[Fighting Fantasy] House of Hell

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I look up at the sound of a rumbling from across the room. A heavy chair is accelerating towards me across the carpet.

((Test your Luck.))
((11 -- failure))

I try to roll out of the way, but the chair smashes into my shin before I can fully get out of the way.

((Lose 2 Stamina points of damage.))

((Skill 5+3, Stamina 5/22, Luck 7/8, Fear 6/11))

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I shudder in fear and shock. Whoever this poltergeist was, they have no desire to do anything but to hurt me.

((Gain 1 Fear point.))

I get to the door while I still can.

((Skill 5+3, Stamina 5/22, Luck 7/8, Fear 7/11))

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Back in the tiny hallway, next to the Shaitan door.

((Go through the Shaitan door: Turn to 200))
((Continue down the hallway, which turns left and past rooms labeled "Asmodeus" and "Eblis" before rejoining the landing.))

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If "Mammon" wanted to kill me, I have no desire to see what "Asmodeus" or "Eblis" want to do to me. I limp over to the landing.

There's another door here, named "Tuttivillus," which doesn't ring any bells, good or bad. But none of these names have been good news so far.

Ahead of me, the landing ends in a paneled wall and the passageway continues to the left.

((Open the Tuttivillus door: Page 155))
((Follow the passageway: Page 175))

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

There are no good choices here.

I need to find something to help me more than a knife did against a poltergeist, even if it's just a place to safely rest and recuperate for a moment.

I hold my breath and open the door.

Another bedroom, beautifully decorated. I glance at the window -- barred, again.

But I'm exhausted and the four-poster bed looks incredibly inviting at this moment.

((Climb into bed: Page 231))
(Look out the window: Page 27))

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I limp over the window to check outside -- maybe the storm is letting up or maybe there's a parked car around the side of the house that I can work towards and eventually steal.

I pull back the curtains more fully and then step in front of them, pulling them closed behind me to block out the light from the room.

There's a flash of lightning outside and, through the rain, I see something dangling from a tree just outside.

It's the old man from the village who first gave me the directions, hanged from a noose, his eyes wide and lifeless.

My heart stops and I would scream if I could get any air into my lungs.

((Take 3 Fear points.))

I turn around and stare at the room with wide eyes, my heart pounding, torn between the temptation to dive into bed and just will myself to wake up in the morning, discovering this was all a dream, or to run out onto the landing and out of the house as fast as I can go.

((Dive into bed: Page 231))
((Back to the landing: Page 121))

((Skill 5+3, Stamina 5/22, Luck 7/8, Fear 10/11))

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I want to rest -- need to rest -- but they're clearly going to kill me if they find me. I assumed the old man was somehow part of this, first back in town, and then on the road before I crashed, but if they're willing to kill him, they can't have anything better in store for me.

Back onto the landing. It's empty. I force myself to calm down -- if I make too much noise, they'll find me for sure. It's just a matter of time before they realize that I've escaped, but I need to delay that moment as long as possible.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I continue following the corridor to the left.

Two doors face each other across the hallway, labeled "Belial" and "Abaddon." Beyond them, the passageway ends at an unmarked door.

((Belial room: Page 312))
((Abaddon room: Page 335))
((Unmarked door: Page 103))
((Turn back and head downstairs: Page 132))

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

"Abaddon." I know that name. The writing on the window said "Mordana in Abaddon."

Was that a trap? Set my whom? And why? It hardly seems necessary to steer people into danger in this house.

No, it seems more likely that Mordana -- whoever or whatever she might be -- is somehow helpful.

Another bedroom, this one lit by a single candle.

The air is thick with the smell of plants and earth. Every flat surface seems to be filled with flower pots.

I look back at the bed and freeze. An old woman is asleep there. I haven't made enough noise to wake her.

((Leave her in peace: Page 159))
((Wake her: Page 139))
((Attack her before she can wake: Page 354))

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I squeeze the handle of my knife for reassurance, but "Mordana in Abaddon" is the closest anyone or anything has come to being helpful since I turned down the road leading me to this house.

I step forward, intending to gently wake her.

I reach over and gently shake her.

But her skin is ice cold. She's dead.

I stumble back, feeling my heart pounding and pain ripples through my left arm.

((Take 2 Fear points.))

I drop to the floor, dead.

((THE END))