Portal of Evil

Background - 

Another year has passed, it is now early 1989.  Puffin HQ has been demolished after the great Star Strider battle and plans are in progress to create an even bigger mega complex using the millions and millions that have been generated by the Fighting Fantasy series.  

But there are many problems, all the experimental tech has been destroyed, the giant puffin airship is just a burnt out shell, and even worse, the authors have escaped and are now in the wild.  Crack commando teams have been dispatched across the planet to bring them back, but that will take time.

Ian stepped into the unassuming café diner on the corner of the street.  He had not been in a greasy spoon in years.  Now he only dined in the finest of establishments with the best wine cellars.  Looking around he did not take long to spot Philippa in the corner.  He pulled up a seat next to her.

Ian "How are you?  Are things getting any better?"

Philippa "Oh you mean how everything we have built burnt to the ground, caused an international incident that we had to cover up and now have lots of people on the loose that we need to catch before they talk?" 

Ian "But everything we were doing was above board though.  Was it not?  Philippa?"

Philippa "Of course it wasn't Ian!  Do you think keeping authors against their will, time travel, AI experiments, aliens, are all above board!?"

Ian "I am just an author...."

Philippa "No you are complicit, you took the money!  Now you can help me fix it, we need to do damage control."

Ian has turned whiter than a fighting fantasy undead illustration at the thought of having to go back to life like it was when he lived with Steve.

Ian "What do you need?"

Philippa "That's more like it!  Now we have teams across the globe sorting the big problems but it will take time to build the new HQ and also track them all down.  Speaking of which could we use this opportunity to find Steve?"

Ian "Absolutely not."

Philippa "Ok, Ok, I won't push it.  Anyway we can take care of all the other stuff, but it all costs money.  We need another book."

Ian sighs "I just gave you Armies of Death, I do not know what else we can do!  I talked about sailing and had a pie eating contest for goodness sake!"

Philippa "I did not say it had to be you."

Ian "But all the authors have fled.  We do not know where they are."

Philippa "That's not strictly true, we know where one lives, and never took him into HQ.  You should visit him.  Besides, he only thinks he is a vampire.  Pretty sure he isn't."

Ian dejectedly starts eating his bacon roll.

We cut to a scene as Ian trudges up to the castle of Peter Darvill-Evans.  It is of course a dark, rainy stormy night as it always seems to be.  The gates with his PDE initials though are open.  The grand front doors are also ajar and the Ian starts to worry as he comes out of the rain.  It looks like the place is deserted.

Ian "Hello!?  Peter are you here?"

There is no response.  Ian goes up the left side stairs of the grand staircase (always left) and makes his way to the study.  A single candle illuminates it but its in a bit of a state.  Ian picks up the closest document on the desk, to his shock its a comic.

Ian "Blade?"

It was then that he hear the faint sound of music.  He placed his hand on the wall, he could actually feel it!

Ian followed the sound down to the lower levels of the castle and by the time he got to the door of the basement it was very loud.  It was music he had never heard before but he believed it was to do with this new rave craze, or acid house as the kids called it.

He opened the door and it was an assault on all the senses.  Flashing lights blinded him and the music was so loud he could not hear himself think.  The place was packed with people all dancing.  He forced his way through, eventually spotting Peter in the middle of the throng.  

Barging through he put his hand on Peters shoulder, who whipped around.

Peter "Ian my good fellow, what brings you here?"

Ian "What?"

Peter "I said what brings you here?"

Ian "I cant hear you, can we talk?"

At that moment it seemed to rain, Ian looked up and saw the sprinklers.  Must be a fire he thoughts, then he noticed the liquid coming out was red.  And that everyone else, including Peter were covered in the red substance.  The dancing just got more wild.  Ian went to find a seat in the corner.

After a while the music stopped and people headed out.  Peter came over to see the blood covered Ian who was wiping it off his glasses with a very expensive handkerchief.  

Ian "I do not even want to ask."

Peter "You don't need to good fellow, my people are embracing this modern age.  They will make films about it one day.  Anyway what can I do for you?"

Ian "We need another book."

Peter "Well why didn't you say so!  I already have one in mind.  Come upstairs and we can get you cleaned up and ill tell you all about it."

Portal of Evil came out in February of 1989.  Somehow we are already 37 books in, in such a fast timeframe.  It is written by Peter Darvill-Evans who we have met once before with Beneath Nightmare Castle which heavily leant into the horror side of things.  It was ok, I liked the setting just not the mechanics and the art.  Very interested to see how PDE gets on with his second outing.  I have never played this book before, I have seen the cover but for whatever reason I never picked it up.

Covers - 

This is clearly Zombie Dave just taking his pet stegosaurus out for a walk, nothing unusual to see here, move along.  I do like the strange wall inscription on the right hand side.  It is very mysterious and makes me wonder what is going on here.  I do have a legitimate question though.  A stegosaurus is pretty big normally.  So is this a baby one, or is it a giant zombie? 

Premise - 

The Cloudhigh Mountains in Khul mark the edge of human habitation.  At least they used to until recently.  The southern half of the range is home to an impenetrable woodlands with rivers that flow into an inland sea.  This forest is full of Goblins who call the huge lake Mlubz.

No humans have ever stepped foot in the forest in recorded history.  However a few years ago a small band set out from the frontier town of Kleinkastel and disappeared into the forest.  Months later two survivors came back, with nothing less than gold!  Now a whole bunch of people are descending on the forest with pick axes.  Families, tribes, hangers on and even tax collectors have all appeared to get in on the action. 

Keen to restore law and order (and not at all to generate income) the Margrave of Kleinkastel has declared that the forest is now part of his domain.  Now the place is crawling with his soldiers, chasing bandits and selling mining licenses.  To the miners they are just another irritation to deal with, along with the monsters.  However, the most successful miners are now already rich enough to defy the Margrave and employ teams of less fortunate migrants to work the best gold seams.  The result is that Kleinkastel has become a boom town.

The most successful mine owner is Gloten and he has recently sent out invitations to adventurers like me to work as caravan guards.  However I actually turned down this offer as I had better things to do!

But since then, something has gone wrong in the forest.  Gloten has sent a new message out.  Miners and their families are going missing, strange beasts have been seen in the forest and he needs a renowned warrior to come and investigate.  Hmm, pretty sure some kind of investigator is what you need rather than a warrior.  If you come though and return the forest to normal, he will pay you your own weight in gold.  Shame I do not weigh much.

With my last 2 coins I purchase a map of the area.  Wait a second ago I had better things to do and now I have no gold to my name!  

My last gold well spent.

