic origin.



There is nothing else of interest in the room, so you use a small stool to give you the necessary height to pull yourself out of the hole. You replace the wooden hatch and make your way to the main track.



A short walk later and you reach the edge of the village. TURN TO 49





234



You turn and start crawling toward the source of the awful noise. You look up, your eyes full of tears, and see a small figure standing on the track ahead of you. It is very slender with long arms which hang way past the knees. It has huge black eyes, no nose that you can discern and a tiny mouth. It's head is completely bald. It is dressed in a strange, shiny red one piece overall. You are about to pass out with the pain when the creatures seems to notice you looking at it and it starts backing away. It then walks off the trail and vanishes into the Deadlands. The sound gradually fades away and you manage to stand up again.



Sten is standing next to you, his hat back on his head. You try to ask him questions but he is not forthcoming. The two of you walk in silence for the next hour or so until you see Tailen way in the distance. Up ahead is a large wooden board with an arrow pointing west. Suddenly Sten speaks up.



“That's the wee path tae an Irth Hoose. Worth a bit of a diversion fir a look if you want?”



If you want to investigate the Irth Hoose TURN TO 166

If you would rather continue directly to Tailen TURN TO 133







235



“You'll not have heard of it. It's a very small place two days north of here. A beautiful place! But sadly, I've not been back there for many, many years. The mountains are much closer there. I've never been to them, maybe sometime. For now, I have an important job to carry out”



RETURN TO 5





236



You stand up and look around you. As you look to the left, a huge form jumps on you and pushes you to the ground. As the 'something' prepares to finish you off , you hear a distant whistling....





237



You watch as Bill finishes packing away his goods and begins to make his way over the causeway. You decide to walk as far as East point to clear your head before making a final desicion. You look out over the water. The tide is very low at the moment and some Old Time ruins are exposed on the shore. You have noticed them many times before, but have never really given them much thought up until now.



Will you – Investigate the ruins? - TURN TO 26

Make your way home? - TURN TO 114

Or Visit your parents? - TURN TO 66





238



You offer the trader some of the food you have left. He shakes his head.



“Nah, we've plenty food! Besides yer going tae need food yersel' – are ye no'? It'll tak' mair than a day tae get whaur ye want tae go. Now, do ye hae onything else?”



TURN TO 147





239



You hand the man some of your food and he wolfs it down greedily. “Man, that was awfy guid! Thanks! Listen, my name is Peem and if you can help me get tae Tailen with the wee bit of money i've got, I could buy food, return and help a'body here and they would all have the strength to move on. Surely that's whaur yer heading? There's no ither tracks leading onywhere else, at least no' any mair!”



You agree to let Peem accompany you. Will you depart immediately? - TURN TO 168

Or look around the village first? - 242





240



The door opens, and the man from last night is standing in front of you.



“Ah, lad, ye came, better late than never I suppose! Listen,my names Jim. I'll be honest with ye - maist of the villagers dinny like tae help me, and its such a wee job as weel. Can ye help me?”



Will you help him? - TURN TO 70

Ask what he will do in return? - TURN TO 226



Or return to the main street – 170





241



You decide to try the Cider. Karr goes to fetch the drinks and returns with two huge tumblers. You drink some and are pleased to discover that it does indeed taste of apples. The two of you sit drinking and talking for a long time. However , after a while you start to suffer from a sore head, and have a slight feeling of nausea. You are concerned that you might make a fool of yourself and decide it would be best to retire to your room.



Karr looks bitterly disappointed but you bid her goodnight and leave. TURN TO 158





242



You have a very quick walk around the village. As you had already noticed, the buildings are worse for wear. On closer inspection you can see that the first few feet of each building are built directly onto the remains of very well preserved Old Time structures, the more recent additions being of poorer quality rounded Irth stones. Clearly the Old Timers knew how to build things to last, and you wonder, not for the first time why their system collapsed.



Two sickly looking men suddenly step from a building and walk toward you, their arms outstretched. Although you can easily keep your distance from them, you are uncertain if they may carry a disease of some sort and decide it would be a good idea to leave the village immediately.



You never noticed another track leading out of Klass, so you decide to retrace your steps to the junction.



TURN TO 168





243



You head back to the House of Relics, it is still open and Karr is still inside. You tell her that you would love to go for a drink with her when she is ready but you explain that you don't have much to barter with. She laughs, in a friendly and utterly captivating way.



