cornquest/out/story.txt

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Plaintext

CORNQUEST!
dozens
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0 you come across a
small clearing,
You wake up in in the middle of
the comfort of which is a small
your own bed, in cottage on tall
your own room. wooden legs. Goto
You open your 31.
eyes to see the
golden sunlight 2
come streaming in
through your win- You sneak up be-
dow. Golden like hind a couple of
ears of corn. You the old aunties
suddenly remember and drop some
what day it is. eaves on them.
It is the day of You are super
the Harvest Fes- stealthy! They
tival! You throw are whisper argu-
back your fa- ing about whether
vorite corn print the Corn Mother
bed covers and has abandoned us,
leap out of bed. and whether that
You've been look- means the corn-
ing forward to beast will leave.
this day all Leave! It can't
year, and you al- leave! Without
ready know ex- the cornbeast,
actly what you're there will be no-
going to wear. If body to protect
you wear a pretty the fields! We'll
corn dress, goto be totally de-
38. If you wear fenseless! Goto
rugged corn bib 27.
overalls, goto to
61. 3
1 You get out your
trusty corn knife
You start to and start slash-
sneak sneakily ing at the web
around the web, with reckless
and do so suc- abandon! The gi-
cessfully, the ant spider swoops
spider none the down and puts a
wiser to your quick stop to
passage through such unsanctioned
its lair. Good buffoonery. You
job! You trek are paralyzed and
deeper and deeper cocooned and
into the forest, don't even feel
losing track of it when the spi-
the path behind der's venom jel-
you. Eventually lifies your
insides. THE END. giant. It stops
playing its dou-
4 ble flute and
turns its keen
You step off the eyesight in your
worn path and direction, spot-
push your way ting you in-
through dense stantly. It walks
growth. Twigs and across the backs
brambles snatch of its flock of
at your ankles clouds, and in
and elbows and just a couple
brush none too strides is close
gently against enough to pluck
your cheeks. One you from your
such brush of the cloud. You grow
cheek is espe- dizzy as it lifts
cially sticky and you up to roughly
grabby. You swat shoulder height.
at your cheek and It speaks softly
your hand comes but its voice
away sticky. You still booms,
look up and find "What are you do-
that you have ing here, small
nearly walked folk?" Be direct
right smack dab and ask about the
into an enormous Corn Mother's
messy spider web. talisman: goto
It spans tree 30. Be a little
trunk to tree sneaky and try to
trunk, connecting soften the giant
half a dozen up first: goto
large trees in a 37.
sloppy woven ta-
pestry. Up above 6
you, a large
black and yellow When you look
spider appears to around, when you
be dozing. Back search your mind
to the path! Goto and your feel-
68. Cautiously ings, you know
walk around the the giant's story
web, goto 1. Get to be true. The
out your corn crop dictates al-
butter knife and most every facet
start hacking and of your life:
slashing! Goto 3. where to live,
when to plant,
5 when to harvest.
Working the earth
You jump up and is back breaking
wave your arms work. It drives a
over head and wedge between you
yell at the and the crows and
the other crea- than stone. There
tures that are stories that
threaten the the giants of old
crop. It tethers used to live in
you in place, for great floating
the crops must be castles. You won-
tended to. De- der whether you
stroy the talis- could collect
man: goto 50. cloudstuff if you
Return the talis- had the giant's
man to the vil- shears.. Yes,
lage: goto 51. grab them: goto
64. Let's not be
7 too greedy now:
60.
You have a fan-
tastic time play- 9
ing tag. Three
Fingered Gerald You tuck yourself
plays a little into a crevice in
too rough, tag- the rocks to get
ging the other out of the blis-
kids too hard and tering wind, and
knocking them wrap your arms
over. But you are around yourself
too fast for for warmth, and
Three Fingered wait. Where
Gerald. They there's a flock
never catch you. of clouds,
You all have a there's guaran-
great time, and teed to be a
then you decide cloud shepherd
to scurry along. nearby. Eventu-
Goto 12. ally. Against all
odds, you start
8 to doze off. Goto
46.