After my journey to Kelther I am also down to my last 2 provisions and along with the map I only have my armour and sword.  But at least my journey was uneventful.  However due to heavy rain and flooding of a ford I missed the road and I am now deep in the forest.  Last night I slept in the undergrowth but I have now found a track that should lead to Kleinkastel and find Gloten and offer my services.

Playthrough - 

Right enough the first thing you are told is that you have no money and only 2 provisions!  Skill, Stamina and Luck are all as normal as you would expect.  

Reading through the rest of the rules I come across that you may only eat one meal at once!  No more sitting down eating a mountain of cheese sandwiches to restore all my stamina.  Interesting, will make things more difficult, but also realistic.  And you can only eat when given the option!

And that's it!  Very basic set up, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Skill - 9

Stamina - 21

Luck - 9

I probably could not be more average if I tried.  

No messing around, straight into an encounter with an elf and a dinosaur!

I come across a line of blood on the path.  I can see where the wounded creature has crashed through the undergrowth and follow the path.  The wounded animal is no less than an lizard the size of an Ox.  So a dinosaur then.  It has wounds on its side and an elf women is stroking its snout.  As I enter the glade it snarls and the elf women raises her sword, but they do not attack.  Instead they BOTH speak.  "Help us, please help us!"  But before anyone can explain what is going on, two soldiers appear and attack them.  Do I help defend the monster or wait and stand back.  I feel I should help them, elves are normally good.

The elf women intercepts one and I go for the other soldier, who is not interested in talking.  Lucky he is only skill 5 and stamina 8, and even then you only have to reduce him to 3 stamina to make him flee into the forest.  

He is sent packing and so is the other attacker by the elf and beast.  Alas the creature is very badly wounded.  It is not surprising I do not know the creature as it is a Spinosaurus and has been extinct for millions of years.  Although now I know exactly what it is as the book just told me, but my character will not know.  Unless he was a paleontologist before being an adventurer.   Looks a bit smaller than the one in Jurassic Park 3 mind you.

I try to speak to the elf women but its the dino that replies.  It tells me that he used to be an elf himself but his hunting party was captured by cursed slave warriors.  They forced them to got through the dread portal one by one where most were overcome and broken and became mindless slaves to whomever controls the portal.  However he fought it and would not let his memory be wiped clean, but when he awoke he was as we see him now, transformed.  It has happened to others and a lot of them have gone mad.  He believes that this is a common form on the far side of the portal but only slaves can go there.  No one knows the extent of the evil except Gartax, but I should leave now as its too dangerous.  I can go back to the path and head to Kleinkastel or find out more about Gartax.  Well the name has just been thrown out there so lets try and find out more.

The book correctly states that I have many questions like what are the slave warriors, where is the portal etc.  But the dino elf is really struggling.  He tells me that the Margrave, mine owners, goblin king and even the wood elves know how bad it is.  Gartax however was a miner that had the sense to get everyone out of his village before the slave warriors arrived.  Now he is living in the forest trying to organise a resistance, he is camped half a league south-east.  He must rest now and thanks me for my help.  I can now head back to the path and go to Kleinkastel, head towards the mountains or go and find Gartax.  We better find out more about Gartax.

Now it that a random creature or is it a transformed person?

Hacking my way through the undergrowth I  eventually find a new path.  It leads me to a clearing with just one lone tree in it.  Even though it makes me uncomfortable in the game I go up to the tree.  As I do I hear a rustle of the bushes and out comes running a man being chased by a Phororhacos, which I am told is a giant flightless bird.  The man is backing away from his pursuer with just a knife.  I can try and rescue him or leave him to it.  Well I am a hero so lets try and settle everyone down.

I put myself between the man and the big bird, only to feel the mans knife at my neck.  He tells the bird, Agrid, that there ruse has worked and the noble warrior tried to help.  He asks me to put up my sword.  I can do that or attack.  I feel attacking with a knife to my neck and a giant bird to my front would not be a good choice.  What are they going to do?  Take my 2 provisions?

He tells me I have made a wise choice as a dozen armed men and women appear from the forest as he demands to know what I am doing.  I tell him about my talk with the dinosaur and that I am looking for Gartax.  He tells me that Gartax is no more than a brigand and his followers are even worse.  He tells me that is not an answer though, why is a sell sword here?  I can say I am a free booting adventurer or tell him the truth about Gloten's appeal for help.  Well this guy deceived me but I won't lower myself to his level.  

He seems excited that the big wigs, or at least Gloten, have decided to do something at last, describing Gloten as the sharpest of the mine owners.  Because he believes my story he lets me know that he is in fact Gartax and these are his people.  Wow that was a switch!  Gartax invites me back to the camp and on the way he gives me his story.  

His village was in the foothills of the Cloudhigh Mountains.  They were alarmed by the sudden influx of ferocious beasts and the disappearances of villagers.  With that he led them to the forest, but now they have found entire settlements deserted.  Silent pale skinned soldiers, the slave warriors, infest the area.  Worse, some of them are clearly mining folk who had disappeared, others are men from the South and even Goblins are included.  Gartax had planned to create his own army but the slave warriors have grown too large so now his plan is to lead them safely away through the forest.  I can ask about Gloten or if anyone else can help.

Well Gloten seems to be the person I need to speak to so any advice could help.  Gartax tells me he is a wealthy man but unlike others he has worked for his wealth.  He points to the mountains and lets me know that Gloten has done his fair share grubbing about under them, now he owns the best gold-bearing soil in Khul.  Gartax says he knows where he keeps his hoard but also the little known fact that Gloten is actually a Dwarf.  He knew the humans would not accept him so he shaved his beard and bought some built up boots to hide the fact.  If you ever want anything from him, challenge him to a pickaxe handle fight as he can not resist.  But let him win and tell him he has the strength of a Dwarf, then he will do anything for you.  I can now ask where his hoard of gems are or if anyone else who can help.  Well it would be rude to ask about the treasure so I ask if anyone else can help.

Gartax shakes hid head and says he expects no help.  The Margrave's soldiers are too busy extorting taxes and the big mine owners have no idea what's going on, safe in Kleinkastel.  But he does tell me to seek out the Wizard of Lake Mlubz, he might know what's going on.  He has met him once and says ask for help in is name.  The lake can be found to the South until you come to a stream that's too wide and deep to wade across, then follow it to the lake.  With that we arrive at the camp.

