Somewhere south of the Oyster Bay stretches the Skull-Crusher Desert — hot, deadly and thoroughly unpleasant. Beyond it lies Zafir City, rich and famous for its gem mines. Between the two lies the Labyrinth of Trials: a secret place where the guilty are put on trial. Before every trial a small golden statue is hidden deep inside it, and the accused must find it and carry it out. Succeed, and you are declared innocent. Fail, and you are guilty — and the Elves' arrows do not miss.
Roll one die, add 6, and write the result in the SKILL box (the site does this automatically when you first open the sheet). Roll two dice, add 12, and note it as your STAMINA. Roll one die, add 6 — that is your LUCK. You also begin with 20 Gold Pieces and 5 meals (Provisions).
SKILL measures your swordsmanship and general fighting experience. STAMINA shows your condition and will to survive. LUCK is exactly what it says — and in the realm you are entering, luck and magic rule.
When you fight a creature, note its SKILL and STAMINA. Each round:
You may also Test your Luck after a wound: if you are lucky you deal (or suffer) extra damage; if unlucky, less. Only flee when the text allows it — and turning your back still costs you a wound.
Roll two dice. If the result is less than or equal to your current LUCK, you are lucky. If higher, you are unlucky. Every test costs 1 LUCK point — rely on luck sparingly.
Eating one meal restores 4 STAMINA points (up to your initial value). You may not eat during a battle. Your SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK can never exceed their initial values unless the text says so.
You may carry one of the following: the Potion of Skill (restores SKILL), the Potion of Stamina (restores STAMINA), or the Potion of Luck (restores LUCK and raises your initial LUCK by 1).
Read only the section you are sent to. Click a choice to turn to that numbered section — just like flicking through a real gamebook. Open the Adventure Sheet (bottom-right seal) to track your stats, roll dice, run fights and Test your Luck. Your progress is saved in your browser as you go.
Roughly eighty kilometres south of Oyster Bay lies the Skull-Crusher Desert. Hot, dangerous and on the whole a most unpleasant place — but cross it you must, for beyond it stretches Zafir City, wealthy and far-famed for its gem mines. The promise of riches draws every warrior willing to escort stones or coin from one settlement to another. The work, however, is not safe.
As you near the desert, you hear cries for help from the scrubland across the road. Stepping closer, you are just in time to see a repulsive Goblin drive a dagger into the heart of an Elf who appears to be of some importance; he collapses at once. You charge at once to catch the murderer, but stumble — and the vile creature, noticing you, vanishes into the undergrowth.
You stand staring at the dead Elf's body. As far as you can tell, he was a leader of one of the local tribes. Clutched in his hand is a large blue diamond. Suddenly the bushes around you rustle! You think the Goblin has returned, and draw your weapon — only to find yourself, to your utter surprise, ringed by twenty or thirty Elves with bows drawn. One of them steps forward and addresses you gravely:
"Man!" he begins. "With sword in hand, we found you standing over the murdered body of our Chieftain." You realize they believe you are the killer. You try to protest, but at the Elf's gesture you fall silent. "We are taking you to the Labyrinth of Trials," he concludes. He turns his back and strides off, and you are forced to follow in the midst of your escort. As they argue among themselves, you learn that the labyrinth is a secret place where the guilty are put on trial. Before every trial a small golden statue is hidden in its depths, which the accused must find. If they fail, they are judged guilty; if they find it and manage to carry it out, they are declared innocent and set free.
The trees grow sparse, and the column halts before the trunk of a colossal tree. The Chieftain's son murmurs a few words, a section of bark swings open — and the entrance of the labyrinth appears behind it...