Sorrowfully you collect up your belongings. “Well, General, I must be off,” you tell him.
“Back to Sparta is it to continue your good work training the young in military skills?” the General asks, having obviously made a few inquiries about what you were doing when Pheidippides found you.
“Something like that,” you nod, although you have absolutely no intention of returning to the academy. You wave him good-bye and trot off purposefully in the general direction of Sparta.
The only question being will you get there. You might be ambushed by brigands. Or meet another boar, or even a black bear. You might even drop down dead from exhaustion like poor old Pheidippides. Throw one die.
Score 1 and you’re ambushed by brigands. Roll the die again to find out how many. Each has 20 Life Points and a +2 sword. If they kill you, go to 13. If you survive, collect a healing potion (worth a double dice roll of Life Points) from each body. You can also collect a sealed jar of Greek Fire, which will kill one enemy of any size or sort instantly if thrown, but can only be used once. Now make your way to 61 and select another destination on your map.
Score 2 and you meet another boar. Like the last one, it has 20 Life Points and tusks that will do you +5 damage. If it kills you, go to 13. If not, roll two dice to find out how many healing meals you can make from the meat, each one restoring a double dice roll of Life Points, then go to 61 to select another destination.
Score 3 and you meet a black bear. This great brute has 50 Life Points and does +5 on fang and claw damage. If it kills you, go to 13. If it doesn’t, limp to 61 and select another destination.
Score 4 and you drop down dead from exhaustion like poor old Pheidippides. Go to 13.
Score 5 or 6 and you have an utterly boring uneventful journey back to Sparta. Go to 61 and select another destination.
Please select an option from the previous page.
8
“Right and you have just DOUBLED YOUR MONEY!” shouts the huge man with even more enthusiasm as he hands you another two drachmas. “And earned the right to go inside this mysterious building!”
With which he steps aside allowing you, at long last, to proceed. Which you do, to find yourself entering what must be Sparta’s public baths to judge from the swimming pool before you and the vast numbers of entirely naked people around you.
“Come join us!” calls someone cheerfully.
Nobody seems to worry at all about nudity in Sparta, but are you honestly prepared to get all your kit off in front of a bunch of total strangers? If so, you can take the plunge at 45. If not, you can try sneaking out at 21.
Please select an option from the previous page.
9
“Well, hello again!” exclaims a familiar voice.
You open your eyes to find yourself in a golden hall at one end of an emerald colonnade. The colour contrast is a bit tacky, but you ignore it since seated at the far end of the colonnade on a massive throne that seems to have been carved from a single, impossibly enormous diamond, is your old friend Zeus. He’s dressed in robes of spun gold and silver, with a laurel wreath on his head and looks, frankly, a lot more impressive than the last time you met him in the flesh. He beckons you to come forward.
When you stand at the foot of the pretentious throne, he says in a voice like thunder, “Well done! To be frank, I never thought you’d get through the various tests - everybody else I picked has died in the attempt. Now, are you raring to go on your biggest adventure of all?”
“Well, not exactly raring -”
“Good!” says Zeus. “now, would you prefer to start at the beginning and try to sort the root of the problem, or would you feel happier plunging into the Trojan War itself and sort things out from there?”
Your choice. If you want to start at the root of the problem (whatever that might be) turn to 102. If you prefer to get straight into the action, go to 132.
Please select an option from the previous page.
10
You’re approaching a rocky escarpment with a deep, dark, bear cave half covered by a smallish bush.
There are paths running south to 42, south east to 84, west to 58, north west to 33, but if you’re feeling brave, you can enter the cave at 16.
Please select an option from the previous page.
11
“Oh, all right!” you exclaim a little petulently. Cautiously you remove your clothes.
“Into the Castalian spring!” screams the Pythia madly, jumping into the icy waters.
You take a deep breath, close your eyes and follow her. The shock to your system is so excessive you feel as if you’re back in Sparta. But fortunately since she’s mad rather than stupid, she doesn’t insist in staying long.
“Get your clothes on!” she shouts as you climb out. “I have to drink from the sacred spring Cassotis. I’ll see you back at the temple.” With which she scampers off.
By the time you eat your pelanos and get back to the temple, she’s waiting for you at the door, looking wilder than ever.
“Walk this way,” says the tall priest, leading you into the temple and through to a room at the back. In one corner there’s a flight of stone steps leading downwards into a deep, dark cavern.
“Come on!” shouts the Pythia. “I love this bit.”
You follow them down the steps into a gloomy cavern. The Pythia climbs onto a tripod chair above a fissure in the rocks and begins to chew on a handful of laurel leaves.
