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317 is, unless I'm very much mistaken, also a prime. 381 isn't, it's divisible by 3 for a start :) Also, do you really not know what an arch is? It looks something like this: Ok, the forum extension isn't letting me show it. If you really don't know, then just google image search it, and hang your head in shame at not knowing a perfectly normal English word. :) Yeah, yeah, we have hunting. Random number = 4+2=6. The arch wasn't as safe as we hoped... It seems to me that there's one intelligent, sensible thing to do here. It also seems to me that we'll do the other.

Run away! Panic running to where?

Ok, I won't listen to the other voice calling itself hammer01, and go with the majority instead :) We were right! Wait, 200? That's the end of the first half of the book! H+1 26/26 Hooray, we can get Magnakai disciplines! We just have to get out of the palace of a ruler who's already captured us once successfully, while avoiding the darklord who's just turned up, then locate the resting place of an ancient book, in a tomb somewhere in the vast desert, and get there before either of the aforementioned enemies who already know its location. Simple! After we've done that, we can begin to reconcile our tomb robbing to the Kai's rules, and worry about what this orb is... Let's get started by leaving quietly, without being spotted. ...Lone Wolf, which part of 'without being spotted' did you miss? Fight or (nonliteral) flight?

Don't forget the invisible personality who keeps telling the others what's happening! We get all kinds of stuff, while dropping some weapons and a blue stone triangle from book 3. That won't be useful again, will it? Well, do we replace anything with this lot? I think you know what our weapons are, but these are our backpack items (which we'd need to replace with the other items): Pickaxe Potent Laumspur Potion (+5E) Meal Rope Potion of Laumspur (+4E) Meal of Larnuma (+3E) Laumspur Potion (+4E) Meal We...err...don't know the code. We have both of them! And every other discipline, barring tracking. We lose 2E = 24/26 So, 67? Or 76? I'm sure it's 67. Wait, no, 76. No, it's 67. No, 97! I have no idea! Split personalities, work it out between you. H+1 25/26

Well, LW's official warcry is 'For Sommerlund and the Kai!' Soo: 'For Vassagonia and the old Zakhan who was almost certainly assassinated but sounds like he might have been quite nice compared to the new guy!' Also, apologies for allowing this volume of posts to build up before proceeding with the story. I didn't realise it we'd reached page 68! We heroically draw our...stolen weapon, and enter the secret passage shouting at the top of our voice. Cobwebs, and no giant spiders. Uhuh. Our gear! We have the Sommerswerd back! Now to deal with the Zakhan who stole it from us! Before that, we do need to decide which items we keep out of what our current and old gear. We can keep 2 of these weapons... Darklord Sword Spear Sword Warhammer ...and 12 of these 13 Special Items. Map Crystal Star Pendant Vordak Gem Scroll Shield (+2CS) Chainmail Waistcoat (+4E) Blue Stone Triangle. Magic Spear Sommerswerd (+8CS) Padded Leather Waistcoat (+2E) Kalte Firesphere Dagger of Vashna Gaoler's Keys So we need to drop 2 weapons, and 1 special item. Also, do we search the chamber?

Why are you even asking us this? Do we enter the secret passage, or carry on along the boring passage?

Onwards! We've reached that rank. Hooray? ... Yeah, that's a good point! Ulp. 5+2+2=9! No problem! Wasn't worried at all! Honest! We have Sixth Sense. What does it give us? This is hardly worth asking, but pull the lever?

We drop a warhammer. We get a broadsword. ...That was a door that really didn't need to be listened at. Poor door. To the blacksmith? This was written quite a while ago, before we knew that blacksmiths will always, no matter what side they're on, not attack anyone but instead sell them weapons and armour...

Swap which weapon, the sword or the warhammer?

So...We know we're above ground, at least, and if we want to escape then we need to go down. ...I don't remember getting this many weapons back in book 1! Ah well, swap a weapon for the spear or broadsword? Oh, yes, another 2 way junction. Passage or door, not much more to say?

We get a warhammer! We gain 1E (19/20) Look at the view? H+1 20/20

You forgot to give a vote on the weapon(s) we should take, by the way.

We gain 6GC. We gain Gaoler's Keys We also need to choose which of the weapons we're taking. Remember we already have a sword, so only have room for one more unless we drop it. Well, this is pretty much a which way choice again. H+1 18/20

Two updates in one day! ...Fine, forum. One update in one day and one 50 minutes after the start of the next day! Kill him!! Search the bodies, or run away quickly before those guards our sixth sense told us about turn up? H+1 17/20

We do have Sixth Sense. H+1 15/20 Well, we didn't find out anything, but we may be able to avoid being attacked if we kill him now? H+1 16/20