You grab the
steel and crawl 10
out of the pouch.
You greedily eye You scoop the
the shears. Cloud little fella up!
shepherds alone You laugh with
are able to speak delight as it
the language of flips and jumps
clouds, and pos- and rolls around
sess the ability in your hand like
to shear them and a little jumping
harvest their bean! It finally
cloudstuff, and settles down,
to shape and stands up, and
harden the cloud- points to a spot
stuff into a ma- at the treeline,
terial harder commanding you
forward like the plaza. Every
George Washington year during the
crossing the harvest, the vil-
Delaware. You lage sets aside a
shrug and start portion of the
walking that di- harvest for the
rection, and the Corn Mother. And
whelp impatiently on the night of
hops down to lead Harvest Festival
you forward. Goto Eve, the Corn
47. Mother comes and
takes the offer-
11 ing, and in the
morning everybody
The cloud is mov- wakes up and
ing faster than there are lots of
it looked like, presents and
and your arm tugs feasting and
painfully in its dancing! It's the
socket as you best! Goto 34.
refuse to let go
and are dragged 13
across the peak
and then into the You eventually
air. The trees of find your way
the forest far back to
below look like a Eerievale, to the
miniature paint- woods, and to the
ing as you haul Corn Mother's
yourself up and hut. You return
grab another the talisman to
handful of cloud- her, and she is
stuff. Hand over powers are re-
hand, you clamber stored. She sum-
scramble up onto mons the Corn
the top of the Beast who fights
cloud. You roll off the dire
onto your back crows, and peace
and try to catch is restored. The
your breath. corn festival
Eventually, with continues every
nothing else to year as it always
do, and quite for the rest of
comfortable nes- your days, and
tled in the for your children
cloudstuff, you and your chil-
drift off to dren's children.
sleep. Goto 41. In fact, one of
your grandchil-
12 dren is about to
awaken right now
You run through on the morning of
the streets of the corn festi-
Eerievale toward val. They are
terribly excited. the year! If you
Goto 0. choose to play
tag, goto 7. If
14 you play hide-
and-seek, goto
No. You should 32. If you play
never play Lava Lava Monster,
Monster. Go back goto 14.
to 16.
17
15
The giant tells
You decide to try you of an ancient
to get closer to war between the
the clouds. You small folk (you)
climb the bald and the corn
rocky spire, oc- mother. In this
casionally slip- story, it calls
ping and back- her the Maize
sliding, but mak- Witch. And in
ing progress this story, she
overall, and won and enslaved
eventually you the small folk,
make it to the forcing them give
top of the spire up their nomadic,
at the top of hunter-gatherer
Mount Char. The ways and instead
living clouds are live in villages,
now so close that where they are
you can almost cursed to ever
reach out and work the earth
grab them. In and grow corn.
fact, one drifts The Maize Witch
close by and was able to work
you're able to her magic such
reach out and that the small
grab a fistful of folk forgot the
cloudstuff. Goto war, and were un-
11. able to concieve
of themselves as
16 enslaved by agri-
culture. Indeed,
You join in the they imagine
games. A bunch of themselves mas-
your friends are ters of the
here: Three Fin- earth. The giant
gered Gerald, Ec- tells you that
centric Kevin, you now know the
Dale. Even Stan- truth: that the
dard Ed has come corn mother is
out to play! It's your protector in
the Harvest Fes- the same way that
tival after all! a jailer protects
The best day of their prisoner.
It gives you the tall. You run
talisman and of- away! Goto 56.
fers to return
you to the 21
ground. Return
the talisman to You grab your
the corn mother: lucky lapel pin
goto 13. Accept from under your
the giant's story pillow. It is
as truth: goto 6. small and pointy,
in the shape of a
18 corn cob. There
are even little
"Insolent little ridges and
whelp." The Corn grooves all over
Mother turns you the pin so that
into fertilizer it feels like it
for her crops. has corn kernels!
