Well, let's go, then!
We convince the Jinn that stopping on the way to Hakbad isn't a new wish, nor will be resuming the trip later.
He drops the group at the bottom of a black marble stair, on a terrace we could see from the see.
Hopefully, loot is ahead
We climb the stairs, then enter a large archway.
I'll quote the book now:
You are just advancing along the hall when the setting sun emerges from behind a cloud and throws a shaft of blood-colored light through a high window. There, it mingles with the glow of a dying fire, and in this lurid illumination, we see a strange sight. A giant woman, as tall as a palm-tree and with coal-black skin, sits with an iron pot on her knees, occasionally scooping gobbets of greasy stew out of it with her bare hands. The most striking thing about her is not her size, but that she has only one eye, a large yellow-green orb in her forehead.
Cool depiction. (honest).
Let's analyze the situation. Several factors point toward solving the situation with wanton violence:
- She is a giant. We have a sword that is +1 againt giants. What would be the point of carrying it since book 1 if not to use it?
- She has black skin and the book is from the 80s, so it's probably not an effort to promote diversity but to tell us she's evil.
- She's a freaking cyclop, and cyclop in Greek myth aren't nice.
- She is eating what will soon be free stew.
The description continues, as we notice behind her a human-sized cage, holding an old man with a long beard. He wears a cottong legging and and overrobe of scuffed blue velvet, and looks miserable.
In case our analyzis of the subtle clues failed, the authors feels the need to add that she's holding a prisonner in a cell. A wizard, probably.
While it's tempting to just jump in an attack, we're also given the opportunity to listen to their conversation as she eats.
Which is generally a good choice, to gather information.
We learn that the stew is made of the wizard's former companion, and that they are delicious. We notice that she uses her hand to protect her eye from the setting sun as she turns to him to explain he's next on the menu, and that she'll now catch some sleep.
We take the opportunity to use an item -- it's often free in this gamebook series, if only to look at the list of possibilities offered -- and among other two choices strike me as a reader.
First, in a path we can't take but that I must describe, we have the opportunity to use a black velvet cushion. We had the opportunity to take it but didn't. It was one of the item in Psyche's house, described as a random piece of furniture we could loot, along with windows dressing and probably a more useful item (I don't remember exactly, it was in a the room across the leper). Who can be so devious as to loot the cushions? It is not even evident that it's a lootable item, as it's not Properly Capitalized.
If we had it, we could have used it to put near the sleeping giantess, so she uses it instead of a crashed rock as a pillow, and sleeps soundly as we approach to strike for the kill... until Winny chimes in that killing people in their sleep is dishounourable and bellows a challenge to the Giantess, appropriately waiting for her to emerge from her sleep and retrieve a ship's anchor to use as a weapon.
Now even gamebooks have disruptive players that would say "It's what my character would do!". On the plus side, we didn't loot the cushion so this alternate strand of fate will be forever closed to us.
We're also offered the possibility to use the golden mirror, and since the Giantess seems not to like the sun in her eyes, it makes sense.
We use the golden mirror and blind her only eye, reducing her FP by 2 for the ensuing fight... (117)
Giantess FP 6, PA 8, AR 1, HP 65 (!), Damage 5d6+1 (!) Awareness 5
If we Enthrall her, we're to turn to 139. After 3 rounds, we must turn to 474.
Round 1 :
Trixie defends -- since she has the lower FP among the enemy the Giantess can attack, she'll be the target.
Winny attacks, using her Giant-slaying sword Blutgetranker, so she does 3d6+1 damage when hitting. On a 8, she inflicts 12 damage.
Salvia shoots an arrow and misses (11)
Esmeralda casts Sheet Lightning (she won't kill the Giantess this turn, so she might as well get the spell out of her mind), succeds (10, for 9 damage).
Trixie does a Quick Attack and hits (5) for 3 damage.
The Giantess tries to hit Trixie, on 3d6+1 vs her FP of 6... 12, a sound miss.
All of our heroines are unscathed, while the Giantess is reduced to 41 HP (AR taken into account).
Round 2 :
Trixie defends.
Winny attacks (9), once again doing 12 damages.
Salvia continues her shooting session and hits (5!) for 0 (1-1) damage.
Esmeralda casts Nemesis Bolt (6+5 = 11 vs 17-2 = 15... easy peasy spell) for 28 damage (reduced to 27 thanks to the Giantess clothes).
The Giantess magistrally misses (16 vs 6).
The Black Giantesss is reduced to 1 HP.
Round 3 :
Trixie defends.
Winny attacks and uncharacteristically misses (12).
Salvia attacks and characteristically misses (8)
Esmeralda casts Enthrall and succeeds (she basically can't miss the spell with her god-like spellcasting ability, so it's just the saving throws that can protect enemies (10).
We turn to 139, only to learn that the Giantess was created in Sahak'natur's vats, and he used strong magic to protect his monsters from mind-controlling magic, out of fear that they could be turned against him. Centuries-old wards activate in the Giantess mind, and the spell is reflected at us. We must pass the saving throw or stand idly until the spellcaster gives an order, and since it is us and we're issuing no order, we'd need to skip 1d6+1 rounds until we can shake off the spell.
Cool dweomer and nice foreplanning. High WIS, a thing that is quite uncommon in gamebooks.
Round 4 :
The Giantess regains her full fighting ability, as expected.
Trixie defends.
Winny deprives her foe of her last remaining hit point, on a roll of 4, for 9 damage.
As usual, we come out of the fight without having lost a single HP.
We turn to 474 to celebrate.
