"That was--"
The floor drops out beneath you. It happens without a hint of warning. You fall only a short distance, skid along a darkened stone ramp, and are ultimately deposited -- via a hole in the ceiling -- into yet another large chamber.
As you sit there rubbing your aching backside, Waif lands next to you with a loud thump.
"This is getting old," you groan as you struggle to your feet.
You're battered and bruised, but you're still here! TURN TO PAGE 142
73
The opening looks dark and cold, and let's face it, spooky. You turn your gaze back to the top of the Ziggurat.
"Stay there," you tell Waif. "I'm coming up."
With hands shaking from exertion (at least you think it might be exertion) you grab the next step. Everything in your upper body aches. As your footing has gotten increasingly worse, you've been transferring most of your body weight to your arms and chest. Now that decision is starting to take its toll.
You're almost to the top when you make the mistake of looking down. Vertigo seizes you. You've never been overly afraid of heights, but you've never been totally comfortable with them either. The dizzy spell passes as you cling to a four-thousand year old chunk of rock; the only thing keeping you from a very long, very messy fall.
"Look out!"
Suddenly the stone beneath your feet gives way. You dangle helplessly in the air by one arm, reaching out with your other hand for something... anything...
Quick, flip two coins! (Or flip the same coin twice)
If both coins come up HEADS, you should TURN TO PAGE 126
If both turn up TAILS instead, FLIP ON BACK TO PAGE 62
If the coins turn up with one HEADS and one TAILS, cross your fingers and GO TO PAGE 12
74
You grab the green lense. It feels heavy in your hand. Walking over to the mosaic, you very carefully mount it in front of the star sapphire. The room goes from bright blue to a deep turquoise or even sea green.
At first nothing happens. Then...
CLICK!
The noise comes from the dais itself. A stone drops away at waist-height, revealing a small square aperture.
"That must be it," Waif says. "There's something inside -- a lever or counterweight that raises the stone door."
Before you can stop him your friend reaches inside the dark hole. His arm goes in up to the elbow.
"I don't feel anything. It's empt-- ACK!"
As Waif yanks his arm back you expect the worst! You're pretty close. A red-yellow scorpion is attached to his hand, one pincer clamped painfully around your friend's thumb. Its tail curves menacingly overhead, poised and ready to strike...
Uh Oh! Flip a coin from your left hand and catch it in your right.
If the coin comes up HEADS, immediately TURN TO PAGE 29
If the flip comes up TAILS instead, HEAD DOWN TO PAGE 138
If you drop the coin, hang your head in shame and flip it until you do catch it! Even if it takes several tries, that's fine. We can wait all day.
75
You're caught between a wall of swarming rats or fleeing as fast as you legs will carry you into uncertain darkness. It's a bad choice either way, so you decide to trust your partner.
"Here!"
Waif's torch lands at your feet. You pick it up and hold it away from your body, rotating in a slow arc. The rats scramble away! In every direction you point the torch the rats fall back, afraid of the flames. You're about to call up for further instructions when something else lands beside you, slapping limply against the floor.
"Take the rope!"
Rope? Where'd he get rope? Not that you aren't grateful or anything...
Carefully you loop the rope around your legs and waist, creating a very rudimentary cradle. Sure enough, you feel yourself being lifted. Your feet leave the floor and the next thing you know Waif has pulled you all the way to the mouth of the jagged hole created when the street gave way.
"Thanks Waif," you say as you swing yourself up. He takes his torch back and nods.
"We should get moving, Donovan. Our time here is limited."
Continue through the streets of Atraharsis by TURNING TO PAGE 13
76
You don't even see the asp. Sleek and black, it strikes you before you have any chance to react.
Two red dots blossom on the back of your hand. They glisten like jewels in the sun. Waif kicks the snake across the room, but by then it's already too late. The asp's neurotoxin kicks in, and you feel your body going rigid as your muscles involuntarily contract. Your vision blurs. Your mouth feels numb.
"Donovan!" Waif cries out. He's shaking you now. "D-o-n-o-o-o-o-v-a-a-a-a-a-n..."
Waif's voice is the last thing you remember as the darkness closes in. For you, this is
THE END
77
The lizard looks slow, and your axe is sharp. What could possibly go wrong?
As the creature saunters in you wind back take your best swing. THWACK! The axe crashes into the side of the lizard's head exactly where you were aiming. But its skin is too thick, its skull too hard. Rather than penetrate the tough reptilian hide the weapon is jarred from your fingers and goes sailing through the air!
Waif is having no better luck. The monster takes little notice of his torch at all. It pushes through you both, heading straight past on its way to the smooth white stones directly behind you. It opens its mouth to strike... and misses!
You glance back. The lizard has one of the stones in its mouth. It starts turning back in the direction it came from.
"Eggs!" Waif cries in realization. "The quakes probably woke it from its nest, and now it thinks these things are its eggs!"
Whew. What a relief. You lower your axe when all of a sudden...
"AARRGHH!!"