The camp is full of tents and rickety wooden structures.  A central enclosure has all the pack animals tethered to it and sentries stand guard.  Others are sitting in branches in the trees and everyone looks tired.  But Gartax's return cheers everyone up.  There are no warriors here but everyone, including young children carry a weapon, even if it is a broom handle.  I go to Gartax's tent where he tells me he expects an attack soon and begs me to help them.  I get the option to help or just leave.  We can not just leave, can I?  Can I?  No better not.

Gartax is overjoyed that I am staying and so are the rest of the camp.  I get them to set up trip wires in the forest and hide archers in the trees before teaching some basic sword skills.  All this is just done, I did not choose it.  The cook makes me a nice meal but my stamina is still maximum, nice of him though.  Then the tinkle of alarm bells from the forest and everyone takes up defensive positions.  Do I want to go into the forest or hold the line.  Hold the line please.  None shall pass!

What is described as an army of scarecrows come out of the forest.  Men and Goblins are now mindless slave warriors.  They are thin, pallid and wearing filthy rags.  No sound comes from their shrunken mouths and they stare expressionlessly.   The camp are petrified and I have to shout at them to fight. It turns out that both sides are terrible at fighting and I just have to run around each combat and kill the zombies.  They do not retreat though and all have to be killed.  Many of the camp are wounded and some dead but I do not even have a scratch.  I did not even have to roll a dice!  I decide to examine a body, see if I can learn anything.

They are filthy, wearing rags, pale skin and blank expressions.  Some have even lost facial features, deep sunken eyes or slits where a nose should be.  Everyone has a stone talisman with hieroglyphics on it.  I find one still alive but he is dying, a black shadow surrounds his talisman.  I take the talisman, do I want to wear it?  No I do not want to wear the creepy black shadow talisman.  Instead I go back to the camp.

Gartax has no words to express his gratitude.  Alas they have no treasure to offer me but instead he gives me breads, cheeses and salted meats, enough for 5 provisions!  I am waved off and immediately climb a tree to get my bearings.  I see the road to Kleinkastel, I can keep going south deeper into the forest or head to the mine workings at the mountain foothills.  Well I want to see Gloten so I head towards the town.  

I arrive with no issue and find that Kleinkastel has the old town which is just a couple of streets with old houses surrounded by a wall.  The new part though is filled with mansions and shanty areas.  But the most impressive building is still the Margrave's castle.  I am taken aback by the amount of people going about.  Evening is approaching but I have no money.

As such I can not find a place to sleep and instead have to doze off in a dry corner against the town wall.  I am awoken by a Dwarf prodding me.  He is accompanied by another giant featherless bird called Gluda.  He tells me to give me my backpack and everything in it or the bird will rip me apart.  Do I want to do that?  No I do not.

Get your hands off my backpack!  Or my Satchel!  Or my Sack!

This turns out to be a mistake as Gluda is in fact a Dromaeosaurus which was one of the smallest carnivorous dinosaurs.  She may be small, but she is Skill 10!  Stamina is 10 but she will run away if reduces to 2 stamina.  Despite her skill advantage I scare them off but I am down to 15 stamina.  I really want to eat a provision but the book said I had to wait till I am told I can so instead I go back to sleep in my corner.

When I wake up instead I am told I must eat a provision or lose 4 stamina points!  I do get the option to go begging for food but of course I eat one of my own.  

I join the excited crowds heading for the market square.  All the bigwigs are gathering.  The town alderman, the Margrave, chief priests and a mysterious wizard.  They have been in conclave for days and will be making an announcement.  Its Gloten that is doing the talking though.  He tells us about his concerns and hopes some of the crowd are warriors that have answered his call.  Going on he says an ancient evil gateway to another world has opened and an evil warlord and his slave warriors are the threat.  While they build their own army they need a champion to buy time by defeating the warlord.  They will decide this champion by having a tournament.  Do I want to enter or head straight to the forest?  I feel I should at least try.

About a dozen of us make our way to the platform.  There Gloten has our ankles tied and blindfolded as a box is placed in front of us.  The first test is the test of courage, we have to remain motionless as a creature is released from the box and see who remains motionless for the longest.  But beware, when does courage become foolhardiness?  I hear a slithering noise as something touches my leg but do not lash out.  Something winds its way up my waste and I hear screaming as other contestants start to defend themselves.  Rubber suckers are attaching themselves to my clothes and skin as I feel a heavy body and a tentacle wraps around my neck.  Is it time to act?  Nope that's what they want you to do!  Hopefully...

Dozens of dry lips can be felt on my face but I stay motionless.  Eventually the creature gives up and drops to the floor so I take off my blindfold.  Gloten says well done, seven of us have passed.  The creature was a saltsucker and harmless as long as you stay still.  Now we need to have our wits tested.  

In Kleinkastel coinage, 2 Brass pennies = 1 Silver piece.  2 Silver = 1 Gold.  He has 6 coins worth 3 gold.  He gives 2 coins to me, 2 to the margrave and keeps 2 for himself.  The Margraves coins are different but his are the same, what coins does he have?  I have 2 Brass pieces.

Ok so my 2 Brass = 1 silver.  He cant have 2 gold as the Margrave has two different ones and any combo wont amount to 3 gold value.  It must be silver (the other option).

That is correct and only four of us now remain.  I get a cheer from the crowd.  The final test is a skill of swordsmanship, two semi finals then a final.  Everyone thinks this is a terrible idea as whoever wins will probably be too badly wounded to be any good.  I notice the servants have wooden pick axe handles.  I can suggest using these instead or challenging the Margrave or Gloten himself to a pick axe handle duel.  Well I know a certain dwarf who can not resist.

The Margrave is outraged by my suggestion and wants me seized.  Alright Margrave it was not that bad an idea, bit of an overreaction mate.   Gloten is having none of it though and says this warrior knows how miners like to fight and throws off  his rich cloak.  He is skill 9 and stamina 16.  But when one of us is down to 4 stamina I can throw the fight.  Well that's probably going to be me. 

I do not even hit him once, he has me down to 3 stamina and he is still on 16!  So yeah, I throw the fight. He is delighted as he loves winning but says only a superb warrior could last so long against him with his favorite weapon.  He cancels the rest of the tournament and declares me the winner.  We shake hands and I can either say nothing or say a certain phrase about being as strong as a Dwarf.  Well lets follow Gartax's advice.

Gloten is astonished at how perceptive I am and invites me to his house.  I am taken to an audience chamber with some couches and an enormous armchair which is clearly Gloten's.  Couch, armchair or search the armchair?  It seems rude to look or sit in his chair, I am not trying to antagonize him so I wait patiently on the couch.  What I really want to be doing is tucking into a sandwich, I am one stubbed toe away from death!

