Image
Encounter Conditions
Unlocked by tearing down a wall in The Dead End encounter?
Initial Text
You find a detailed sketch of a forked intersection among the black rock tunnels. There are several of them, but this one in particular grabs your attention somehow.
Ah, it's that the hero is standing staring at them. The others were more of landscapes… bizarre landscapes, granted, but landscapes.
There are some scratchings near the tunnels. Near the <left/center/right> tunnel you recognize the letter meaning <'Rocks'/'Family'/'Snare'/'Many'/'Fire'/'Boredom'>.
If you don't know ghoulish writing, the third paragraph instead reads
There are some strange scratchings near the tunnels, but they don't mean much to you.
Summary of Choices
- See if he ventures left - (see below)
- Search for a journey down the middle - (see below)
- Look for sketches along the right - (see below)
- Browse for other tunnels - Gain 4 XP in Perception
Choice Text and Results
Three tunnels are chosen, and they remain the same unless and until you choose "Browse for other tunnels", which causes a new set of tunnels to be chosen. Choosing "See if he plays with the bones" from the Dark Stone Altar choice encounter will indicate what lies at the end of two of the tunnels if you have learned the ghoul language by feeding the Ghoulish Trio. Note that in some cases none of the available tunnels advance you, in which case you have to reset them by choosing "Browse for other tunnels".
Possible results are:
(If the scratches read 'Family')
With great care, you piece together the hero's path down the <left/center/right> tunnel. There are several which are similar, but you can pick out a common thread of strange claw-like gouges in the stone.
Eventually, the pictures are less of the hero's journey and more of the hero fleeing for his life from shadowy pursuers.
Before you can track down the last images, you find yourself face down on your floor in a pool of blood.
(or, if the scratches read 'Fire')
You carefully determine the sequence of pictures follow the <left/center/right> path, although it's possible you're totally wrong.
The dark tunnels slowly dissolve into a ledge over a pit of fire far below. The last images show him slipping from the ledge and tumbling into the flames to die horribly.
You catch a momentary glimpse of the flames licking out of the book to consume you.
Lose all hit points.
You've gained 10 energy of Severely Charred.
(or, if the scratches read 'Rocks')
You carefully follow the images, determining which show the <left/center/right> path among many similar options. Almost mocking the hero, the last picture in the chain shows the hero turning back after encountering a dead end.
(or, if the scratches read 'Boredom')
After a fair bit of study, you reconstruct the hero's journey down the <left/center/right> path. He seems to be lucky this time, passing through tunnels and ledges over distant fire without assault.
Eventually, the tunnels widen into a massive chamber with dozens of other tunnels spanning out. Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but you imagine he's gotten closer to the center of this maze.
(or, if the scratches read 'Many')
With long study, you manage to create a narrative of the hero's journey down the <left/center/right> tunnel.
Perhaps it's your hand choosing the images, but he doesn't meet much resistance.
After dozens of sketches and several trips back and forth through the book, it seems to connect to a massive tangle of tunnels. They seem newer and less worn then the ones in previous sketches, so he might be getting closer to the source of this place.
(or, if the scratches read 'Snare')
You piece together a thread of images, figuring out which show the left path among many twisting tunnels. The last sketch you find shows the hero's arm protruding from a pile of loose stone.
The blackout and the crushing weight that follow seem almost desperate, as though some force is reaching out of the book to lash out at you and protect its last secrets. That thought is almost comforting as you pick yourself painfully off the floor.
Lose all hit points.
You've gained 10 energy of Broken Bone
Browse for other tunnels
On further inspection, there's a lot of drawings of maze-like tunnels throughout the book. It actually gives an impression of a dark, twisted, chaotic mind… which might not be far off.
After looking over dozens of them, your brain feels fuzzy, whisking away all memory of which tunnel might be which.
You've earned 4 XP in Perception