Sorry, I've been away from my computer for a few days. We take the sword! Combat Ratio = 16*-14 = 2 Our E total = 20/20 Palace Gaoler's E total = 21/21 *We don't have the Sommerswerd any more, remember! Round 1 Random number = 6 We take 2 damage = 18/20 Palace Gaoler is immune to damage = 21/21 Round 2 Random number = 6 We take 2 damage = 16/20 Palace Gaoler takes 8 damage = 13/21 Round 3 Random number = 6 We take 3 damage = 13/20 Palace Gaoler takes 7 damage = 6/21 Round 4 Random number = 0 We take 0 damage = 13/20 Palace Gaoler takes 14 damage = Dead! That wasn't so hard. We killed him just in time, though. We get a sword. Another fairly basic question: capture or kill? H+1 14/20

Well, they have unlocked the door already... No, it wasn't stylish. If we'd tried to run we could have heroically surrendered after Maouk threatened to kill the crews' families, and it would have sent us to the same section, but with a bit more of a glow of pride. And a chance of an instant death. We murder the guards! Well, this post was faster than I expected. Tactical or berserker?

Welcome, James2k! Yes, if we die, we rollback and add a point to the dreaded death count. Currently we've had more deaths than books completed, so let's try not to die in this one, right? Right. We surrender! Don't hurt us! We lose: EVERYTHING! Great. There were two ways the adventure could ultimately have gone here, depending on whether we were captured or not. We chose very...quickly. Well, we're in prison now, but may be able to change that. Remember that we have no weapons, and will take a penalty if we attack them unarmed. Do we?

I was, and am quite happy to continue. Unfortunately we seemed to somehow stop a bit under a month ago, with only Cows responding to the last message. I sort of sat there waiting for other people to post... Now, I guess we've had two votes and can carry on! We drop a diamond. We gain the Dagger of Vashna We gain Mind over Matter We also get a new map:

You still need to say what to drop for the dagger of vashna, or we'll be stopping vashna being resurrected and being killed twice not at all in the process in another few books :) Ignore me, apparently I couldn't read the part about dropping the diamond.

Ok, Shadow on the Sand! This one's a bit unusual, as it's got 2 parts each containing 200 sections, rather than the total of 350 we're used to. Basically Barraka was a minor noble of Vassagonia, so their ruler is offering us a peace agreement by apology. We have to go and sign it, and hope the ruler isn't assassinated too soon after... First, though, we choose one of the two disciplines remaining: I wonder what'll happen then? We won't have any more disciplines to choose from! I'm not going to bother quoting all our equipment here, partly as I'll probably go over the character limit. Just look at the action chart in my signature :) We're full up on all types of item, so if you say to take anything, say what to drop as well. So, basically do we want any of this equipment? And don't forget about choosing what to drop for the Dagger of Vashna.

O...k, a new posting format. This may actually be easier, though I'll have to break the hyperlinks to the next sections. We do! Boss fight! We lose 1E = 25/26 Combat Ratio: 24 (no mindblast) -25 = -1 Our E total = 25/26 Barraka's E total = 29/29 Round 1 Random number = 8 We take 1 damage = 24/26 Barraka takes 9 damage = 20/29 Round 2 Random number = 6 We take 2 damage = 22/26 Barraka takes 7 damage = 13/29 Round 3 Random number = 9 We take no damage = 22/26 Barraka takes 10 damage = 3/29 Round 4 Random number = 9 We take no damage = 22/26 Barraka takes 10 damage = DEAD! Our E total = 22/26 Aand we win. Ooh, it copies pictures now! (EDIT: Ok, the borders mess up if I don't delete them. I'll leave this one as is, so you can see what I mean.) Also, we need to choose which special item to drop for the Dagger. It really wouldn't be safe to let it fall back into evil hands, after all... These are our options: And with another book completed, it's on to Shadow on the Sand!

*Winces* Oops, we fell for both arbitrary instant deaths. Also, they were skeletons, not ponies. Death Count +1 = 5 And we now have more deaths than our current book number. Let's try not to die next book, shall we? (Yeah, let's see how that works out...) We use our Kai powers of reversing time! I very much hope that this is wrong, or we have a problem. Uh oh... So, attack or be clever?

Guards it is! Ok, maybe we can get in without combat! Camouflage, activating! 4+4. I think that's the first time Camouflage has actually helped us, isn't it? And on we go. Enter the cavern from which we can watch the ceremony, or the balcony from which we can intervene?

0-4 we swap the spear for the dagger, 5-9 we don't. 9. Ok, on we go then... ... Ok. The cake, it would seem, was indeed a lie. Death Count +1: 4 Back we go, then... We get a very strong sense that we shouldn't enter the cellar, and purging all thoughts of cake from our mind, we leave the hut. We do not have an Onyx Medallion, but we do have Camouflage (and have, of course, reached that rank). Hunting prevents us from having to eat a meal from our backpack. So, guarded door or unguarded stairs? Of course, if they are both entrances, then it does beg the question of why the stairs are unguarded...