Gloten arrives and apologises for taking so long, he has been looking for a special item for me but can not find it.  He sits on his chair and does something complicated with the arms which reveals a hidden compartment with a box.  The box is loaded with jewels but instead he pulls out a battered old horn of dwarven workmanship.  He tells me not to worry as this is worth more than the jewels.  When in dire peril I need to sound it and the eagles will come to my aid for they swore an oath to his forefathers that would help any who sounded the horn.  I assume they had a limit and I can not just sound it for them to fetch me some food, and then a comfy stool, and then a back massage....

During the evening apothecaries examine my wounds and give me a bunch potions before I retire to the Margrave's guest chambers.  This restores all my stats to initial levels!  Everyone has turned out in town to see me off.  The Margrave presents me with a warrant ordering his subjects to grant me free passage and any help I require.  Gloten gives me 10 gold and a present from a wizard, a potion of true seeing.  And 5 provisions from the townsfolk (if I ever get to eat them).  Gloten tells me that all they know is that somewhere underground someone discovered the portal and is using its power to create the slave warriors.  The Warlord is probably on the other side of the portal and it is likely to be filled with the creatures that now roam the countryside.  He says its not just the weak that are victims.  Horfak and Dirlin, two wealthy mine owners, are also missing.  I set off into the forest.

 

It was going so well..

This part of the forest is full of paths that head north into the hills or deeper into the forest.  The mountains are to the east so that where my dude decides to go (I get no choice).  However I quickly find I am being followed by this pair.  The dino is a Struthiomimus which is about the size of an ostrich.  Must not have made the Jurassic Park cut.  Alas he is Skill 9 but we are only to have three rounds of combat.  

Amazingly I win all 3, which is a fair change to my last battle!  During the battle we hear a low booming noise.  The dino hears it as well and heads back to the zombie slave guy as its him making the noise.  He puts a rope round the Struthiomimus neck and advances on me.  Do I have a ring of Zombie warding?  No, I've got lots of things, thought I was doing great, but of course no ring of Zombie warding.

So its a skill 6, stamina 9 fight with the slave warrior.  I easily dispatch him, do I want to search the body or leave on the east path.  Erm, is that skill 9 dinosaur not still here?  Lets make a run for it.

I arrive at a seemingly abandoned village.  No more than a cluster of cabins for the miners and their families.   I have a poke around but its all dark and gloomy.  Just then I hear marching feet and men's voices.  Do I want to wait for them or hide.  Well I feel that the slave warriors are silent so this can't be them.  

As I stand on the path I notice a big oak tree with a hole in it, of course there is something shiny in it.  Do I want to put my hand in?  No I do not. If it was Ian's book of course I would have.

A troop of the Margrave's men arrive.  The sergeant asks my business.  Luckily I have a warrant.  Which is no use as he does not give me a chance and says he has no time to listen to my excuses and I am marched at sword point into the village!

I am held in the square until an officer appears on horseback.  The soldier tells him about me and he calls me a vagrant and demands I explain myself.  NOW I pull out my warrant!  Hope he can read.

He scoffs at my old parchment and starts reading it.  As he does he gets more white.  He salutes and gives me his apologies and says him and his men are at my disposal.  I just ask for a meal when the men are searching the village.  I tuck in and enjoy it as they bring me a table and chair.  Once finished I go to find out if the search has turned up anything.

Turns out they had no idea what they were searching for.  They end up having a fight over pigs.  Some want to use them for bacon and the others want them killed in case they are possessed.  Eventually they march off.  Do I want to go east or stay and conduct my own search.  They seemed a bit useless so ill check myself.

Each hut is a simple two room wooden structure.  Rugs, mattresses, pots and pans are the norm but anything valuable is gone.  But I do find some stuff.  A rope, bundle of torches and a miners helmet.  The miners helmet lets you see in the dark and keep your hands free.  But it needs a candle which I do not have.

As I continue on the forest is suspiciously silent.  I find two bodies on the road.  They are Scurrellors, long tailed, furry humanoids that live in the trees.  They had been on a hunting trip as their quivers are empty and they have a bag of game birds.  But they have been shot with crossbow bolts that are still in their bodies.  Do I search them or keep walking?  Well all they have is game birds and I am stocked with provisions.  And I assume whomever shot them will still be around.  So I keep going.

I come to a fork in the path and I am delighted its not blind.  I can go North-East into the mountains or head South-East into the forest, skirting the hills.  That wizard that was mentioned was in the lake to the south so I go that way.

My path takes me to an amazing garden.  In fact it is the most beautiful garden I have ever seen.  It is described in great detail, which I won't go into here, but just picture a really nice garden.  However the garden has been damaged!  It looks like its been trodden on and flowers cut with swords.  There is a wooden platform in the trees with a rope ladder.  Do I want to go  up?  I guess I should as they might need help since the garden was vandalized.

I climb up and find the platform is made out of creepers and branches put together.  On the platform I find a creature who is very tall and thin.  She has wrinkled brown skin, brown hair and clothes made of brown leaves.  In fact looking closer it appears some of the leaves are part of her body.  She is old and introduces herself as Lignia, a protector of the forest.  She invites me up.  And then it asks if I have a sword, erm yes?

Lignia is not happy with this and accuses me of just being another human with a metal blade to ravage the trees.  She starts casting a spell and I can interrupt, attack or just wait.  I decide to interrupt and talk her down.

She breaks off from the spell and says it is easy to say I am a friend to the forest but I need to prove it.  I have to leave my sword and go and fix the garden.  I am a bit reluctant to leave my sword but I feel not doing this could go very bad for me.  So I go for it.

I leave my sword and go back to the garden and unenthusiastically start looking at the damaged plants.  Yes its Fighting Fantasy and I am gardening.  I am digging holes with my bare hands and replanting saplings.  I clear branches and fix turf, and after a while I start enjoying myself.  Is this one of those deaths where I spend the rest of my life tending the garden?  Instead Lignia appears with a group of Dryads and my sword.  She tells me to take the thing and says she trusts me.  She apologises, saying even the Wood Elves have turned against them.  So she has some gifts for me, two cages, one has a blue bird and the other has a red bird.  In an odd turn of events I put these cages in my backpack.  This has to be the strangest gifts ever.  Who puts birds in their backpack?

As I make the way deeper into the forest I contemplate what has caused all this.  I suspect its all been caused by gold hungry miners.  I also worry that I have missed the mine I should be going to.  But there are still paths heading east into the mountains so there should be more mines left.  Its getting to dusk now so I resolve to go in the morning.  As I find a clearing though I spy a huge tree with lights in it.  I then notice I have been surrounded by Wood Elves with their bows aimed at me.  Do I talk to them or run?  Ill try talking first.