THE END. Very lucky in-
deed. You pin it
19 by your collar.
There, now you're
You leave the are ready for
plaza and run anything. ...Just
down Corn Street to be sure you
through the also slip your
Golden Gate out lucky corn-shaped
into the fields. rock into your
Almost all of the pocket. Okay now
corn has been you're ready! You
harvested already run to the
so you have clear kitchen. (You
sight all the way never go anywhere
to the forest at anything less
edge. Unbeliev- than a full run.)
ing, you spin Breakfast is corn
around in circles grits and corn-
three times just bread. You eat
to be sure it's quickly. It's the
true: the corn- Harvest Festival
beast is gone. after all! The
You sink to the best day of the
ground in de- year! You run
spair. Goto 44. outside and down
the street, away
20 from your house
at 144 Cobb Lane.
The dire crow There are a bunch
caws loudly and of kids playing
beats its wings games out in the
and lunges at corn fields. They
you, its razor call your name,
sharp beak as and you're
long as you are tempted to join
them. But you For a price. To
also want to go offer the crow
see the goings on your favorite,
down at the corn lucky corn pin,
altar! The altar goto 22. To
can wait, time to refuse, goto 33.
play: goto 16.
Games are for 24
stupid babies!
Time to visit the You tell the
altar! Goto 12. whelp to get
lost. Shoo!
22 Skedaddle, you
rotten little
You acquiesce to crabapple! You
the crow's de- gently nudge the
mands, and pluck corn whelp away
your lucky corn with your foot,
pin from your and it topples
collar. You hold over. It jumps up
it up so that the and pulls out a
light glints off long thorn and
it, and the crow stabs you in the
scrutinizes the foot. Ouch! You
shiny. It nods. little rascal!
You hold it out, You bend down to
and the dire crow scoop the whelp
gently takes the up and give it
pin from your what for, but it
hand. Phew! It skitters away and
lays down and ex- scampers off to-
tends a wing and ward the tree-
you climb up onto line. Follow that
its back. Soon whelp! Your honor
you are flying demands it! Goto
through the air 47.
toward Mount
Char. Goto 54. 25
23 You decide to not
push your luck by
The dire crow going bushwhack-
stares at you ing in the under-
with its black growth. Good
alien eye and thing, orienteer-
then clucks, ing was never
scratches in the your strongest
soil, and crooks activity in Corn
one wing: it saw Scouts. Eventu-
a flock of clouds ally you catch a
grazing at the whiff of fresh
top of Mount baked bread on
Char, and will the breeze. You
take you there. follow the scent
to a small clear- disapprovingly.
ing. The smell is You pick yourself
coming from the up and dust your-
chimney of a self off, patting
small hut stood yourself down.
up on wooden You straighten up
legs. Goto 31. your lucky lapel
pin. You squeeze
26 it tight between
your fingers and
You notice some squeeze your eyes
movement inside shut. Okay this
one of the eggs is not the time
through its thin to panic after
translucent all. This is the
shell. You lean time for decisive
in to take a action. If you
closer look. The decide to go look
shell cracks and for the cornbeast
a hatchling dire goto 19. If you
crow bursts out go home and hide
and flies through under your bed
the air right to- goto 62.
ward your face!
It collides into 28
you and you both
fall over. It Shhhhh. SHHHHHH.
sits on your Shhh. You coddle
chest chirping and comfort the
pitifully and dire crow hatch-
flapping its tiny ling which, al-
wings. Try to though merely a
sooth and placate couple of minutes
it before it old, is already
wakes anybody up: almost as big as
goto 28. There's you are. You
no time! Grab the stroke its feath-
bird and run! ers and pat its
Goto 43. beak and it
slowly calms down
27 and stops making
a fuss. It looks
You scream and at you and cocks
panic and run its head and coos
around in circles softly. Looks
until you trip like you made a
and fall down. friend! Let's
You have dirtied get out of here.
up your clothes Goto 36.
and skinned you
knee. One of the 30
old aunties
nearby clucks at You tell the gi-
you ant about your
village and the Corn Mother. She
corn mother and stares at you in-
the dire crow, tensely, her thin
and you ask if it lips pressed to-
knows where the gether in a
talisman is. straight line.
