Jason Aller Floppy Collection/122.img/DWDOC.ZIP/DWPARA1.DOC

Text File | 1990-03-12 | 32KB | 484 lines

                                 Dragon Wars
                                 by Interplay

                                Paragraphs 1-50

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1.  In this dark chamber are warehoused several sculptures of decidedly
inferior quality.  Mostly they are crude attempts at busts, or full figure
nudes of decidedly pornographic intent.  Whoever produced these disasters, it
could not have been the same artist that created the rest of the artwork
you've seen on the estate.

2.  Renewed by the fruit of your sacrifice, the vampire lord emerges from the
tomb..  "You have awakened me, and for this I am in your debt," he lisps.  "Do
not presume to command me, however.  You have not obtained the Silver Wheel,
and until you do, my soul is my own!"  The Lord of the Undead vanishes,
leaving behind only an oily cloud of smoke, and the bucket of deep-fried jumbo
shrimp. Back to the drawing board.

3.  This is a shrine to the dark lady Irkalla, queen of Magan, the underworld
of Oceana.  Of all the structures in this area, this is the best preserved.
Simple offerings of weeds and rocks lay before Irkalla, indicating some
residents of this world worship the dark queen.  Irkalla's image is blasted
from bronze.  She seems serene and confident, with a terrible sort of beauty
lurking in her fierce countenance.  The black pits of her eyes stare at you
without emotion.  Here is a deity to be feared-perhaps also to be loved.

4.  You stand before the gate to Purgatory's great public area.  Bloodthirsty
residents of the Dilmun interior come here to enjoy the spectacle of outlander
scum such as yourselves fighting to the death on the floor of the area.  A
guard swaggers up to you.  He is clad in trappings of authority-fine armor, a
weather-beaten harness, well-oiled weapons.  "Oy there, you filthy street
scum," the guard growls.  "You look fit enough to hold a weapon.  Why not haul
your butt into the arena and make yourself useful?  Why fight for another
man's pleasure when life in Purgatory is a daily struggle for survival?"
You're about to turn away when the guard lays a heavy hand on your shoulder
and adds, "You'll get your choice of arms...and if you defeat your foe, which
I doubt, you might win Papers of Citizenship.  Namtar help me--heathen dogs
like you living in Dilmun!  I don't like it, but the law is the law."

5.  With distaste you discover the source of the foul odor.  Before you is a
low structure, not so much a building as an odd series of stone slabs leaning
against one another.  Some ancient stonemason identified this place with a
legend carved into the rock:  "Morgue".  A more recent hand has added its own
opinion: "The way out, chumps!"  The stench of the dead is overpowering, but
sensing there's something important about this place, you hang around on the
fringes and observe the routine.  Sallow work gangs of malnourished slaves,
themselves more dead than alive, slowly carry corpses from the building and
stack them in sloppy piles.  You dimly wonder what crime or heresy landed
these poor souls a job as slaves in a city of criminals.  From time to time
additional corpses are brought here by the more tidy citizens of Purgatory.
These are deposited in the house or stacked in the piles without seeming
purpose.  After a time, several of the slaves bundle one or more corpses into
a crude canvas sack and hurl the bundle over the wall...  Distantly, you think
you hear a splash.  You judge you're near the harbor wall--are the dead of
Purgatory hurled into the waters of the city's harbor?  It occurs to you a
living man could lay with the dead, and journey with them in a sack over the
wall and to freedom in the harbor beyond.  How far do the sacks of corpses
fall?  Are they really tossed in the harbor, or do they tumble into a well?
Could you escape from a bag of cadavers before it sank to the bottom of the
sea, maybe forever mired in muck and weeds?  Perhaps the overpowering smell of
this place is starting to get to you.  Or perhaps this is your ticket out.