These  guys have all been to the same hairdresser!

 I ask what they want but they remain silent.  Apparently I am not worried as they are friends to humans (dryads did not seem impressed).  Eventually the queen appears and I bow before her.  She asks me my business and I tell her I am here to save the day.  She tells me that they can help and I must travel east into the mountains, they can take me but I should stay the night with them.  I accept the kind offer but its pointed out that I have no choice as arrows are still aimed at me.  The queen apologises saying its hard to know who to trust these days as we form up in a marching column.  I am then asked if I have a potion of True Seeing, oh that can't be good.

I scoff down the potion, although why my character decides now is the time is beyond me.  I see the path we are on is actually a silver magical path that is winding up into the trees.  That's the good news, the bad news is that the elves are actually slave warriors.  They all wear the talisman but as we are up in the trees I can not escape and must instead pretend I have not noticed.  Well handy I just randomly decided to drink that potion!

The queen takes me to a hut and opens the door and tells me to rest here for the night and in the morning they will take me to my destination.  There is just one room with a straw mattress and I can eat a meal if I want, but I am still at max stamina.  Do I want to go to sleep or do I want to leave the hut.  Yeah I need to leave.

As I approach the door a voice says do not touch!  The voice then says do not worry, I am not a talking door, instead I am elven enchantment that hovers over the door and keeps it locked.   I will open the door if you say the right number.  I try to ask what is the right number but it is not allowed to tell me.  Instead it says it will give me a clue as life is boring now that the elves are slave warriors.  If numbers were letters my number would be left but not in little soft felt elf.  I have to work this out.

Well its been a while (4 days in fact, my daughter was staying) and I have been unable to figure this one out.  I tried changing the letters to numbers and added them up, was not right.  I then asked ChatGPT who gave me a four digit answer, do not think he has played gamebooks before.

Instead I pull up some floor boards and find myself at the very highest branch and need to climb down.  Do you have a rope?  Why yes, I do.

I tie the rope to one of the floorboards and put it across the gap and head down.  As I go down I see some of the elves in their homes and they are non responsive, clearly now slave warriors now that the illusion is not in use.  The rope ends but I am not yet at the bottom so I make it onto one of the tree's limbs.  It is now that I hear a groan coming from the trunk.  Do I want to investigate?  Well slave warriors do not make any noise so lets have a look.

The trunk is as wide as a house and when I look in I make out a sentry post.  The groans are coming from a young elf who is asleep but looks to be having a nightmare.  He still looks like a normal elf and he has normal clothes.  He has one of the stone talismans on his neck.  Should I tiptoe past or remove the talisman.  I think this guy can still be saved so I try.

I take it off and he cries out and slumps down.  It appears he is dead but suddenly he wakes up and sees the talisman in my hand which he immediately grabs and smashes it on the floor.  He is very thankful as I have saved him from a fate worse than death and lets me know the entire tribe is lost to the warlord and the portal beneath the earth.  He tells me he is going to Kleinastel to warn them of the Queens illusion and her planned attack under the guise of friendship.  He tells me there is a sentry at the bottom of the stairs and he will go first as he will not be suspected.  When I get to the bottom myself I see the slave sentry knocked out and my new friend already gone.  I head off to continue the journey.

As I escape I see the slave wood elves leading some dinosaurs from beneath the tree roots.  The queen then cast her spell and they all look normal again.  They are heading off to Kleinastel.  By the time they disappear the birds are back and its dawn.  I am very hungry, eat a provision or lose 4 stamina.  I tuck in.

Armies are on the move, so I am sticking to the forest and staying off the paths.  I see humans, goblins, elves and dwarfs as well as other nameless creatures.  All are slave warriors.  I come to a fork in the road.  One points to the Horfak and Dirlin mines and the other is Cleeverand Throke mine.  Well I have heard mention of Horfak and Dirlin so I head that way.

I am told I am approaching the centre of the evil.  I have to scurry from hiding place to hiding place to avoid the slave warriors.  Many of them here are in terrible condition, becoming skeletons.  There are also an alarming number of dinosaur creatures of various descriptions.  I peer over another rock and see the entrance to the compound with the gate having Horfak and Dirlin's name on it.  There are two guards, do you have an egg?  Nope, unless one of the birds in my backpack laid one.

Do I want to fight or climb over the spiked fence?  I decide to try the frontal approach.

Looking more closely I see the slave warriors here are just the dregs, the best ones have been sent to war.  They are aged gnomes of skill 5 and 4!  Only stamina 4 so they are easily dispatched.

The area next to the cliff is full of derelict wooden sheds.  A well trodden path leads from the gate to a hole in the cliff itself.  It is the entrance to the mine and the source of the slave warriors and creatures that are terrorizing the land.  I wait behind one of the sheds as another group of slave warriors lead a dinosaur which sounds very much like the stegosaurus on the cover through the gate.  Once they are gone I head into the mine.  I take a flaming torch and get the option to put my miners hat on with a candle in it.  Mine does not have a candle in it but I decide to put it on anyway for safety reasons.   Most of the mines are blocked by rubble and only one path seems used so I follow it.  The path eventually leads me to a large natural cavern which is dominated by three blocks of black stone, two upright and one lintel.  It is described as a massive gateway.....sounds like a portal to me!  Bet its evil.

I am rooted to the spot by the alien evil it emits.  Every inch of the black stones are covered in hieroglyphics that writhe in the flickering light.  I try to decipher them but do not recognise any of them, instead my mind is filled with terrible images.  A darkness even darker than the underground blackness of the mine hovers around it and I feel my mind being probed!  Somehow I know it is really old, Aeons old, older than all the races of Khul.  It must be destroyed.  Do you have a sack of Igneolite?  Alas I do not.

Lacking the item I instead walk into the portal and immediately get mind probed!  Only the strongest wills can survive.  Do you have a ring of Zombie Warding.  No of course not, why do you not ask me if I have two random birds?

Roll a dice 5 times and compare it to your stamina score.  1,3,5,4,3.  So it is less, just as well I have been eating.

Like a rock standing in the middle of waves my mind survives the assault!  The pulses ebb away but I have yet to feel the full power of the portal.  As my mind is too strong to be made into a slave warrior, it instead decides to transform my body.  I can not move out of the shadow of the portal so I decide to lay my possessions out in front of me, not really sure why.  I feel my flesh being touched as invisible hands squeeze and twist my limbs gauging how much is needed to reshape me.  I cry out in pain.  Do I have two caged birds with me?  YES!  