"Yes, I have your If you cry out,
necklace," the "What the hell
shepherd says. "I Corn Mother! Why
bought it from a did you abandon
crow for a small us!" goto 18.
amount of wool. You drop to your
Would you now buy knee and kneel in
it back from me? respect. "Corn
I will sell it Mother! How can I
you. The price is serve you?" Goto
that you shall 65.
know the truth.
Do you accept?" 32
Accept the trade
offer: goto 17. You play hide and
Refuse: goto 66. seek. You are so
good at hiding
31 that the other
kids never find
You approach the you. You eventu-
hut. It smells of ally get tired
fresh baked and fall asleep,
bread, and your but not for too
stomach rumbles. long: your snor-
You knock on the ing wakes you up.
door. A weak, You decide to
reedy voice in- leave and seek
side beckons you out other Harvest
inside. You cross Festival festivi-
the threshold and ties. Goto 12.
see an old woman,
as tall as three 33
humans, and as
thin as a blade "No way, Jose!"
of grass. She You shout at the
bends over almost crow. It shrugs
double but still flies away. Prob-
takes up nearly ably to go de-
all the space in- stroy Eerievale,
side the hut. Her your home, and
fine golden hair all your friends.
falls in cur- You retreat back
tains, covering to the treeline
most of her face. and watch the gi-
Though you've ant groundhogs
never seen her scurry to and fro
before, you know betwixt the many
this is her: the mounds. Goto 56.
34 dire crow eggs.
You back out of
Eerievale's five the hatchery and
major roads all descend deeper
converge at the into the dire
village plaza: crow warrens. Up
High, Broad, ahead you hear
Church, Corn, and one of the giant
Wine Streets. You groundhogs snuf-
come tearing up fling about, and
Broad Street at a you dart down a
full sprint. The narrow branching
closer you get to tunnel to avoid
the plaza, the it. Good news:
more you get the you avoided the
feeling something groundhog sentry.
is wrong. The Bad news: you re-
decorations are treated directly
all up but nobody into the chambers
is singing or of a very irate
hollering or dire crow. It
laughing or doing pecks you to
the Corn Chant. pieces. THE END.
Or talking, re-
ally. You arrive 36
at the Corn Al-
tar, and then You backtrack as
gasp out loud and quickly and as
skid to a stop quietly as is
before it. The possible while
offering, the carrying / drag-
pile of ears of ging a baby dire
corn, is still crow. Soon you
lying on the al- are back at the
tar where it was entrance to the
placed last warrens. You ab-
night! People are scond into the
milling about, night and back to
whispering and the relative
casting quick, safety of the
fearful glances treeline. Well
at the spurned that was a bust!
corn. Go check- You snuck into
out the corn at the warrens to
the altar: Goto find the corn
40. Listen in on talisman, but all
some of the you got was this
adults: Goto 2. dumb giant baby
bird! Goto 45.
35
37
You wisely decide
not to mess You tell the gi-
around with the ant you were out
cloud gazing! And keen on trying to
then you heard steal from the
its beautiful mu- giant, but you
sic! And you were are hungry enough
so captivated you to go see if
just had to know there are any
who could produce bread or cheese
such melodies! crumbs: goto 52.
The shepherd nar-
rows its eyes at 40
you. "I don't be-
lieve you. Are omg it's just ly-
you telling me ing there! Why
the truth?" Dou- has the Corn
ble down on your Mother forsaken
story: goto 63. us? What does it
Admit the truth: mean? What will
goto 30. we do? To go into
a panic goto 27.