“Och, dinny worry! My wee treat – plenty of drink available in Montremon ye ken – whit else wid we do with oor surplus crops? The drink isnae expensive either – the landlord makes most of his tokens on letting oot his rooms!”



She tidies her desk and makes good the House of Relics. The two of you then proceed to the ground floor of the lodging house. Inside the two of you sit at one of the benches lining the walls. There aren't many other people drinking at the moment and you feel a little self concious. Karr notices your discomfort and touches your hand briefly. You smile at her and it is instantly returned.



Karr asks what kind of drink you enjoy. You explain that you've only ever drank beer as your island couldn't afford anything fancier. She smiles again.



“We've got three types of drink at the moment. There's beer , which probably isn't any different to what you've tried. There's Cider, which is made from apples, its nice but we've only just started growing apples and making cider so it's maybe not quite as good as it should be. Finally there's a drink made fae Tatties. Its rough as onything, and it'll go fir yer heid quickly!”



Will you try the beer? TURN TO 220

Or the Cider? - TURN TO 241

Or the Tattie? - TURN TO 195







244



You push harder at the door and it flies open. Unfortunately the door had been keeping the roof of the hut up for years. With a crashing sound, the entire structure collapses onto you.





245



Although the figure is some distance away and you are trying your best to be quiet, it is clear that he is aware that you are following him. He at first meanders amongst the ruins and rubble at random, glances back in your direction for a moment, then breaks into a run. He leaps and jumps amongst the Deadlands in an almost comical manner. You decide it wouldn't be a good idea to pursue him any further and head back to the main track.



After some time, you find yourself in sight of Montremon – TURN TO 49





246



As you run through the clearing, the huge form makes a lunge for you and barely misses. The whistling to the north increases as you run onto the trail, dodging most of the overhnaging branches and roots but scratching your face on some bushes. Shortly you meet the main trail and run downhill as fast as you can. You leave the whistling sound behind and you can't hear anything pursuing you. TURN TO 4





247



It is very dark and you can see very little. Soon you will discover the reason for the barricade around Montremon..........





248



The tunnel is fairly short and ends at a neatly made wooden hatch. You push it and it gently swings open. You crawl out the tunnel and find yourself on the other side of the wall.



TURN TO 81





249



You carefully negotiate your way along the new path. It is very narrow and, unlike the track, clearly hasn't been used frequently. You and duck and weave around branches and roots. There is still no wind and all is now silent. The figure you saw earlier is either hiding or far away now. After a short time, the trees start to thicken and the small path meets a wide trail. You realise you must now be on the main forest trail. Noted down the word JOIN.



Will you continue into the forest? - TURN TO 154

Or return to the village? - TURN TO 159





250





You travel with the three traders. They each have a cart each, and although they are all much younger than Bill they do not seem any quicker at pulling them. You leave the village behind and start travelling through woods which are obviously used as a source of timber as the trees are quite sparse and there are recently felled trees lying in situ. The cart track weaves left and right with no apparent logic but after a few hours travel the trees thin out and you realise you are on the crest of a small hill. The land opens up in front of you. As far as you can see the landscape is entirely composed of the now familiar Deadlands. However, far on the horizon,slightly to the south west are a range of substantial hills. At this distance it is impossible to tell if they too are covered in deadlands, but you hope you may be amongst some trees again before long. The head trader who has introduced himself as Eck stops pulling his cart and turns to talk to you.



“Aye lad, thats whaur we're going – the Siddlies. Then ower them, all going weel. We've a guid day and a half travel tae get to the foot of them and these lands aren't quite as dead as ye might think, though ye must know that by noo. Maist folk think we're a bunch of eejits travelling to Dundy, but believe me, it's worth the risk – eh lads?”



The other two traders chuckle nervously.



TURN TO 94

251

You stand on the highest point and look down on the strange structure. From the narrow entrance it sweeps to the left, widening considerably and curving around until it eventually ends in a bulbous chamber faced with a massive slab. The walls reach over six feet in places and you have no idea what the structure was used for though, presumably it had a roof at one point in the distant past. You can also see another two boulders with odd carvings on them.







After a few minutes, you decide you have lingered long enough  and you make your along the small path and reach the main track.


TURN TO 180

[kieran]

I finally got round to giving this a go and enjoyed it immensely. Pity a hut fell on me! I never did find out what was with the odd man in the pointy hat.