In the midst of my agony I hear the birds fluttering in panic.  The shape changing powers of the portal are being dissipated by being spread over three beings at once.  I grit my teeth and make a skill test.  I roll an 8, that was close!

Racked with pain I clench every muscle.  The birds are not so lucky as they collapse into shapeless bundles before expanding again.  The red bird is now blue and the blue bird is now red.  Ok portal, I thought you would be more imaginative than that.  The hands are tired and I have survived, but I am not released yet.  It will now try and obliterate me instead.  Pulsating clouds, darker than the darkest abyss collect round the portal and pulse over me.  I need to keep the dark at bay, how much light sources do I have?  I picked up one at the mine entrance and I also have one in my backpack which I take up, but I do not have my miners helmet light so its just two.

Test my luck, I roll 8 and just make it again.  The darkness curls around the torch but it flare up and the cold releases its ice grip.  I have survived the final attack!

Welcome to Jurassic Park, doooo, dooo, do, do do!

I pick up my possessions, the cavern is still deserted so I look through the portal.  The scene is well described but we get the picture, its another world.  My mind is struggling to comprehend how this is in a mine cave.  Well to be honest I think its pretty obvious, its a portal to another world.  Come on my dude, get with the program.  I step into the prehistoric world and get a left and right choice, but its not blind.  Left is hill country and right is jungle.  Always left.

I come across a rocky ravine and I can no longer see the portal.  I am then at a broad grassy valley.  Again a lot of dinosaurs but also some furry creatures that look like they are from Khul so it looks like its a two way portal at least at some point.  In the distance I see some smoke, should I investigate or keep going through the valley.  Ah lets try it out.

The smoke is being caused by a campfire but as I approach it is clear that a battle is in progress.  A man and dwarf are standing with their backs against a large tree as three slave warriors attack.  None of the fighters notice me, but something does.  Stepping from behind a tree, a man high carnivore called a Noasaurus eyes me up.  Do I want to leave or stay where I am.  I really want to talk to these two and find out their story and any information they have so I stay.

The Noasaurus keeps walking towards me but shows no sign of aggression.  But I am worried that it will attract the slave warriors attention.  It is now a swords length away.  Do I attack it, move away or remain motionless.  Oh maybe this is like the t-rex and it can not see you if you don't move.  Lets try that.

It kind of works and it just sniffs me before walking away, however one of the slave warriors has noticed me because of the beast and advances on me.  I notice the man and dwarf and although wounded are holding off the attacks.  But the third slave warrior does not attack me and instead points his sword at me.  He is giving me the option to surrender.  Should I?  No of course not.

Skill 7 and Stamina 8, not much of a threat but he does hit me once.  I see that the man and a slave warrior are now badly hurt but the dwarf is doing well.  Do I want to help to leave.  This is about the fifth option I have had for leaving this encounter.  I have come this far though so I go to help.

With my help the Dwarf easily dispatches the slave warrior attacking him.  Unfortunately at the same time the man and other slave collapse and die from their wounds in a double KO.  I help the dwarf bury his friend and in return he shares his meal that they were cooking with the campfire to restore 4 stamina.  I tell the dwarf my story of how I came to be here and he responds that I am the first person to make it through since Horfak who is indeed the warlord I am looking for.  He tells me to go to the end of the valley and turn right and that will take me to his citadel.  In good news most of his troops have left for Khul.  I can thanks him or ask for more information on what happened to Horfak and the dwarfs own story.  Seems rude not to ask.

He tells me that him and poor Hirnic (the dead guy I just buried and whose lunch I've eaten) worked for Horfak.  Horfak was a pretty good boss but always wanted more gold and drove them hard.  When they dug through and found the portal the dwarf and Hirnic went through and discovered this world of giant lizards.  Eventually Horfak came through as well but he was changed.  He was bigger, stronger but horrifically disfigured, a monstrosity and he keeps getting worse.  He has banned all mirrors from the citadel.   Since then the portal seems alive and anyone who goes through it goes through the same trial I had with most becoming slave warriors.  He recons the portal has been here a long time waiting for someone as greedy as Horfak but before then was just letting anyone through.  This world has tribes of all sorts such as humans, elves, dwarfs and goblins who all recon their ancestors came through the portal.  He was the last one to make it through in one piece until I did.  I ponder his words as I leave him.

I follow a stream through the valley which is so tall it hides the sun.  Eventually I come to a path on the right that zig zags up the slope.  I can follow that or the stream.  I assume this is the right that the dwarf meant.

Its Anguirus!

Oh wow it is an actual Ankylosaurus!  This one is luckily not Kaiju sized and is just basking in the sun.  He is as big as a barn though and I can not continue on the path unless he moves.  I can attack or throw some provisions.  I still have plenty of provisions and never get the chance to eat them so I throw my best cheese and onion sandwich (flora spread).  

He may have caused a minor landslide moving but he greedily goes after the food and I can get past.  I get to the top of the ridge and in the next valley is a palace.  It is so new that the blocks are still gleaming white in the sun.  It is surrounded by wooden outbuildings and this is clearly Horfaks citadel.  A lot of slave warriors are patrolling though and no safe way past them.  Do I want to wriggle into the valley or pretend I am a slave warrior zombie.

Too good an opportunity to pass up.  I pass a luck test and I am told my acting skills deserve a round of applause.  The slave warriors buy it and I shuffle down into the jungle of the valley below.

The place is deserted and the barracks are empty, no doubt in Khul for the attack.  There are still some guards going about though and all the entrances are covered.  I keep sneaking round all the outhouses until I find an unguarded entrance.  It is a wooden lattice that I lift up and descend down a staircase that has some torches to light the way.  After travelling some distance I am in the main building and at the foot of another staircase.  I can head to the upper levels or go down.  Well I think the big bad is more likely to be upstairs so I head that way.  

The stairs end in a wooden door which I go through, revealing a long corridor.  I am in the warlords palace.  I tiptoe through the palace, encountering a lot of empty rooms before finding two large slave warriors guarding a door.  These guys are the warlords bodyguards.  One used to be part of the Margrave's elite infantry and the other used to be a half orc half cave giant before the portal warped them.  Just then the doors open and the warlord steps out.  He is so hideous with his balloon shaped head that I am rooted to the spot.  The guards attack me and the warlord uses his mental powers to hold me and they kill me without a fight.  That was one long instant death paragraph. 

Moral of the story, its rude to stare.

Notable Encounters - 

I thought I did a lot in my playthrough, but I did not even scratch the surface with this book.  Its packed full of great stuff.

This is not what it looks like!