38 To remain calm
goto 58.
You slip on a
lovely corn pat- 41
tern dress. Yes,
you look awesome. Later, just as
It twirls when the sun is set-
you spin around. ting, you hear a
And it has pock- mournful sound:
ets! Which re- carried by the
minds you... Goto wind, the droning
21. melody of a low,
sorrowful double
39 flute. You sit up
and look around
The giant herds in time to see
the clouds for the clouds,
hours upon hours stirred by the
without ever music, start to
noticing you. flock toward its
Eventually it source. In the
stops and makes distance you can
bedding out of a see it: a moun-
bunch of clouds. tainous shepherd
It eats a crust astride a large
of bread and some cloud, as tall as
cheese, and then twelve men, its
plays softly on flute the size of
its double flute a small tree. Its
until it falls shears hang at
asleep. This is its side and
your chance to go glint in the
see if it has the moonlight. If
talisman: goto you try to get
42. You're not the giant's
attention goto 5. the hatchery.
If you attempt to Goto 36.
hide from the gi-
ant goto 57. 44
42 You feel some-
thing brush
You sneak up against your an-
close to the gi- kle. You look
ant. It wears a down to see a
large pouch on corn whelp. A
its belt next to kernel sprite. A
its shears. You sort of golem
lift the flap and made of dried
peer inside. It's kernels and corn
full of bread and husk tied to-
cheese and flint gether with
and steel and a golden cornsilk.
tinderbox. And a There's only one
necklace of cornbeast as far
strung glass as anyone knows.
beads resembling But there are
popcorn. The Corn dozens of these
Mother's talis- little fellas.
man! You crawl This one is paw-
all the way in- ing and scratch-
side the pouch to ing at you. Goto
fetch it. Might 10 to pick the
as will nick a little guy up. To
few more things tell the whelp to
while you're scram goto 24.
here: goto 8.
You got what you 45
came for, let's
get out of here: You spend a cou-
goto 60. ple of days mop-
ing around the
43 woods next to the
warrens. Because
Argh, there's no of its dire crow
time for this un- physiology, the
sanctioned tom- hatchling doubles
foolery! You snap in size and grows
the bird's beak its adult feath-
shut with one ers, and is soon
hand, and awk- attempting short
wardly scoop it flights on its
up with both arms own. You spend
(although just the nights curled
freshly hatched, up on a bit of
it is already al- cloudstuff fluff
most as big as that came with
you are!) and the no-longer-
drag it out of quite-so-small
hatchling. On the one, and separate
twelfth day, Baby again. Their bel-
(What? It needed lies flash with
a name!) returns lightning as they
from a longer posture aggres-
solo flight and sively at each
seems to abruptly other. A couple
make up its mind of other clouds
about something. drift by watch-
It grabs the ing, including a
cloud fluff in small fluffly
its beak, and white cloud that
stoops down and floats nearby.
extends a wing, You think it
inviting you onto might be within
its back. You your grasp. You
shrug and climb reach out to grab
aboard. And then it and... goto
you are flying 11.
through the air
high above the 47
ground! The war-
rens and the The treeline is
misty lake fall thick and over-
away and quite grown. Usually
some time later, there's hardly
you are flying any way into the
towards a moun- woods unless you
tain peak that can find a small
juts up out of game trail. Ex-
the ground like a cept now there is
pole. A thick a rather large,
rolling knot of perfectly round
thick clouds circular opening
gather around its cut through the
peak. Goto 54. trees, bushes,
grass, and vines.