“Here, I thought laurel was poisonous!” you exclaim in sudden alarm.
“Probably is,” says the priest. “I’ve often wondered what got her in this state. But you haven’t seen the worst of it.”
Scarcely have the words left his lips than there’s a sudden eruption of volcanic smoke and fumes from the fissure at her feet.
“Don’t inhale the smoke,” whispers the priest urgently.
But has his advice come just a little too late? Throw one die. Score 1, 2 or 3 and go to 23. Score 4, 5 or 6 and go to 50
Please select an option from the previous page.
12
You move cautiously towards the voices. Although you still can’t see what’s going on, the words are becoming all too clear.
“I am,” says one woman.
“You?” exclaims another. “When you walk, your bum looks like two boys fighting under a blanket!”
“You’re hardly one to talk,” says a third voice. “I’ve seen better-looking aardvarks than you.”
“Any more talk like that and I’ll have my husband hurl a thunderbolt at you!”
“That old idiot? He couldn’t hurl his -”
And so on in similar aggressive vein until, as you creep behind a tree quite close to the clearing, one of the women says suddenly, “All right, I’ve had enough of this nonsense! We obviously need somebody to decide the question for us. I propose we ask that good looking young shepherd we saw earlier minding his sheep.”
“What an excellent idea!” chorus the other two.
There is a muted groan directly behind you. “I was afraid of this!” a male voice says.
You spin round to find yourself facing a remarkably aristocratic dark haired and handsome young man carrying a shepherd’s crook. He turns large brown eyes upon you and asks soulfully, “Any chance of giving me a hand here?”
You can volunteer to help this stranger at 36, tell him to stop creeping up on innocent adventurers at 56 or just quietly ignore him and slip away west to 153.
Please select an option from the previous page.
13
Well, the Greeks had a word for it and the word was dead. You’ve just cashed in your Greecy chips. If you had a son he’d be obliged by law to bury you. If you died in battle (which is very likely in this gamebook) the city state will pay a pension to your parents. Meanwhile yo
u can get on with the job of resurrection. Grab your trusty dice and roll yourself another set of Life Points, not forgetting to add in any Special Life Points you may have earned. Then trudge off to Section 1 and start up the whole mess all over.
Try not to make the same mistake again.
Please select an option from the previous page.
14
“Well, I mean, I’m flattered, of course and if that’s the custom here, obviously I must become your paidonomos, although I’m sure I can never measure up, even in a small degree, to the example set by your late lamented ex-paidonomos. Yet, nonetheless ...”
While you’re waffling on in this ludicrous manner, there’s a sudden small commotion on the edge of the crowd around you and a slimly built, lightly bearded man breaks through. He is sweating heavily, gasping like a fish out of water and looks, frankly, as if he could do with several nights sleep.
He stands in front of you fighting for breath. Eventually he wheezes, “Are you the paidonomos?”
“Looks like it,” you tell him, “although I’m new to the job.”
“My name is Pheidippides,” he tells you.
It means nothing to you, but causes a stir in the crowd. A young man on your left leans forward and whispers in your ear, “The famous athlete, Paidonomos. Gold medal in the last Olympics.”
“What can I do for you, Pheidippides?” you ask, impressed.
“Message from General Miltiades,” he says and actually salutes. “Remember that business with the Persians a couple of years ago?”
You look at him blankly, but fortunately the young man on your left comes to the rescue again. “King Darius sent ambassadors to Greece demanding that everybody here accept him as their master. The Athenians threw them into a pit.,” he whispers.
“I remember it well,” you tell Pheidippides loudly.
“I’m afraid King Darius wasn’t too pleased,” the athlete tells you. “His fleet has just landed at Marathon Bay.”
Marathon? The name rings bells. “Where’s Marathon Bay?” you whisper out of the side of your mouth.
“Just north of Athens,” the young man on your left tells you quietly.
“We’ve counted six hundred ships and our estimate is they’re carrying a hundred thousand men,” Pheidippides goes on. “The standing army at Athens is only about nine thousand strong. General Miltiades sent me to Sparta to ask for help.”
Looks like you’re involved in a crisis in Greek history. But what are you going to do about it? Now you’re Paidonomos, you’ve got your own little army to command, so maybe you should tell them to go back with him at 65 As against that, half your people are little better than children, so the decent thing might be to go with him personally on your own and advise the Athenians how to fight their war. That’s something you can do at 81 Or, of course, you can simply refuse to send help at 137.
Please select an option from the previous page.