Did you ever play the Bard's Tale remake from 2004? Your gamebook really reminds me of the atmosphere of that.

[stevendoig]

So glad you enjoyed it! No I've never heard about the Bard's tale - I better have a wee looky!

[aggsol]

Do you have a PDF or so? It's really hard to read here :-(

[stevendoig]

Jul 8, 2020 8:21:16 GMT aggsol said:

Do you have a PDF or so? It's really hard to read here :-(

Hmm. I could send it via email as a word doc if anyone's up for that?

[bloodbeasthandler]

Steven

As Kieran said, it's really good.

I've just spent the last couple of hours reading it, played through it just the once so far (and no cheating). 

Rather than fill this section with spoilers and opinion, you want me to put some of my thoughts together and send them you in a message? 

[stevendoig]

Yes please!

[vagsancho]

Jul 10, 2020 13:18:30 GMT bloodbeasthandler said:

Steven

As Kieran said, it's really good.

I've just spent the last couple of hours reading it, played through it just the once so far (and no cheating). 

Rather than fill this section with spoilers and opinion, you want me to put some of my thoughts together and send them you in a message? 

I did not like the book.
I ve found it not deep.

[bloodbeasthandler]

Jul 10, 2020 16:51:03 GMT vagsancho said:

Jul 10, 2020 13:18:30 GMT bloodbeasthandler said:

Steven

As Kieran said, it's really good.

I've just spent the last couple of hours reading it, played through it just the once so far (and no cheating). 

Rather than fill this section with spoilers and opinion, you want me to put some of my thoughts together and send them you in a message? 

I did not like the book.
I ve found it not deep.

Go on then, why not? 
I've played through it once, failed, and intend to have another go. 
There seems to be a lot more going on in the book than i saw on the first play-through. 

[stevendoig]

There is a 'story route' & a 'get there quick with not many answers or particular fun' route!

[stevendoig]

Jul 10, 2020 16:51:03 GMT vagsancho said:

Jul 10, 2020 13:18:30 GMT bloodbeasthandler said:

Steven

As Kieran said, it's really good.

I've just spent the last couple of hours reading it, played through it just the once so far (and no cheating). 

Rather than fill this section with spoilers and opinion, you want me to put some of my thoughts together and send them you in a message? 

I did not like the book.
I ve found it not deep.

Like the person who gave my shop a one star rating on my business Facebook page and never left a reason - this isn't helpful Vag. I can take it - please tell me where I went wrong - I'll never learn otherwise! ( and I have book 2 planned so I'd like to iron out any problems!)

[bloodbeasthandler]

Para 64. 

Is there meant to be an image there? Is it useful and could decisions be based on it?

I just handed over a bag of scrap metal for that and some grub!

[stevendoig]

Oops! There is a map - but it's important that you have it rather than being able to see it!

[bloodbeasthandler]

Jul 11, 2020 19:58:33 GMT stevendoig said:

Oops! There is a map - but it's important that you have it rather than being able to see it!

SPOILER: Click to show

Am at para 171. well away from the Island.
I went to 121 -> 199 -> 203 -> 248 -> 81 -> 5

I'm getting a sense of deja vu!

Shall i carry on... is this right?

[vagsancho]

I felt the old times narrated by his father very trivial, i did not felt a deep reason for the quest.

[stevendoig]

Really sorry. That is a bug.

So sorry to ruin your playthrough

121 links to somewhere else, trying to find it now.

[stevendoig]

Still looking....- However, the scene with the ancient structure is there for versimilitude and can be bypassed with no problems..

[stevendoig]

Looks like the option is missing entirely (unless I am tired) however, you would have had the legitimate option to return to the main trail -180.

[stevendoig]

Jul 11, 2020 20:43:46 GMT vagsancho said:

I felt the old times narrated by his father very trivial, i did not felt a deep reason for the quest.

Ok, this is actually a fair enough point.

I had the middle section of the gamebook planned in my head for a couple of years (with the intent of writing a novel) - a gamebook seemed more appealing so i started writing the sections which I could already visualise.  I then had to work backwards and craft a beginning to my story and , of course an actual 'reason' for the quest.  This really did have me stumped for a couple of days, and although I was happy with the result, I can see how others may feel it more trivial or unimportant. 

[bloodbeasthandler]

Jul 11, 2020 21:03:40 GMT stevendoig said:

Looks like the option is missing entirely (unless I am tired) however, you would have had the legitimate option to return to the main trail -180.

