If she is still alive, turn to 454.
465
The gravel path gives way to grass and Alice finds herself standing at the edge of what she supposes is a croquet-ground, although it is unlike any croquet-ground she has seen before, all ridges and furrows, with arches made of doubled-over playing cards larger than any she has ever seen… or has she?
If Alice has visited the Croquet-Ground before, turn to 248. If his is her first visit, turn to 365.
466
As the Red Queen throws herself at Alice, talon-like fingernails and fangs bared, an apparition materialises between them inside the throne room.
“Go!” the Ghost whispers to the child, and then turns to meet the shrieking vampire’s onslaught.
Alice doesn’t need to be told twice. The phantasm’s appearance has bought her precious seconds that could mean the difference between life and death.
Turn to 245.
467
No matter how she imagines events might differ from the path they seem set upon now, the Tiger continues to prowl towards her, despite Alice’s best efforts to avert the inevitable. It would appear that this is one battle she is going to have to face up to.
Cross off one Curiouser and Curiouser box from Alice’s Adventure Sheet and turn to 492.
468
Before she can close her mouth and eyes against the toxic spore cloud, Alice begins to feel their ill-effects as her head starts to spin and she feels that she can no longer trust her own senses.
Add 1 point to Alice’s Insanity score, reduce Alice’s Logic score by 1 point, and then turn to 437.
469
Just as Alice is thinking she has done it, one of the creatures arches backwards, almost bending itself in half, and a whip-like tongue shoots out of its mouth, its sticky tip catching her ankle, and pulls her out of the air.
She lands hard, grazing her knee against a stone. (Lose 1 Endurance point.) By the time she has picked herself up again, the newt-like lizards are on top of her.
Turn to 499.
470
Alice finds herself standing before a faux classical temple in which stands the statue of a monstrous winged beast. Alice does not allow her gaze to linger too long upon the horror, lest it drive her mad!
From here Alice can only go east or west, so which is it to be?
East? Turn to 430.
West? Turn to 480.
471
The Executioner’s laugh becomes a mighty roar, as he raises the axe above his head, ready to bring it down upon Alice’s neck. (The Ace of Clubs has the initiative.)
ACE OF CLUBSCOMBAT 9 ENDURANCE 9
If Alice wins her epic battle with the Royal Executioner, turn to 456.
472
Alice does not rejoice in insects at all, the truth being that she is rather afraid of them – especially the larger ones, like these Snap-dragon-flies. She runs like the wind and the fiery insects soon tire of the chase.
When she is sure she has lost them, she slows her pace to a walk once more. Turn to 146.
473
Alice takes the jar of pellets from her pocket and hurls it at Two, only for the gardener to bat it away. The jar lands against another shrub, the glass shattering against the woody stem and scattering the pellets over the soil.
Cross the Slug Pellets off Alice’s Adventure Sheet and turn to 503.
474
Bravely Alice charges towards the Ghost, but she cannot cause any physical harm to its ethereal form. While Alice is trying to fight off the spectre she continues to be battered by heavy atlases and dry historical tomes. (Deduct another 2 Endurance points.)
If Alice is still conscious, turn to 464.
475
“Steer to starboard, but keep her head larboard!” the Bellman cries to the helmsman, who does his best to comply, and soon Alice sees land ahead, and not long after that, she is disembarking by jolly boat, as the Beaver rows her to shore.
Exchanging farewells, the Beaver returns to the ship while Alice takes in her sandy surroundings.
Beyond the shore, the beach rises to a range of grass-topped dunes, and beyond those Alice can see the tops of trees interspersed with carefully-tended topiary. Looking left along the beach, Alice spies the entrance to a rocky cove, while to her right the shoreline curves round to a wide bay.
If you think Alice should investigate the rocky cove, turn to 138. If you think she should head towards the sandy bay, turn to 258. If you think she should just head into the dunes towards the well-tended topiary, turn to 312.
476
Alice finds herself unable to resist as the Red Queen’s mesmeric stare penetrates her soul. Her will no longer her own, the child climbs the steps of the dais and only stops when she is before the throne.
“Now then, my dear,” says the Red Queen, smiling languidly, “I know what you’d like.”
As she opens her jaws wide once more, Alice just stands there, not acting to protect herself, as the Red Queen sinks her cobra-like fangs into the child’s jugular and starts to drink.
The part of Alice that is still Alice, thinks she hears the rumour of a voice carry to her on the wind, a voice that says, “Wake up, Alice dear!”
But Alice can’t wake up. She is under the control of the Red Queen now. She will never wake up again.
THE END
477
Alice slumps to the ground, dejected and defeated.
Her melancholic reverie is disturbed by the arrival of another within the mausoleum chamber. Standing at the top of the stairs is a knight clad in a suit of blood-red armour, his face hidden behind the closed visor of his helm.