6.  Here you find a simple wilderness shrine, tended by a lone druid.  He
welcomes you to his temple, saying the place of worships is open to all.  The
shrine is earthy and natural.  The walls seem rooted in the depths of the
earth, the rock seems alive with animal spirit, the very air is crisp and
sweet.  You see that the patron deity of this shrine is the man-animal Enkidu.
"He is the god of beast-men and man-beasts," the druid explains.  "He respects
only the strong and pure, to whom he will grant a powerful boon.  Before
Namtar's purge, the god was in residence in this forest, where he presided
over a vast druid colony.  Now Enkidu is gone, the brotherhood is broken, and
knowledge of our magic is lost."

7.  You secure yourself in a bag full of only slightly stinking corpses and
wait patiently.  Someone sews the bag up as you lie motionless.  After some
moments, you hear a throaty voice call, "Oy, yew!  Run yer sword throo them
bogs, thar!  You 'membar wot hopp'nd last week!  We don't wont any mar escayps
now, do we?"  You are bound and helpless!

8.  A great cry of joy goes up as you debase yourself.  In a city of
criminals, what shame is there in going native?  Just to make you feel at
home, the beggars beat you steadily for a week.  Properly initiated into the
world of mendacity, you eventually are set free to wander the streets of
Purgatory, better understanding if not entirely fond of the city's lowest
class of citizens.

9.  A statue of Namtar, the Beast From the Pit, dominates this dirty city
square.  You carefully examine the statue, trying to memorize the features of
the villain who exiled you to Purgatory.  You struggle in vain.  The citizens
of Purgatory, themselves no less fond of Namtar, have taken it out on his
image--the nose is broken, limbs are chipped, and the mouth is deformed beyond
all recognition.  As you watch, a wild beggar spits on the statue.  "Filthy
face of stone!," she mumbles.  "Layed down with lizards he did, that stone
face lies as much as he!"  The poor mad creature wanders off, still spitting
and mumbling, leading you to wonder if a similar fate awaits you in the months
to come.

10.  This back-alley building is in remarkably good repair.  Curious, you
enter, and recognize the interior of a modestly-appointed magic shop.  A
wizened gnome of a man springs from behind the counter and scurries up to you.
"Mercy, mercy me...customer!  Bless me, customers at last!"  The old man is
insane but friendly.  He explains all high magic has been outlawed by order of
Namtar, but instruction in the low arts is still permitted in isolated
regions.  He is eager to teach you what he knows, and will in fact refuse a
fee, preferring to teach for the simple joy of it.  Unfortunately, the old man
knows little useful magic.

11.  Try as you might, you just can't get your nose to remain on your face.
That Namtar sure has an odd sense of humor.

12.  Just ahead you see a bridge.  The bridge is covered and armored doors bar
the way across.  The bridge appears to be the only way to cross the water and
reach the land beyond.  A pack of guards lounge before the entrance to the
bridge.  As you appear, they snap to attention.  A guard with a narrow
forehead and small eyes approaches you.

13.  You're in the middle of the bridge.  Although the bridge is covered, you
can hear water rushing beneath you.  It is astonishingly loud.  The bridge is
longer than it appear from the outside.  You recognize now that even a good
swimmer would find it impossible to swim from one island to the next.  This
bridge is the only way across.

14.  Your knowledge of city lore serves you well.  This place isn't so much a
city as a prison.  The streets are unpaved and evidently double as an open-air
sewer system.  Many of the city's structures are buildings only in the loosest
sense of the word--several have holes in the roof (or no roof at all), others
have been gutted by fire.  Everything is damp, showing this city is little
different from any other on Oceana...the rising sea level is eroding the land
upon which the city is located, and it is slowly sinking.  Doubtless those
buildings that have basements will be at least hip-deep in water.  Graffiti is
scrawled on walls everywhere, generally curses directed at Namtar and crude
pornographic renderings of all the species of Oceana.  In all, Purgatory is an
ugly place you would do well to leave as soon as possible.