46 A perfectly round
portal into the
The rumble of forbidden forest.
thunder jolts you Goto 62 to nope
from sleep, what- away back home.
ever dreams you To venture
were having scat- through the weird
tering. You peer round hole into
from your crevice the forest, goto
and see two liv- 68.
ing clouds fight-
ing. Both dark 48
and heavy with
rain, rumbling The Corn Mother
deeply. They draws you toward
crash into each a looking glass
other, merge into hanging in the
corner. She de- component of the
scribes for you language that the
how to get to the crow scratches
crows warren, out on the
tracing the path ground. After
with one long several false
talon of a fin- starts and more
ger. As she than a couple em-
speaks, you can barrassing misun-
almost see the derstandings, you
hazy path she de- finally under-
scribes for you. stand that the
The mountains, crow traded the
the bog, the tall talisman to one
spruce. Her words of the cloud
become a hum as shepherds for a
the vision fills large bundle of
your head. You soft cloudstuff
pitch forward as for its hatchery.
the looking glass To return to the
widens into a Corn Mother in
glassy lake and defeat, goto 18.
you fall in. Goto Ask the dire crow
53. how to find the
cloud shepherd:
49 goto 23.
The dire crow 50
pins you down
with one black You destroy the
shiny eye as you talisman, and the
delicately broach power the Corn
the subject of Mother has over
the Corn Mother's you and your vil-
talisman. It lage. The dire
blinks. And it crows do arrive
bobs its head. and lay waste to
Yes, it knows of the fields. But
the talisman you then they leave.
seek. You know You teach and
very little Crow. preach the truth.
It is a very com- Some of the vil-
plex language lagers return to
with verbal and the forests to
somatic compo- hunt and gather.
nents consisting Others remain be-
of caws, clicks, hind and tend the
chirps, and earth, but with-
whirring; and out the rule of
also hops and any monocrop. The
bobs and flapping earth heals and
of wings. Finally its bounty is
there is a rudi- varied and plen-
mentary written tiful. THE END.
51 misty lake. It's
hard to see
You can no longer through the fog,
take part in this but you swim to-
life yourself. ward what you
You will be a think is the
slave no more. closest bank and
But you cannot crawl up onto the
free those who muddy grass. Af-
will not allow ter you catch
themselves to be your breath, you
free. You return look around and
the talisman to recognize where
the village and you are from the
give them the Corn Mother's di-
choice. In the rections. The sun
meantime you is a pale white
teach and preach, disc, barely able
and gather a fol- to penetrate the
lowing. And you heavy clouds. You
part ways, leav- walk away from
ing the village, the lake towards
never to return. the crow warrens.
THE END. Goto 59.
52 54
You sneak up As you get closer
close to the you can see a
shepherd and flock of living
search the clouds clouds grazing
for any crumbs. around the moun-
You find a few tain peak. They
hunks of bread look like they've
and cheese the been sheared rel-
size of your fist atively recently,
and are able to and look rather
eat until you're docile at the mo-
full. Then you ment. So it's not
sneak back to likely that there
your cloud and will be any
burrow down deep storms any time
inside and wait soon. The dire
until the giant crow lands on the
wakes up... goto peak and you dis-
39. mount. It bobs
its head at you
53 twice and then
leaves you. The
You kick, and the wind is screaming
frigid air burns up here. It is
your lungs when barren and cold,
you break the and there's no
surface of the corn ANYWHERE.
The clouds roll eventually creep
around lazily in into a large room
the air currents. insulated with
Try to get closer cloud stuff.
to the clouds: There are dire
goto 15. Wait and crow eggs all
see if the cloud over the floor.
shepherd shows There is nobody
up: goto 9. around. To check
out the eggs,
55 goto 26. Better
leave those eggs
You wait and alone! Goto 35.
watch as the gi-
ant rodents 57
scurry around,
digging and la- That thing is the
boring. After a size of a small
while of observa- mountain! What
tion, you notice were you thinking
a pattern in the trying? You make
rotation of the yourself small
rodents, and are and sink into the
confident that soft fluffy
you can approach cloudstuff and
now without being hide from the
seen. Goto 56. shepherd's gaze.
Goto 39.