The Red Knight says nothing but drawing his black iron blade crosses the chamber, sword raised.
Without the Vorpal Sword, not only will Alice not be able to slay the fiend-like Red Queen, she will not be able to defend herself against the harridan’s deathless servant either.
Alice’s adventure ends here but her nightmare is only just beginning as the vampiric knights begins to feast…
THE END
478
Following the footpath, Alice comes to a clearing between the toadstool trees. Lying within it is a log that has been left hollow by rot. Being a naturally inquisitive child, Alice wonders what she might find inside.
If you want Alice to take a look, turn to 498. If not, turn to 488.
479
An eerie feeling comes over Alice as she explores the outer ward of the castle, as if a thousand eyes are fixed upon her. And yet, when she looks round, she sees nothing but the castle’s petrified defenders.
In the far corner of the courtyard, at the base of a corner tower, Alice stumbles across all that is left of a huge broken egg.
“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall: Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King’s horses and all the King’s men, couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty in his place again,” Alice finds herself chanting under her breath.
The fractured shell is twice as tall as she is and it is empty. Alice can only wonder at what hatched from the enormous egg.
Deciding it best not to linger within the inner ward of the castle any longer, in case whatever hatched from the egg returns unexpectedly, she makes for the steps that lead to the entrance to the keep.
Turn to 447.
480
It is not long before Alice reaches another right-angled turn in the leafy labyrinth. Should she go south (turn to 272) or east (turn to 470)?
481
No matter how hard she imagines the narrative of her story could differ from the path it seems set upon now, the Tiger continues to prowl towards the child, and there is nothing she can do to stop it. It would appear that this is one battle Alice is going to have to have to face up to.
Cross off one The Pen is Mightier box from Alice’s Adventure Sheet and turn to 492.
482
Opening the door Alice enters what can only be described as a small boudoir. Resting on a stand on a dressing table, in front of a mirror, is a grand, powdered wig, like something out of the history books her Governess made her read about the French Revolution.
The child can’t help but lift the wig from its stand and try it on, imagining that she is Marie Antoinette as she regards herself in the mirror. (If you want Alice to keep the Wig on, make a note of it on Alice’s Adventure Sheet.)
There is nothing else for Alice here so she eventually has to leave the boudoir through the same door she entered by.
Turn to 502.
483
The handle turns, the door swings open, and stepping over the threshold Alice finds herself in the cool shade of a tiled entrance hall. Doors lead off from the hall ahead of her and to her left.
For Alice to try the door in front of her, turn to 166. For Alice to open the door to her left, turn to 494.
484
Alice feels exhausted after her battle with the Red Knight, but she has been victorious nonetheless.
If Alice previously solved a chess puzzle, double the answer to that puzzle and then subtract it from this paragraph, ultimately turning to the new paragraph.
If Alice has not previously comes across, or solved, such a puzzle, turn to 302.
485
Alice’s mind can barely comprehend what is happening to her, and with the appearance of the Spinebacks her spiralling descent into madness only worsens.
Add 1 to Alice’s Insanity score and turn to 28.
486
As the Red Queen’s stare bores into her soul, Alice finds herself pacing across the throne room as if sleep-walking, a part of her screaming at her to break eye-contact with the blood-sucking leech and save herself.
“Now then, my dear,” says the Red Queen, smiling languidly, “I know what you’d like.”
It is then that Alice hears a voice carried as if from far, far away on a zephyr from a land beyond the borders of Wonderland: “Wake up, Alice dear!”
And as the Red Queen opens her mouth wide, to sink snake-like fangs into the child’s neck, Alice succeeds at last in breaking free of the Red Queen’s spell, and readies herself to fight back against the murderous witch.
“Very well!” hisses the harridan. “After all, it is better to be feared than loved.”
If you think Alice should use The Pen is Mightier ability now, turn to 506. If not, turn to 496.
487
As Alice stands there, studying the inscription around the tomb, hearing the footsteps on the stairs coming closer with every passing second, she can’t shake the thought that the stone soldiers in the courtyard reminded her of nothing more than chessmen…
If you think you know the answer to the riddle, convert the word into numbers using the code A=1, B=2… Z=26. Add the numbers together, and then turn to the paragraph with the same number as the total.
If upon reading the paragraph you turn to it makes no sense (meaning you have got the answer wrong) or you are unable to solve the riddle in the first place, turn to 477.
488
Leaving the clearing by a path on the other side, Alice soon finds herself emerging from the towering toadstools and leaving the forest of fungi.