15.  The guards retire a few steps and converse in low tones when you show
them the ring.  One of them approaches nervously.  "We're King's men, you
know.  We don't want any trouble."  He shuffles his feet and won't look you in
the eye.  "We just went along with...with everyone else.  You have seen the
King?"  He frowns when you answer.  "That ring means you're on King's
business, so you can pass...but if anyone asks, we never saw you. Understand?"
You pass into the city.  The guards still won't look you in the eye.

16.  Before you is a tumble-down collection of huts.  A group of ill-clad
unfortunates are gathered around a fire.  They see you approach and rush to
your side.  "We saw you swim across the bay", says a toothless man who seems
to lead the group.  "Any enemy of Purgatory is a friend of ours.  C'mon in and
sit by the fire."

17.  This is the temple of the Yellow Mud Toad, dedicated to the patron beast
of this city.  The temple is as run down and depressing as the rest of the
city.  The center of the temple is dominated by a huge statue of the Yellow
Mud Toad, sunk fully a third of its height into the muddy floor of the
building.  "Everything sinks these days," a priest of the temple complains.
"This whole city must be built on a lake.  We'll all sink away to nothing if
this keeps up!"

18.  The camp is deserted.  Apparently everyone who lived here was slain in
your recent battle.  You notice signs of habitation, but whoever lived here
was dirt poor.  It's unlikely you'll find anything of worth in the camp.
Glancing back at the pile of bodies left in your wake, and then at the bucolic
scene of the camp, you sense there was probably a better way of handling this
situation.  The man who confronted you seemed a lot like yourself.  Maybe he
mistook you for authority from Purgatory, and only sought to defend himself.
This was probably a time for words, rather than swords.

19.  After about an hour, the sick man's fever breaks.  He props himself up on
one elbow and smiles.  "I was dreaming," he says in a weak voice.  "I imagined
I floated on a vast black pool far beneath the earth.  I think it was in the
Underworld.  I saw a goddess bound in chains.  She was stranded on an island
guarded by monsters."  He laughs.  "I guess I had a fever."  The man tries to
stand up but finds he's still weak.  You help him sit up.  "My name is Ulm,"he
says.  "I guess I have you to thank for breaking my fever.  The guards at the
bridge beat me up, and I just can't seem to bounce back."  Intrigued, you
encourage Ulm to continue.  "I escaped from Purgatory through a secret door in
the wall.  I tried to cross the bridge north of the city, but I didn't have
the right papers, and the guards beat me.  I've been coughing blood ever
since."  Ulm's eyelids begin to droop, and in minutes he's asleep again.  A
moment later his body stiffens, and Ulm dies.  At least  his final moments
were pleasant ones.

20.  In the center of the ruined tower that occupies the heart of this city,
you find a dais and what's left of a statue.  The dais stands about four feet
high, and, from the looks of things, appears to have been placed here since
the tower was destroyed.  A plaque on the dais reads,"This plaque marks the
original location of Lanac'toor's Tower and Magic Academy.  This statue
commemorates his feats."  There used to be a statue atop the dais, but is has
been removed, leaving only Lanac'toor's swollen feet behind.  The statue
appears to have broken off clean at the ankles.

21.  You pick your way through the ruins and come upon a spy post maintained
by the defenders of Byzanople.  Several soldiers are gathered here.  They are
gaunt from months of isolation--you surmise that if the city does not fall by
assault, it will soon succumb from hunger.  The soldiers are led by a woman
warrior dressed in white and red.  As yet, you remain unobserved.

22.  This shack has been set up as a universal shrine for Dilmun's many
religions.  A priest welcomes you and escorts you around the shrine.  The
majority of the shrine is devoted to Irkalla, the Queen of the Underworld, and
her consort Nergal.  The priest explains worship of Underworld gods always
spreads during times of strife, perhaps because people come to view their own
world as extension of hell.  Also represented is the man-animal Enkidu, patron
of the Druids, and the obscene Refeek, god of things better left unsaid.  The
priest lets you worship or observe as you see fit, neither condemning nor
encouraging your actions.  "These are hard times," he says, "you had better
pray to them all.  We can use all the help we can get."