No worries. will do that then. 

[stevendoig]

Apologies again.

- This forum is great! - I had no idea you could edit your posts so long after they were first made! - so I have fixed the bug! - hope there aren't any more.

[bloodbeasthandler]

Jul 11, 2020 21:03:40 GMT stevendoig said:

Looks like the option is missing entirely (unless I am tired) however, you would have had the legitimate option to return to the main trail -180.

SPOILER: Click to show

How do i get the pilgrim's medallion?
I did the pilgrimage ritual and was given the codeword PILGRIM [para 30] ... but no instruction to go to back to the church. Have i missed something? I control-effed 'medallion' and found para 21...

[bloodbeasthandler]

Jul 11, 2020 21:10:07 GMT stevendoig said:

Jul 11, 2020 20:43:46 GMT vagsancho said:

I felt the old times narrated by his father very trivial, i did not felt a deep reason for the quest.

Ok, this is actually a fair enough point.

I had the middle section of the gamebook planned in my head for a couple of years (with the intent of writing a novel) - a gamebook seemed more appealing so i started writing the sections which I could already visualise.  I then had to work backwards and craft a beginning to my story and , of course an actual 'reason' for the quest.  This really did have me stumped for a couple of days, and although I was happy with the result, I can see how others may feel it more trivial or unimportant. 

It made sense to me.

Something unpleasant, dangerous and unexplained which cannot be ignored [re]visits an incredibly isolated community.

The village-memory says, 'When this happened in the past we sought help from the clever people over the hills and they dealt with it'.

So someone is sent to get help. 

[stevendoig]

Jul 11, 2020 22:28:25 GMT bloodbeasthandler said:

Jul 11, 2020 21:03:40 GMT stevendoig said:

Looks like the option is missing entirely (unless I am tired) however, you would have had the legitimate option to return to the main trail -180.

SPOILER: Click to show

How do i get the pilgrim's medallion?
I did the pilgrimage ritual and was given the codeword PILGRIM [para 30] ... but no instruction to go to back to the church. Have i missed something? I control-effed 'medallion' and found para 21...

Bug number 2.
 

I am so sorry you have inadvertantly become my Beta tester.

Paragraph 159 should have had the 'Pilgrim' codeword.  Now added - with other slight changes to allow a return to same paragraph.

[stevendoig]

Bored at work the day so I spent the time drawing the missing map which you can buy in the gamebook and should have been present to view. Just edited it in.

[aggsol]

Thank you for sharing, that is fun even though I am still at the beginning (too muuch work at work). I am not a native speaker so take my criticism with a grain of salt. It is often hard to read as some sentences are really long and many start with "You" which makes it a bit monotone. Some sections have a lot fillers like 'just' and 'that'. Keep up the good work.

[bloodbeasthandler]

Jul 14, 2020 8:57:41 GMT aggsol said:

Thank you for sharing, that is fun even though I am still at the beginning (too muuch work at work). I am not a native speaker so take my criticism with a grain of salt. It is often hard to read as some sentences are really long and many start with "You" which makes it a bit monotone. Some sections have a lot fillers like 'just' and 'that'. Keep up the good work.

You being a non native speaker, I'd be very interested to know how you are getting on with the dialect. You find it easy enough to understand, or hard?

Check out Wiktionary Appendix:Glossary of Scottish slang and jargon if needs be.. 

[stevendoig]

Jul 14, 2020 8:57:41 GMT aggsol said:

Thank you for sharing, that is fun even though I am still at the beginning (too muuch work at work). I am not a native speaker so take my criticism with a grain of salt. It is often hard to read as some sentences are really long and many start with "You" which makes it a bit monotone. Some sections have a lot fillers like 'just' and 'that'. Keep up the good work.

All criticism taken in good spirits and are most useful!

As I posted on my 'writing a gamebook' thread, I felt (and hopefully it's right enough!) I had a decent story in my head that I really wanted to share.  However, my imagination is FAR greater than my writing skills!  I acknowledge the limits of my prose and only hope you can try to look beyond it to the story itself!  (In an ideal world I would have paid someone to rewrite the thing from top to bottom!!)

Let me know how you get on!

[aggsol]

At first I did not get it that it was supposed to be a Scottish dialect. Then I tried to read it Scottish in my reading voice but it all sounds like pirates It's like watching the movie Filth I have to turn on subtitles... IMO it is really difficult if you are not from UK.