Stackman's Adventures (Chapter twenty-eight)

[bsftcs]

So Much for Ancient Lore

Being the twenty-eighth chapter of Stackman’s adventures

In which Anephas is exposed as a fraud and the story of his sacrifice is exposed as a hoax and in which the assassin has a fruitful collaboration with a door to slay an adversary.

From the impaling room (room E on the Anephas’s Shrine Map at Xignal’s Site) two paths led southward although the easternmost path was sealed off by a partially collapsed roof. Generally the layout of the shrine was very symmetric. The party took the west path and the warlock cast the create portal spell just before they entered the next room (room F).

While the rest of the party waited in the hallway the agile zenmaster stepped out on the floor of the room and immediately jumped back to the safety of the hallway as a gaping hole opened up in the middle of the floor. This was the scorpion pit. Three of four buttons below would fill the hole with gold scorpions while the last (the northernmost) would elevate a pedestal in the middle of the floor transporting trapped adventurers back up. With the portal just by the edge of the hole the party could exploit the scorpion pit trick (as explained by Sazerac on Page two of the Best Tips) which was definitely the most yielding inexhaustable method of gaining experience points in the game.

From the scorpion pit room two more paths led south. These led through the rooms above those chambers where the party had fought the guardians of Isis. The floor in the west room was partially collapsed whereas the floor in the east room (room G) was filled with trap doors. There were also a couple of treasure chests.

The two paths converged again on the other side and led to a room in which a stairway led to the inner sanctum of the shrine. Two the right a corridor led to two interconnected rooms and in the first of these (room O) a tiny ray of sunlight came through a passage in the ceiling. On the south wall to the right of the descending flight of stairs was a stone statue called a temple guardian. Behind that was a hidden corridor, but the party did not venture there since they would later come the other way through. They went down the stairs and through another room with another set of stairs.

Eventually they wound up in the great altar room (room I). A great altar in the middle of the room was the center of attention. On the far side of the room was a corridor leading to a room with a rotted corpse. To the right was a corridor leading through a crumbled-down room (room Q) to what was seemingly an exit (room R). But the exit was not accesible right now.

To the left was a room (room P) with a niche with baboon pictures. On the other side of a deep pit a flight of stairs led up to small chamber. The adventurers jumped over the pit and landed on the stairs which immediately tilted and turned into a slide. The adventurers ended in the pit which was, luckily, equipped with a ladder. They climbed up again. The bard put the baboon figurine in the niche. That stabilized the stairs and the party went up.

They wound up in a small chamber with three small niches to the east, the west, and the south. In the niches were treasure chests containing ankhs in abundance. The chest in the south niche also contained a small urn. The barbarian used his ancient lore skill and determined this was the ashes of Anephas. Whether that was determined by the smell is unknown.

Back in the altar room (room I) the party turned their attention to the two stone statues, called temple guardians, in the eastern part of the room. The zenmaster “picked up” the statue on the north wall and moved it. Behind it was a hidden corridor leading back to the temple guardian statue mentioned above.

Behind the southern statue was a corridor leading to a room with a scarab switch (room J). The valkyrie turned the switch and the party walked south-east to a room (room K) with another switch. The valkyrie also activated this switch and the party took the south-west corridor to (room L). A peculiar sight met the party. A stone statue stood in the middle of a doorway with the door constantly slamming against him. He was the Darkened One – the monster the Bushi Dojo had sent the party out to find. The party let the door do most of the work, and then the assassin ice-stormed him when his hit points were in the the red zone just to get the credits for the kill. The Darkened One disintegrated.

The valkyrie flipped the scarab switch in the room. This opened the passage in the south-east corridor to the monkey chute room (room M). But before the party went there the warlock felt an irresistable urge to cast the vanish spell on the party. This she did and the party wound up inside the monkey chute (as explained at Xignal’s Site).

What met the eyes of the party was a great surprise. They had uncovered the greastest hoax in Gael Serran history. Anephas was not dead and his ashes were not in the urn. He had not made the great sacrifice. Instead he was alive and well, resting in the inner sanctum of his temple. The barbarian looked wonderingly at the ashes in the urn. So much for the ancient lore trait. He was definitely going to demand a refund for those alleged skills next time he saw Miruth or Bratsol.

Anephas knew this was very compromising to the plot in the game. He offered a bribe to the party to keep it all a secret. But to the adventurers who already had several million gold pieces in the bank that did not seem that lucrative. They decided not to expose him in order to keep the plot intact, however. They knew they were a great hit at the Iromworks Forum, and they did not want to stop the story short of the end. Shaking hands with Anephas the warlock “vanished” the party out of the chute.

Secret rooms encountered:

The monkey chute (as explained at Xignal’s Site).

[moiraine sedai]

LOL!!!

Another great chapter, bsftcs!!!

I always disliked the shrine... I don't know what it was, but... *shudder*

Can't wait for the next episode!

Moiraine Sedai

[Bungleau]

Great stuff! FYI... you get XP for the kill if you've attacked once. It would get recorded as an assist (score one for the door!), but you would still get XP.

[Wyvern]

ROFL!!!!

Reminds me of the Wizard of Oz - just ignore the man behind the curtain!

I do admit to rather liking aligning all those obelisks to get the light to go just where I wanted it but the Shrine isn't my favorite of the dungeons.

Great chapter, bsftcs!!!

Wyv

[CerebroDragon]

I've got a bit of a confession to make here btsftcs: [img]graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

Before now, I've tended to subconsciously avoid the near legendary status of the adventures of Stackman just in case I managed to spoil myself with a particular part of the game.

However, this chapter has come at precisely during the time of which I am currently up to in the game. In fact, as of now, I think from everything I've read here, I've finished the Shrine of Anephas! Huzzah!
However, Anephas is seemingly a bit of a vague fellow, having slept for so long I guess. He says before one can use the portal of isis, one must first activate both sides...hmm would make sense if he'd tell me how to gain access to the other side. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I think the most trouble I had in this dungeon was probably spotting the lever to gain entrance to the shrine of Kerah - I kept trying to swim upwards for at least three or four reloads! Otherwise, there was a pleasant flow to the logic to it, the obelisk alignment reminding me of a scene from 'Lands of Lore'. Gave me some good memories and was nice to finish up!

When I finally finish the game, I'll have to go through all of the adventures from chapter one, as this one was amusing as well as being nicely descriptive to the point that I can imagine myself going exactly as written.

I should say a rather belated thanks to both you and Wyv too for helping me get through Skull Castle.

Noble Regards,
Cerebrodragon

[bsftcs]

Why, I thank you whole-heartedly for your kind eulogies, my noble friend. [img]graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

I am glad you like the story. And yes, Stackman's adventurers spoil for a living.