23.  You intently scrutinize the murals for several minutes, and are able to
arrive at a few broad conclusions.  It seems this city square was used to
confine a dragon.  You remember a legend of the cities of Dilmun holding
dragons captive as defense against their neighbors.  The murals depict blood
sacrifice and obtuse ceremony being used to pacify the dragon.  In one of the
ceremonies, a priest is depicted aiming a short metal rod at a dragon,
seemingly holding the beat under his sway.  There is no rendering of the
dragon in action.  It seems the dragon demanded a terrible price for purely
defensive weapon.  Furthermore, the ruins surrounding this square offer mute
testimony to the effectiveness of a dragon for city defense.

24.  You board the ship as soon as the last of the pirates drops dead, eager
to see what it was the thieves were so determined to defend.  You see the
ship's name is the PRAIRIE MADNESS, and that it seems to fitted out for fast
raiding missions.  There isn't much of a cargo hold, so the ship won't serve
for long journeys, but it looks very fast and dangerous.

25.  "Welcome to Phoebus, City of the Sun!" chirps an odd mechanical voice.
You stop in your tracks, trying to identify the source of the voice.  After a
few moments, you hear the message again, and determine it is coming from a
raised stone dais and plaque directly in your path.  Evidently the message is
activated by your presence.  "Welcome to Phoebus, City of the Sun!" the voice
says again, this time a little slower than before.  You examine the plaque and
see it is a map of the city.  "Welllcoooome tooo Phoeeeeebussss, Ciiiityyy
offff theeeee Sunnnnnnnn.." the voice intones, now perilously slow.
Something's wrong with the device.  A mechanical hand protrudes from the dais,
frantically trying to shake your hand, but there's no way you're getting near
it.  Two stern looking gentlemen dressed all in black stare at you, making you
nervous.  Committing details of the map to memory, you hurry away from the
silly device.

26.  The walls of this city are of bright marble that seem to glow with an
inner light.  The streets are paved and clean, and there is no sign of poverty
or disorder.  The horse carts run on time.  You can't shake the feeling
something is about to go tragically wrong.

27.  You at last stand before the Sword of Freedom.  The hilt of the fabled
blade is just inches from your grasp.  A hush comes over the city of Freeport.
The furiously boiling waters previously surrounding this isle have subsided.
You look up and see the citizens of Freeport have gathered all around the
harbor, waiting to see what you will do next.  Some of the citizens appear
happy, others are proud, many just wear blank stares.  One large man stands
silent, but tears roll down his cheeks.  You smell faint scent of ozone.
Somewhere, a baby cries.

28.  Two officers occupy this building, evidently associated with the military
force drilling on the parade grounds outside.  The officers quickly shuffle
aside the dice game they were playing when you entered, and snap to attention.
They relax when they see who you are, and you sense a change in their
attitude.  The elder of the two officers gives you a close inspection.  "Such
a fine lot of patriotic types," he says.  "It's about time someone from this
feeble little burg enlisted in the army!  Welcome to the service of King
Drake.  Hail Namtar!"

29.  Perilously weakened from your long journey through the swamp, you at last
enter the City of the Yellow Mud Toad.  The walls here are sagging and brown
with grime.  The city smells almost as bad as the swamp that surrounds it.
Still pools of foul water and puddles of bubbling mud clog the streets.  The
people of this city shuffle about on their tasks, letting your greetings go
unheeded and refusing to look you in the eye.

30.  Sheltered at the base of the ruined city wall you find a funky little
souvenir shop.  A sign in the window id the place as "Your Lanac'toor
memorabilia shop!"  Intrigued, you enter.  An unseen bell chimes an
offensively sour note as you swing open the door to the shop.  Inside you find
a remarkable selection of Lanac'toor souvenirs.  Images of the mad sorcerer
are inscribed on mugs, bowls, plates, bookends, trophies, boxes, candles and
lanterns.  Lanac'toor grinning face or family crest is embroidered on hats,
ties, underwear, capes and belts...a store clerk even offers to personalize
any item you select, sewing or engraving your name on your purchase.  A very
small portion of the shop is given over to items unrelated to Lanac'toor. Most
of it seems like junk--bits of masonry from the city wall, tiny images of the
Yellow Mud Toad, and odd scraps of metal.  You are amazed by the single-minded
devotion this shop shows to an historical figure so insignificant outside the
walls of the City of the Yellow Mud Toad.