With a sickening crunch the creature accidentally steps on your foot! It stomps away with the 'egg' in its mouth, but by then the damage is already done. Your foot feels like a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing.
After avoiding the last swish of the monster's tail, Waif comes running to your aid. "We... I... Oh." One look at your foot is all it takes. "Donovan, I'm... I'm sorry."
The journey from Atraharsis will be painfully long. The walk to a hospital even longer. In time your foot will heal. Probably. Still, it doesn't change the fact that right now this happens to be
THE END
78
The Grand Courtyard is a huge mess of sand and rubble. You step through cautiously, avoiding the sharper, more jagged pieces that threaten to slice your legs to ribbons. You're in the process of deciding which direction is least dangerous when, all of a sudden, the entire city is rocked by a massive, violent tremor.
"Cover up!"
The walls of Atraharsis shake to their very foundations. Buildings topple around you. A massive dust cloud rolls through the Courtyard, barreling down at you with breakneck speed. You stand frozen by the sight of it. Unable to move...
At the last second, Waif grabs your arm. With surprising strength, he pulls you into the shelter of one of the smaller, more well-built hovels on one side of the street. Dust swirls outside as the walls continue to shake. Then, just as abruptly as it all started, everything stops.
"Aftershock?" Waif asks when it's all clear again.
"Maybe," you cough. Your eyes sting a little, but you're okay. Thanks to Waif.
"We'll have to hurry," you say needlessly. "This whole city could come crashing down around us at any time."
"Also," Waif adds, "Mr. Sullivan's crew would've heard the tremors. They could already be on their way here."
It's a fair point. Peeking back out into the streets you see an open area not far to the west. To the east, you notice the crumbling wreckage of what looks to be an elaborate palace.
If you want to check out the open area, TURN TO PAGE 112
If the crumbling palace sounds more interesting, HEAD OVER TO PAGE 69
79
You pull and push on a
series of slides and buttons, advancing your way through the puzzle box. Its glass pieces move beautifully, even after dozens of centuries buried beneath the sands. You're pretty sure you're getting close when all of a sudden...
CLICK!
"That's it!" you cry out in triumph. "I did it..."
But then you look down. A bright red dot blossoms up from your index finger. You hold it out curiously, then you see the needle. The pinprick happened so quickly, the needle so insidiously positioned within the box you never even saw it.
"Why are you bleeding?" Waif asks. "What's... the..."
His voice is suddenly slow. Like he's talking with a mouthful of marbles. Or maybe it's just that the room is moving. The entire tower is spinning now, faster and faster until the next thing in your field of vision are the cobbles of the flagstone floor.
"Dooooonnooooovaaaaaannnnnn..."
Waif must've left the room, because now he seems miles away. Or maybe, you realize with a growing horror, it's you that's leaving...
You were so close to the top of the tower. But you'll never see what's up there, because this is
THE END
80
You scream out a warning but it's already too late!
Waif gets only partially out of the way as the tower of stone comes down. His arms go up defensively as it crashes over him, knocking him to the cobblestone avenue and pinning him to the ground.
You're there in just seconds, kneeing beside him. He's alive. Still breathing. But right now he's unconscious, and there's an enormous gash on his forehead. You're no physician but your friend is going to need stitches -- and lots of them.
"D-Donovan?"
Relief floods over you as Waif wakes up. He's groggy, woozy. His eyes have a glossed-over look to them that doesn't feel right. He probably has some sort of concussion.
"Don't worry," you assure him. "I'll get you help."
You wrap his wound and sit him up. In time, he even stands. Retracing your steps, you lead Waif slowly back through the city gates and toward the safety of your camp. But as you look forlornly back over the city of Atraharsis, you begrudgingly realize your adventure has reached
THE END
81
The south passage slopes definitively downward. As you descend into the darkness the air gets cooler. The walls of the passage also turn from brick and mortar to rough-hewn rock. Tool marks on both sides show where, thousands of years in the past, the first citizens of Atraharsis used this area to quarry stone for the city.
"There's humidity down here," you say. Your voice echoes much too loudly in the enclosed space.
"Perhaps because we're underground," Waif says.
"Yes, but there's way too much of it."
The corridor widens. Everything is dark and dank. You can no longer see the walls on either side of you. Beyond the meager corona of Waif's torch, everything is black.
"Maybe we should try the other passage."
You're in the process of deciding whether to continue when the corridor fills with the sudden grind of stone on stone. The two of you whip around to find the source of the noise: a series of thick rectangular blocks has fallen behind you, forming a portcullis. You're cut off.
"Well that settles that."
Waif looks the blocks up and down. The openings between them are only about a foot and a half wide. He sucks in his breath and, miraculously, just manages to squeeze his body through.
'Well at least you're not stuck here for all eternity," you say sheepishly. You know there's no possible way you'd ever fit. "Maybe you could, um, go for help?"
Your partner sucks in his gut once again and squeezes back to your side of the stone portcullis. "No my friend," he says loyally. "We're in this together."