15
“Wrong!” shouts the huge man, casually hurling you all the way to 61.
So pick yourself up, dust yourself off and select another destination from your 61 map.
Please select an option from the previous page.
16
It’s dark. It’s very dark. It’s smelly.
Strewth - there’s a bear in here!
What do you expect in a bear cave? The animal has 75 Life Points and a very unpleasant disposition. It can hit you with +5 on every blow. Your only chance is that it might be hibernating. Roll one die. Score 5 or 6 and it’s hibernating, in which case you can creep back to 10 and select another path out. Score 1, 2, 3, 4 and it’s awake and ready for bother. If this encounter kills you, go to 13. If not, limp back to 10 and keep out of caves in future.
Please select an option from the previous page.
17
“Here’s my Cup,” you tell him cheerfully. “Bet you didn’t think I had one.”
“Never crossed my mind,” he tells you blandly. “Now, up you get onto the platform and just knock on the door of that little stone building at the back.”
“You’re sure this doesn’t involve animal sacrifice?” you ask.
“Positive,” he says.
So you trot across the massive altar to the little stone building at the back and knock on the door, which flies open violently as two enormous men burst out.
“What have we here, Sophocles?” asks one, grinning down at you wickedly.
“Looks like another upstart wants to make the ultimate sacrifice, Plato,” replies his companion.
With which they both fall upon you with whirling swords.
Looks like the only animal in danger of sacrifice is you. And by two clowns pretending to be Ancient Greek philosophers at that. Sophocles has 50 Life Points and a sword that hits at +4. Plato has 35 Life Points and forgot to sharpen his sword this morning so it only hits at +2. Unfortunately the element of surprise is on their side so they both get first strikes against you. Apart from that, everything’s rosy.
If you make the ultimate sacrifice, go to 13. If you manage to dispatch Sophocles and Plato, collect your special pass and a jar of ointment (good for a single application restoring a double dice roll of Life Points) and head for your map at 61 to select another destination.
Please select an option from the previous page.
18
As you walk into this clearing, you’re set upon by robbers.
Throw one die to discover how many there are. Each one has 25 Life Points and a +3 dagger. If the encounter kills you, there’s a pauper’s burial awaiting you at 13. If you overcome the robbers, you can add to your collection of +3 daggers and select any one of the following paths out of here: east to 42, south west to 67, north west to 78 or north to 58.
Please select an option from the previous page.
19
The world suddenly begins to spin around you. Your eyes dim. There is a ringing in your ears. You find yourself falling ...
... all the way to the dreaded 13.
Just kidding. You actually fall all the way to 9 which is a much better place to be.
Please select an option from the previous page.
20
You’re on a rocky hillside looking down into a wooded valley. The sun is shining and there’s a baby on the ground beside you. Your sudden appearance must have startled him because he begins to cry.
A baby in a gamebook? What sort of adventure is this? But now you’re stuck with the brat, what are you going to do about him? You might think of creeping off quietly and leaving him to his fate at 140. Otherwise you can begin an adventure full of sleepless nights and nappies by taking him with you at 120.
Please select an option from the previous page.
21
You give a weak smile and begin to tip-toe back towards the entrance.
“Oh no you don’t!” shouts someone, laughing.
At once a sun-tanned horde descends upon you to rip off all your gear and fling you, protesting wildly, into the pool.
Suddenly you stop worrying about nudity. The pool is absolutely freezing.
So much so that three of your Life Points turn into icicles and drop off before you can stop them. If this kills you, go to 13. If not, you can continue to freeze at 60.
Please select an option from the previous page.
22
As you sit in deep meditation, your muscles relax, your blood pressure drops, your brain begins to generate deep alpha waves, your galvanic skin response changes, your third eye opens and your lymph nodes stimulate your immune response.
(The result of which is that you gain an additional ten Life Points which you can add to your present total even if you’re currently at your maximum. The bad news is that this only happens the first time you meditate, so you can’t keep doing it until you turn into
Superperson®.)
You open your eyes to find Zeus standing in front of you with an impatient expression on his face. “Have you got the Judgement of Paris Certificate?” he asks stiffly.
If you happen to have a Judgement of Paris Certificate about your person, you can give it to Zeus at 29. Otherwise you’ll have to make your apologies to Zeus and move on regenerated, revived and refreshed north to 99, south east to 10 or south west to 58.
Please select an option from the previous page.
23
The world starts to swim around you. There is a ringing in your ears. Your eyesight dims.
“Too late!” you gasp.
As you slip into the dark depths of 13.
Please select an option from the previous page.
24
GreekQuest Page 2