31.  On the far distant horizon you spot the menacing shape of a black sail.
It seems these sea lanes are patrolled by pirates and other scurvy beasts. The
enemy ship is down-wind from you--it is only a matter of time before you are
caught!

32.  Huddled in the shelter of the city's ill-repaired wall you find a militia
of wild-eyed men.  "Is the war over?" one of them asks.  "Does Lanac'toor
live?" wonders another.  You are able to piece together something of the
history of this place.  The patron of the City of the Yellow Mud Toad was a
wizard named Lanac'toor.  He occupied a tower that formerly stood in the
center of town.  Lanac'toor quarreled with Namtar when a general ban on magic
was announced, and war broke out between the City of the Yellow Mud Toad and
Namtar's city of Kingshome.  As soon as the war began it was over.  Kingshome
legions summoned a dragon from the swamp to shatter the walls of the City of
the Yellow Mud Toad.  Lanac'toor tower was destroyed and the wizard himself
was turned to stone.  After Lanac'toor was killed, the enemy army withdrew,
apparently unconcerned with the fate of the City of the Yellow Mud Toad.  The
citizens of the city are convinced the worst is yet to come, and thus maintain
a feeble city militia as defense.  It seems unlikely the city has anything
worth defending.  The men of the militia mutter to themselves as you leave.

33.  Ahead you see the walled city of Byzanople.  The tattered banner of
Byzanople still flies above the city's unbreached walls.  The approaches to
the city are occupied by the army of Kingshome.  The besieging army is spread
across the countryside, indicating it has been several months since Byzanople
was invaded.  As you approach, several heavily armored soldiers launch an
assault on the city.  They scramble over rubble and rush the city's gate,
waving their weapons and shouting war cries.  A hail of arrows, stone and
boiling oil descends upon the attackers whenever they stray too near the wall.
The defenders make short work of the Kingshomer assault, and fewer than one in
ten of the soldiers launching the assault make it back to their camp.

34.  A rough pile of rubble marks the perimeter of the Kingshome advance siege
camp.  The cyclopean walls of Byzanople are just a few yards away.  A twisted
path leads through the rubble toward the gates of the city.  The path passes
beneath the walls of the city, forming a savage killing ground.  The path is
littered with broken arrow shafts, debris and the bodies of others who have
tried to take this city by storm.

35.  This massive central structure dominates the city of Lansk.  Unlike the
walls that surround this city, this structure is fortified and prepared for
war.  Armed Lansk guards patrol the battlements, looking stern and ill
humored.  Written warnings in a variety of languages advise passers-by to keep
their distance.  And not without reason, for within the structure, visible
through a thick glass panel, you see a dragon.  The beast is huge, completely
filling the fortress that is it's home.  It must weigh at least eighty tons.
The dragon is asleep, but no less fearsome for all of that.  A plaque explains
the dragon is maintained by the city as it's primary means of defense.  Should
disaster ever threaten the city, you read, the dragon will be set free,
destroying both the city and the army that would conquer it.  The dragon is
maintained by expensive blood sacrifice--primarily by hurling criminals into
the dragonbunker.  The dragon is impressive, but you feel vaguely
disappointed.  This isn't a fearsome flying saurian; it's an overfed monster
sitting in a cage.