You have a very important choice to make here.
You can continue on into the blackness by TURNING TO PAGE 154
Or you can venture on into the darkness by TURNING TO PAGE 154
82
Up ahead, several roads converge around what must once have been a busy well. A ring of beautiful gray stones is cut into a raised circular pattern, while four larger keystones are inscribed with symbols to represent the points of a compass rose.
The well shaft itself is smooth and featureless. It leads down into a darkness so thick, not even the morning sunlight can penetrate to the bottom.
Waif peers into the well curiously as he walks past. On a whim, you pull a quarter out of your pocket.
"What are you doing?" Waif asks nervously.
"Making a wish."
"In there?" Something about the whole thing obviously doesn't sit right with him.
"Sure. Why not?"
Waif doesn't have an answer. He only stands there, eyeballing the well shaft suspiciously.
Do you make a wish? If so, TURN BACK TO PAGE 17
If Waif has you spooked, put the quarter back in your pocket and HEAD TO PAGE 33
83
Quickly you sweep up the torch. Then, trying to hold Waif as still as possible, you use it to get the spiders off his body.
"Oooww!!!'
The flames are hot, and the spiders go up quickly. But in the process, Waif's is also burned. His clothes are in tatters, and the skin of his arms and legs are bright red. As you pull him to the opposite end of the chamber, the spiders stop their advance.
"You okay?"
Waif doesn't answer -- his face is too contorted in pain. He'll be alright eventually, but right now he needs some definite medical attention.
"I have some antibiotics back in my tent," you tell him. "And salve."
Your friend nods. Those two things sound great to him right about now. Continuing on right now isn't possible, but you're comforted by the fact that you still have one of the star jewels!
If you escape Atraharsis, get back to camp, and make it out of the desert? You'll be able to save your grand-uncle's estate!
You never did find the Hall of Kings, but that's okay. You and Waif had an amazing adventure, even if this happens to be
THE END
84
There's something about the statue that doesn't seem right. Something... missing.
"Look around," you tell Waif, as you begin your own search. There's sand everywhere. It's easy to move aside, but the only thing you find beneath it is rubble. That, and more sand.
"Nothing," Waif says after a while. "Unless you count this." He's holding a small chunk of rock. It looks like every other lump of stone you've seen so far. Then he hands it over, and you realize it's actually a tiny statue of a bird.
You run your thumb over the smooth marble surface of the little sparrow. Without thinking, you reach out and place it into the statue's outstretched palm.
The woman's arm moves.
In one slow, smooth motion, the arm of the statue dips down a few inches and stops. As it does, the woman's jaw drops open. Inside her mouth is a large amethyst.
"Whoa!" Waif cries. "How'd you know that?"
You take the gemstone and hold it up to the sun. It gleams a deep, beautiful purple.
"I didn't."
"But... you..."
All you can do is shrug. "It was a lucky guess."
Well it's not one of the star jewels, but it's a pretty good start!
NOW TURN TO PAGE 102
85
The avenue stretches north and east, to where the sheer bedrock cliff meets the city wall. Here, along the sand-strewn rock face, several openings have been carved out by hand. And high overhead, somewhere above, the obelisk.
"The city was originally built against these cliffs," Waif tells you. "The first settlers cut out these caves here."
Some of the openings are deep and wide. Using the torch you explore a few of them. Eventually you see signs of human habitation. Waif picks up one piece of a broken clay urn, turning it over and over in an attempt to read any writing he might find. You're just about to leave when you look down and stop dead in your tracks.
Resting before you is a fairly mod
ern-looking journeyman's pack. It's emblazoned with an insignia that matches the one on your journal.
"It's his!" you exclaim. You scoop it up too quickly, knocking a century's worth of dust up your nose. "This pack belonged to Murdoch!"
You sneeze. Twice. Three times, then four. When you're finally done, you can't understand why Waif seems frozen in some weird, awkwardly-crouched position. That is, at least, until you follow his gaze...
A large desert cat stands poised between you and the cave exit. As you meet the stare of the cheetah's yellow eyes, its lips curl back in a snarl.
Your choices here are unfortunately limited. What do you do?
To try fighting the animal off with Waif's torch, TURN TO PAGE 42
To try throwing some water at it (hey, cats hate water, right?) HEAD BACK TO PAGE 15
If you'd rather chance it by running deeper into the cave, take that risk ON PAGE 95
86
You approach the small but beautiful mausoleum. But when you look back from the doorway, you notice Waif hasn't budged.
"If you go in there," he tells you, "it will have to be alone. I am sorry."
You shrug at him and peek inside. Enough sunlight bleeds in to make out the details. The small chamber is smooth and well-kept, its walls painted with faded scenes of long ago. In some, you can make out the city as it once was; wide, elegant avenues filled with throngs of colorful people. You see the ziggurat looming over a series of lush, water-filled gardens. The Queen's Tower, climbing delicately into a stunning orange sky.
Treasures of the Forgotten City Page 6