She is standing at the top of a steep slope. Below her, at the bottom of the incline, to the north, on the other side of a rickety fence, she can see a curious house, with chimneys shaped like ears and its roof apparently thatched with fur. To the north-west there stands a grand house built in the Palladian style. Beyond the cottage Alice can see the towering yew hedge walls of a maze that appears to cover acres of ground.
In which direction should Alice go now? To head towards the grand house, turn to 319. To make for the fur-thatched cottage, turn to 216.
489
Alice sails over the creatures and lands on the path behind them. Not waiting to judge their reaction, she races off again through the swamp. Turn to 286.
490
Alice soon comes to another branching of the ways in the yew-hedge maze, but which way should she go?
North? Turn to 430.
East? Turn to 134.
West? Turn to 413.
491
Without a second thought, Alice gulps down the potion and, as she rapidly starts to shrink, leaps onto the back of the wasp. Grabbing hold of its antennae, Alice steers the insect back through the tulgey wood to the glade in which stands the mirror portal. And she arrives only just in time, for upon reaching the clearing, she starts to grow again.
Returning to her normal size, she steps up to the looking-glass. Alice closes her eyes and takes a step forward, the glass becoming a silvery mist before her as she does so. And then she is back in the palace… but the Red Queen is waiting for her.
Turn to 41.
492
It may only be a Paper Tiger but the cat’s card claws still look like they could cause Alice a nasty paper-cut. (Before you begin the battle, make a note of Alice’s current Endurance score. Alice has the initiative.)
PAPER TIGERCOMBAT 8 ENDURANCE 8
If Alice is using a Pair of Scissors to fight the Paper Tiger, for every successful hit she makes against it, as well as causing 2 Endurance points damage, you can also deduct 1 from the Tiger’s Combat score.
If Alice is victorious, turn to 517, but if the Tiger wins the battle, turn to 507.
493
Alice hurls the bottle of brown liquid at the gardeners but misses all three of them. The flask hits the roots of the rose-tree and smashes, splashing the strong-smelling liquid compost over the plant’s roots. The effects are almost instantaneous.
Cross Bloom’s Patent Plant Provender off Alice’s Adventure Sheet and turn to 308.
494
Passing through the door, Alice makes the transition from the tiled hall into a dusty, darkened room filled with glass cases containing displays of stuffed birds, animals and fish. They remind Alice of the collections at the University Museum of Natural History.
The drapes have been drawn across the window, allowing only a sliver of sunlight to enter the room, which illuminates the golden motes of dust spinning in the shaft of light, and the room’s prize specimen, mounted on a perch of Madagascan rosewood, and, like the other specimens, behind glass.
It is a plump bird covered in bright blue-grey pigeon-like plumage. It has a tuft of tail feathers, short stout legs with bright yellow feet, and a large hooked bill, coloured from black through to green.
On the other side of the room is another door, this one a fine example of walnut-panelling.
If you want Alice to go through this door, turn to 516. If you want her to examine the Dodo close-up first, turn to 505.
495
“Capital! Capital!” the Bellman exclaims. Taking out a most curious map – it appears to have nothing drawn on it at all – the Captain of the Snark-Hunter sets about plotting a course.
“What’s the good of Mercator’s North Poles and Equators, Tropics, Zones, and Meridian Lines?” the Bellman cries, to which the crew reply, “They are merely conventional signs! Other maps are such shapes, with their islands and capes! But we’ve got our brave Captain to thank,” so the crew does protest, “that he’s bought us the best – a perfect and absolute blank!”
This is charming, no doubt, but they shortly find out that the Captain they’ve trusted so well, has only one notion for crossing the ocean, and that is to tingle his bell.
He is thoughtful and grave, but his orders, so brave, are enough to bewilder the crew. When he cries “Steer to starboard, but keep her head larboard!” what on earth is the helmsman to do?
But somehow they make it to their destination, a dark and gloomy island, and make land, unloading their boxes, portmanteaus and bags.
“Just the place for a Snark!” the Bellman cries. “You
’d best be unpacking the things that you need to rig yourselves out for a fight,” he tells the others.
Alice watches as the merry band busy themselves preparing for the quest ahead. When they are ready, they all set out in different directions, leaving Alice quite alone on the shore of this strange and sinister island. Seeing that she has little other choice, steeling herself, Alice sets off towards the island’s interior.
Before very long, she finds herself negotiating the treacherous pathways of a terribly tangled forest. The grey-black trunks of the trees are contorted into shapes that speak of torment and pain, their branches clung with moss and snaking creepers. The air is redolent with the aroma of a compost heap and a sour yellow mist hangs in the air. Beads of moisture condense on Alice’s skin, sucking the warmth from her body. Strange animal hoots and shrieks echo between the trees and have Alice looking all about her, wondering from where the next threat to her life might come.
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!” Alice mutters under her breath. “Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch!”
alices_nightmare Page 20