36.  You alert the warriors to your presence.  The soldiers are startled when
you speak, and when they turn, you see they are pale with fright.  They
realize you could have killed them before they knew you were there.  The
soldiers regard you nervously as the woman in red and white approaches.
"You're the infiltrators the Kingshomers sent from their camp," she says.  "I
see you are surprised--my city might be losing this war, but we're not without
our resources."  The shakes your hand as she introduces herself.  "My name is
Princess Myrilla," she says.  "If you meant us harm you would have attacked us
from behind.  You don't look like Kingshomers, I choose to trust you." Myrilla
barks some orders to her men in a language you don't understand. Turning back
to you, she continues, "Follow me.  My brother will want to speak to you."
Myrilla leads you through a secret passage into the heart of Byzanople.  It's
odd this girl has so abruptly taken you into her confidence. You decide to
play along...if she can't make you a better offer than the Kingshomers, this
is certainly an easier way into the city than storming the gate.

37.  Several squat figures surround the entrance to a tunnel leading under the
walls of Byzanople.  A wooden palisade shields the tunnel entrance from the
eyes and weapons of the city's defenders.  You recognize the figures as siege
engineers, and surmise they are attempting to undermine Byzanople's walls.  A
short and powerful man covered with mud and sweat emerges from the tunnel.  "I
think we're through," he says.  We had to find our way through a patch of
granite, but I think we've come up against a cistern or basement wall." He
looks at you expectantly.  "All we need now is a pack of brave idiots to try
the tunnel, find their way into the city, and open the gate for us.

38.  Using your magic spell, you watch in wonder as color flows back into the
frozen dwarves.  The chamber is filled with a noise uncomfortably like the
popping of popcorn as the dwarves return to life, their joints made stiff from
ages of disuse.  Before long, the entire clan is restored to life.  The
dwarves give you the once-over.

39.  You find a hidden cove.  There's a dock house by the water, and beside it
u can see several small ships tied up to the dock.  You must pass through the
dock house to get to the boats.  To your right is a small wayside shrine to
some divinity or another.  The cove is very quiet, aside from the lapping of
the waves and the rhythmic creaking of the boats tugging at their ropes.  It's
hard to tell if this place is inhabited or not.

40.  A wave of fetid humidity strikes you like a slap in the face when you
open the door to this room.  This place must be under an enchantment.  Within
the room is exactly reproduced a hot and swampy environment not unlike the
Isle of Quag. The floor is a deep and bubbling mud bog, wide-leaf palms grow
here and there, and in the underbrush you think you see small reptiles warming
themselves on hot rocks.  A most unusual sight to find a dungeon...all the
comforts of home (if you're a reptile).

41.  The pirates are friendly enough when you pay them their gold.  They offer
you a seat and serve you a brutal meal of calamari and grog.  "My name's Long
John Ugly," the leader identifies himself.  "And this here is my gal Peg."
Ugly's girl has two peg legs and no teeth, but she's by far the most
presentable member of this motley crew.  You converse with Ugly and his band
for several hours.  Ugly used to be a sailor in the Tarsian navy.  He explains
Tar was a minor city on the isle of Forlorn, and that it was reduced to ruins
in the early days of the war with Kingshome.  "These ain't good times to be a
sailor, me bucko,"  Ugly growls, becoming increasingly maudlin as the grog
does its work.  "Namtar don't want folks sailing about from one island to the
other. Too hard to keep people in their place that way!" You learn Ugly's
band has scratched out a living raiding along the coast, but pickings are
slim.  You also guess they do a bit of smuggling.  Ugly is hesitant to take
you out in his boat, saying the weather is wrong and the seas are too
dangerous lately. When you remind him of the gold you paid, Ugly smiles and
Peg shrieks with laughter.  "I didn't figure that gold covered the cost of a
passage, mate!" Ugly laughs.  "That was just a fee for this fine repast and
for not getting' yer throasts slit."  Peg whispers something in Ugly's ear.
"But Peg likes ya and I'm in a charitable mood, so I'll do ya a favor.  Seein'
as how ya should be dead anyway, I'm willin' to ferry ya over to the
Necropolis.  There's plenty of loot to be had in that place, which should suit
you folks just fine."  Ugly gestures over shoulder and points toward the south
wall.  "The dock's on the other side of the south door.  I'll meet ya out
there in a minute."  Ugly looks you stright in the eye as he concludes,"And I
do meant the south door. You'll do as yer told if you've got any sense."