It really is not.  I thought this is clearly going to be an evil goblin with his friend that has changed into a giant spider.  Nope!  This old goblin is on his last legs and is on his way to beseech aid from the wizard, and the spider behind him is hunting him and about to eat him.  Which you can let happen and just watch but of course you can save him and get his note to the wizard as he can go no further.  You know things are bad when even the goblins are on the same side.

Nessie!

Once you get on the river, of course after meeting a dwarf and his parrot (or stealing one) you might end up with a plesiosaur trying to sink you.  Hope you know the difference between skiff or a punt, because it matters! 

Oh the mystery, who could this be?

I wish I got to the wizard as not only is it a great encounter, it is also a great lore dump.  First though you have to get on his island.  He sends a shadow over to collect some gold and you have to leave your weapon, even though the sign is a bit rubbed out.  Even then with the wrong reasons for visiting he will warp you back to paragraph 1!  When you do get to the island you can throw a stone at him to see if his real, he will not be impressed by this.

He does a lot of research and finds that the ancient forest goblins have seen the talisman before.  Thousands of years ago the goblins ruled this area but they found a source of evil, a portal to an ancient world, the beasts and goblins could move through the portal but one day a goblin war chief was changed by the portal as they took strength from each other.  He created an army of thralls, but they were defeated.  The goblin war chief had his base on the other side of the portal as anyone who stepped through would either become slaves or transformed.  But a goblin hero went through with two animals which dissipated the power and slew the war chief and buried the portal.  He guesses that the recent mine workings have uncovered it and another evil-doer has gone through, creating a new warlord.

But the best bit, the very best bit, is how he gets you into town.

A magical flying mechanical horse!

I covered most of Kleinkastel in my playthrough but somehow you can end up suspended by your feet over the river with three other people as you try and chop at each others ropes and send them into the river.  You stay dry, you win. 

The Eagles are coming!

One of my favorite encounters is when you encounter a full on pitched battle between goblins and troglodytes in the shadow of an awe inspiring multi limbed statue of the goblin god (spoilers it is in the artwork section).  You can let them fight each other or wade in and help the goblins.  Either way you eventually find yourself on the statue fighting a desperate final stand with the last two goblins when you go all Lord of the Rings and blow the eagle horn.  The eagles come and turn the tide of the battle.  Or of course you can let the goblins summon their god and the statue starts moving!

In the other world, it does not let up.  An encounter in a looted temple has an untouched idol with a hundred eyes that has a scoop for an offering.  Putting a gold piece in sets off a mechanism followed by a very wild meeting with the Mad God involving a sea of eyes in the celling and a many fingered hand which gifts you a mirrored helmet.

Nearby to the temple is a township where you can end up being a chosen warrior.  All you need to do is not flinch as all the warriors throw weapons at you, lead them on a dinosaur hunting trip and of course get a spear tattoo on your forehead.  What is it with Fighting Fantasy and facial tattoos?

Going the other way can lead you through the dungeons of Horfak's citadel which have many encounters, although most involve trying to be fed to a T-Rex.  But you can pick up some crucial allies here as well.

Queen Anxis the Hunter, She like it if you have a spear tattooed on your head.

She has been captured by Horfak who of course wants to make her his bride.  If you free her she takes out one of his bodyguard, saving you the hassle.

And this is Dirlin, another mine owner.  He has had better days.

This bear dressed as a clown has the phrase I always thought you were a bit of clown written above his cell.  You can of course attack but if you release him he reveals that he is Dirlin, once partner of Horfak.  He explains that when Horfak went through the portal it changed him and he forced all the miners to also go through.  Dirlin was too strong to be made a slave warrior but he was changed into a bear instead.  Horfak has imprisoned him and comes past from time to time to gloat.  Dirlin is not happy and wants revenge.  If you release him he will also take out a bodyguard for you.

I do not know where to even begin with this guy!

This is Azudraz, who enlists your help by claiming to be an old man with a decorative metal arm.  He explains that he is a great alchemist and was hired by Horfak to find a way to secure a way to safely store gold.  He tells me that he needs my help in the process and tells me to take gold nuggets and drop them in the tank next door, which is clearly designed to tempt you!  Do not, he has succeeded and you will be stuck.  However he is clearly insane and plans to trap us both with the gold using a creation called Igneolite, a substance that when ignited, the dust transmutes what it touches into smooth rock.  Handy for taking down an evil portal.  Just make sure to leave in time.

Artwork - 

Alan Langford has done the illustrations for this one and I have to say he is now prolific with this being his fifth book!  And I have to say this is my favorite from him so far.  If you want a dinosaur illustration, he is your man, just check out the Menagerie section.  There are no misses here, I really love it.  From my playthrough my favorite was the Dwarf that tries to rob you.  But from the notable encounters Dirlin the bear and Azudraz and his workshop are fantastic.  So is the spider hunting the goblin.  Horfak below is also wonderful, it had to be as well as his appearance is a major plot point.  

 

The Goblin God watches on as the battle rages on!

I love this piece, it is phenomenal. The battle scene is good but the multi limbed goblin god statue just gets me.  One of my all time favorites this.

The Carnivorous Ape is actually a good conversationalist!

Goblins trying to train their new pets.

Even instant deaths get illustrations.  If you see this its game over but enjoy the art and the lavish description.

Big Bad - 

No wonder I was staring!

Right, there is some debate here that the big bad should be the Portal itself.  I get that, it made Horfak into what he is and you have to destroy it to win.  But Horfak was greedy and evil before he stepped into the portal and if he had not been, none of this mess would have happened.  So I am going with him as its easier to write about than an inanimate object of unknown origins.  

For most of the book he is known only as the warlord.  We know about him and he is constantly referenced, keeping him at the forefront of your mind.  But we also know about Horfak, people are worried he is missing as he is a big deal around these parts.  If you go the right way though you start piecing together what has happened to him and how he became the warlord.   It could be a tragic tale but his lust for gold loses him any sympathy.  Well that and the enslavement of everyone.

He can not handle the change to his body and as such has banned all mirrors, trying not to be reminded of what has happened to him.  It is a great flaw to give him.

You can have two separate ending with him.  You could be leading an army of people against his slave warriors in the other world.  You jump onto his chariot and duel him.  Or you can find him in his fortress and solo him instead.  

If you just try to brute force him he is still only Skill 10 but Stamina is 20 but he uses some black magic to reduce your skill by 2.  However if he sees his reflection he is reduced to Skill 8 Stamina 10 and no skill penalty.  This is because he realises what has happened to him and starts to fight the portal.  Its so close to a redemption arc but alas the portal just turns him into another mindless slave warrior instead.