56
58
You wait and ap-
proach the war- Okay you got
rens under the this. Take a cou-
cover of dark- ple of deep
ness. You hear breaths. There
nary a peep from you go. This
giant rodent nor doesn't necessar-
dire crow as you ily mean that the
sneak up to the Corn Mother has
looming entrance turned her back
to one of the on Eerievale. She
warrens. You probably hasn't
check to make withdrawn her
sure the coast is protection from
clear and then you, leaving you
duck inside. The open to attack
entrance is hard from the dire
earth, packed by crows, right?
countless ground- Right? RIGHT??
hog and dire crow Goto 27.
crossings. It
slopes downward
deeper into the
warrens. You
59 have a really
nice looking corn
Enormous mounds pattern on them,
jut out of the and the bib
earth like a wave pocket in the
of goosebumps: front is perfect
entrances to the for holding all
warrens below, kinds of things.
dug out by the Speaking of
giant rodents which... Goto 21.
that the crows
keep as pets. To 62
attempt a direct
approach, go to You run back home
67. To wait and and hide under
observe, and at- your bed. Eventu-
tempt an indirect ally you hear
approach, go to throaty, gurgling
55. caws and the
thundering beat-
60 ing of wings as
the dire crows
You feel as descend on the
though you have town. Without the
indulged your cornbeast to
greediness scare them away,
enough. You have they rip most of
the talisman and the village to
a valuable length pieces. THE END
of steel. You re-
treat to your 63
cloud and gentle
coax it away from The giant frowns
the herd. You at you. "You vex
can't get it to me, small folk."
land on the It flings you off
ground, but you the cloud. You
are able to steer have a little
it close enough over a minute of
to a tree canopy freefall to re-
that you are able gret your tactics
to climb off of before being
it. The cloud dashed to pieces
lazily floats on the ground be-
away to rejoin low. THE END.
the others as you
climb down to the 64
tree to the
ground. Goto 13. You start to un-
tie the shears
61 from the shep-
herd's belt when
You pull on your the giant stirs
overalls. They and claps a giant
hand down over and yahoos, send-
you. It pinches ing an alarm
you between two throughout the
fingers and lifts warrens that is
you to its face, picked up and
and it peers an- echoed by more of
grily at you. the enormous ro-
Goto 63. dents. Your ap-
proach has been
65 noticed and an-
nounced! At the
"The crows stole sound the commo-
my talisman. A tion, a dire crow
necklace of crawls out of the
strung glass earthen tunnels.
beads. I am pow- It flaps its
erless without wings, shaking
it. And with it, itself clean of
they hold power the dust. It
over me. You must raises its beak
fetch it for me toward the sky
if I am to pro- and its throat
tect you and your feathers bristle
village once as it caws so
again." Agree to loudly you can
help the Corn feel it reverber-
Mother: goto 48. ate in your chest
Tough luck! Sucks bones. It flaps
to suck! Goto 18. its wings and
hops toward you,
66 as tall as six
men, and fixes
The giant shrugs you with one ter-
and sets you rible inky black
down. "If you eye. Inquire del-
refuse the pay icately about the
the price, then talisman: go to
there is no deal 49. Demand the
to be made, small crow return the
folk." It remains talisman: go to
indifferent to 20.
you until it is
time to set out 68
again. Goto 39.
You step into the
67 forest. Gulp! You
don't know any-
You march di- body who has ever
rectly up to the been in the for-
warrens like you est. Nobody from
want to speak to Eerievale has
the manager. A ever been any
giant groundhog farther than the
sentry stands up corn fields as
far as you know.
You step care-
fully as the
whelp dances
around your feet,
lunging and
thrusting with
its thorn,
threatening to
trip you up. You
try not to worry
too much about
the ominous
shapes and sounds
coming from the
pooling shadows
to either side of
the trail. To
stay on the path,
goto 25. To step
off the path and
explore, goto 4.