42.  In this dusty and disused chamber you find what was formerly the throne
of King Drake of Kingshome, the mightiest ruler of Dilmun.  The throne is
heaped in the corner and in poor repair.  Carelessly tossed behind the throne
you find drake's ceremonial crown.  Maybe it will be worth something, if there
is ever a true king in Kingshome.

43.  You sail through most of a day and night through thick fog.  There is no
moon, and the going is slow and treacherous.  Several times you glimpse
phantoms in the fog, or hear strange beasts bumping against hull of your
vessel.  Just when you think you may never reach your destination, an island
looms out of the murk.  The island is an irregular mass of black stone,
covered in moss and green slime.  Ruins of impossible ancient design are just
visible in the center of the island.  Luminous eyes peer at you from dark
hollows and forbidding bogs nested along the coastline.

44.  The magic paint works as advertised.  Now covered with the mystic colors,
the formerly ruined walls of the City of the Yellow Mud Toad stand tall and
strong.  You hope strong walls will be enough to hold off the growing terror u
know lurks in the swamps, just a few feet away.

45.  The sail to Freeport is a long one, and your supplies are barely enough
to last the voyage.  You sail east and away from the majority of the Dilmun
islands, headed into previously unknown waters.  Once free from the war-torn
islands of the Dilmun interior, you are able to enjoy the natural beauty of
the maritime world of Oceana.  Presently you come in sight of a glistening
modern harbor sheltered in a strange coast.  Your charts indicate this is
Freeport, and anchor your ship at a dock.

46.  Your journey takes you to the frontier known as the Eastern Isles.  This
area is unclaimed by any nation, and you experience no encounters with hostile
maritime forces.  The Eastern Isles have a rustic quality lacking in the
Dilmun Interior.  Here things are unfinished and wild, and seem untouched by
the corruption of the Interiors.  This region is the closest thing you've seen
to the paradise you expected to find when you arrived in Purgatory, many
months ago. Presently you spot what seems to be a ruined city, half-submerged
in the sea. U find a place to land your craft on a stretch of sand southeast
of the ruins.

47.  Near the bridge you find a run-down building.  A sign above the door id
the place as the 'Officials QUag Visitors Information Bureau.' The building is
every bit as run down on the inside as out.  An ugly little woman with a
cluster of purple eyes enthusiastically greets you.  "Welcome to Quag, Isle of
Luxury!" she says.  "I'm so glad you're here.  We don't get so much business
since the war." you learn that Quag's only city-the City of the Yellow Mud
Toad-is sinking into the swamp and the priests of the Yellow Mud Toad are
powerless to stop it.  "But it's really quite safe for travelers," the woman
is hasty to add.  "Quag remains an isle of wonder, and many still dream of
taking the vapors!" you judge the woman quite mad.  Saying goodbye, you
depart.

48.  A wall of rock stands athwart your path.  Massive bronze doors guard a
way through the rock; fearsome beasts guard the way to the door.  Two
creatures guard the way through the rock.  They are half scorpion and half
dragon, but in some ways they look like men.  Their eyes glow with balesome
fury.  They glow with an inner light, bathing the ground at their feet in
glory.  They appear to be a man and a woman, and thus doubly dangerous for the
bond they must share.

49.  After a few hours of cautious work, you're able to lash an appropriate
rock to the broken pick handle with the laces you received from the dying man.
The result is a serviceable if makeshift hammer.  The hammer probably isn't
worth much as a weapon, but it might hold up long enough to break the chains
that bind you.

50.  The door closed behind you with an ominous sound evoking the finality of
the tomb.  The door and wall from the bridge must have been sound proofed, for
no sooner do you emerge from the bridge than a mad chorus of howls assails
your ears.  Insane screaming seems to spring from every direction, although
you cannot see the source of the noise.  It's enough to drive a person mad!

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