 

Menagerie - 

A lot of this book features the standard tropes of Elves, Goblins, Dwarfs etc.  Most are converted to Slave Warriors and they feature strongly in this book, they fulfil the role as clever zombies.  But where we get the variety is the staggering amount of crazy dinosaurs.  I thought I knew dinosaurs, but clearly not.  Noasaurus, Phororhacos, Stegocephalian anyone?  Peter Darville Evans must have been moonlighting as a paleontologist. 

I do know the Pteranodon though!  

The Triceratops is also a staple dinosaur that we are more familiar with.

And of course its the T-Rex!

The fight with the T-rex is pretty good as its not a traditional fight.  You are basically told you have no chance (which you would not) and the battle is just to get to the exit before it catches you.

You do have plenty of unique monster though, its not just all slaves and dinos.

Armored Mole, complete with a star nose!

A giant watersnail just waiting for you to dip your feet into a nice river.

Scurrellors are tree dwelling creatures that can electrocute you with their tails.  

Best not to get into a fight with the Dryads.

Entertaining Deaths - 

Killing the Phororhacos, turns out it was a miner called Agrid, then continuing your rampage against Gartax.  A mob of people emerge from the trees and take you down.

Putting on one of the cursed talismans found around the slaves warriors neck.  It wipes out your personality.

Getting caught by the black sticky tongue of a Stegocephalin.  It drags you in and eats you.  In good news you die of asphyxiation before your body is disintegrated by digestive juices.

Not taking a boat down the river.  You stumble into a goblin pit and get made into human stew.

Charging a bunch of Goblins, they easily encircle and kill you.

Falling asleep while waiting for the goblins to come back with your letter.  They of course kill you.

Taking a skiff instead of a punt down the river.

Attacking an outline who asks for gold.  You fall into a bottomless pit.  You fall forever more.

Refusing to give up your weapon on the wizards island.  Instead another warrior, an elf, fights you but each time you wound him the wound appears on your body.  The elf is eventually fully healed and give you his apologies as he also didn't give up his sword and now I have to wait on the edge of death until the next person comes along and makes the same mistake. 

Trying to steal money to feed yourself.  You get caught by the merchant and chained up in the Margrave's dungeon.  If they do remember about you, you get tried and executed. 

Lifting the arms on Gloten's chair in the wrong order.  A slide opens up and you go down into a dark pit as the chair goes back into position.

Having to use a hatchet to chop off your arm, it gets stuck when you try to take some gold nuggets despite you being told its a fool proof system for keeping gold safe.

The mad Azudraz drops a torch on all his igneolite fuses.  You expect an explosion but instead its dust, however, the dust changes what it touches into solid rock.  Instead of being in a workshop, you are now trapped inside a cave with no exit, with a madman.

Trying to blow up the portal before you go through, it does not go well.

Trying to steal one of the gem eyes from the mad god.  The giant god appears and turns you into one of his eyes.

Saving the forgotten world and releasing their queen and defeating the slave warriors.  Unfortunately the warlord slips away and conquers Khul.  You get to live as a hero in the new world at least! 

  

But my winner for this one is - Being turned into a Giant Scorpion by the Portal.

Pete's Corner - 

"I Like a Mirror myself"

Quick side note to say congrats to Pete who just had his second child!

Final Thoughts - 

Normally I spend this section going through all the issues with a book and it lasts a fair bit.  This section probably will not be as long as I loved this book.

I have to highlight the writing.  Oh my word, it is so good.  The length of the paragraphs is far more than the majority of books and that gives you a much better descriptive passage that lets you see the scene so much better.  The length also lets the author do more fun stuff like tell a great descriptive story.  Now the name of the book gives it away a bit but its one of those that you do not know the full story going in and it is revealed during the adventure.  Its also not the normal tale, no evil wizards here!  Telling a story where the main source of evil is an immobile object takes some doing but it works.  The world is fleshed out as well, it makes sense.  And if that's not enough, throw in another world with it's own history and stories.  Some of the best writing in the series.

The characters are fleshed out as well.  Gartax is just trying to save his people the best way he knows how.  The margrave is an arrogant pompous noble who just wants his mines back open.  Gloten is fantastic.  He is rich and so needs normality back to get his mines back online, but he also sees the big picture.  But of course he is secretly a dwarf trying to pass himself off as human and he is a terribly bad loser.  Its little things like that which gives them more life.   

The story is backed up by some great artwork, it helps tell the story as well and does not take you out of it.  Not quite Ian McCaig but its not far off.  Some are a bit simple but most are excellent.  This is very important for some of the more obscure dinosaurs.

Mechanically it is very simple.  The provisions rule is interesting, it works here as the book is not punishing and you get to eat plenty of food in other situations.  A lot of further books experiment with new mechanics but this one keeps it as simple as it gets and that is ok.  The adventure does feel like you can explore different areas but certainly the first half of the book it is a bit misleading.  If you go a certain way, all you are doing is bypassing areas, you will get to the same location eventually no matter where you travel.  For example you can head straight to the mines while avoiding the forest and the town.  The second half is more different where there are actual branching paths.

It is very fair as well, combat does not feel too difficult.  Everything is lower end of skill although some creatures have high stamina but they are all beatable.  Even historic skill 12 types like the t-rex are not a traditional combat and instead a game of survival.  There is a correct path though.  You can still go other ways and get through with harder dice rolls but there is one key item that can not be missed if you want to get to 400.

Speaking of 400 I did enjoy the touch where you refuse the prize of your weight in gold.  The whole thing has been started by greedy people digging for gold. It has all been about greed, and Horfak's in particular.  Do not worry you take a chest of gems instead.

Horfak has become one of my favorite bad guys.  Especially since he is not an evil wizard for a change.  As I said above he comes so close to redeeming himself but its too late. He looks properly horrific as well, big balloon head.  But the portal is the true mystery and we do not get any actual answers behind what it is. But I love its malevolent behavior and how it was buried for so long.  

Oh by the way the puzzle solution, there is no Left in Little Soft Felt Elf.  It turns out ef together is not there, which make it 56 (5 for e, 6 for f).  Its very clever and I would never have got it!  Thanks to the folks over at fightingfantazine.proboards.com for that one.  I know most of you come here from there but if not check it out, its great!

Now if anyone can tell me how you get the answer to Tidsiv Fuus!  Key is under mat! 

I was shocked by this one, I did not expect such a gem.  The world, characters, locations, set pieces, story, artwork, its not impossible.  This is top tier.

Score - 9 out of 10.