Gamebooks (Choose Your Own Adventure Style)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

22 Minutos:  Tibicenas Alternate Endings Part 28


We're not done spelunking yet!  This path might reveal more about the wolves.  To begin, "advance with more delicacy" in CHOICE #51.   


This still leads to Wolf Cub Cavern.  But this time, there's CHOICE #54 in this alternate 13:48.  Do I advance, or go to the other path?  The 2nd option leads to DEATH #1, complete with the "punch you in the sanity" line.  The 1st also leads to DEATH #1, but provides some lore about this setting.


"Upon entering, about 10 wolf cubs begin to growl.  Pitiful (lastimero) and frightened barking, but the barking of a wolf with eyes of fire for sure.  The wolves are in a small stone room, backing up (recular) when you advance.  They look at you and growl, but it seems obvious they're not going to attack.  You ignore them, now that you see what's in the back.  A kind of lava drop is coming out of the spiral painted on the wall.  It seems to drip out of the rock and move as if it were alive.


The drop grows rapidly and falls to the floor.  You look at it and see it's another wolf.  Very small, like a thimble (dedal), and the black body that covers it is being created in a few moments.  But there's no doubt it's a wolf.  This is where these creatures come from.


A growl interrupts your pondering (cavilación).  A true growl, not like those of the cubs.  You try to turn, but you don't have the time.  A wolf launches itself at your throat".


So the spiral is actually the tibicena spawning spell.



Results So Far


0 Good Endings

7 Deaths

1 Bad Non-Death Ending

0 Neutral Endings

1 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

22 Minutos:  Tibicenas Alternate Endings Part 29


Our final solo cave adventure confirms that you're doomed as soon as you enter in CHOICE #44.  The rest is epilogue.  This DEATH #3 occurs if you kick  the dying wolf in CHOICE #45.


"You stomp on the wolf's neck, and hear a satisfactory crunching sound when its skin breaks.  You then notice the pain. 


The lava inside the creature's body embraces your foot, and you begin to scream.  You don't care about your shoes or clothes.  It's as if you had placed your foot into molten steel and now you notice how your skin is melting, and comes off your bones.


You fall on your back, trying to get away from the lacerating damage of the magma, but the dead leaves (hojarasca) around you light on fire with all the flames you drag around.  Before the flames engulf you, you think that it has been quite a stupid death".


But practically every path kills you in this gamebook!  Except for the ones where you merely lose your mind instead of your life.  The real stupid death is caused by "being on the Canary Islands when the Guanche mythology apocalypse is occurring".


22 Minutos:  Tibicenas probably has the worst odds for a CYOA player character apart from parodies like Lose Your Own Adventure.


Results So Far


0 Good Endings

7 Deaths

1 Bad Non-Death Ending

0 Neutral Endings

1 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

22 Minutos:  Tibicenas Alternate Endings Part 30


Time to climb the CHOICE tree again!  This time, let's flee to the forest in CHOICE #44 instead of going in the Cave of Despair.  This is a short path, leading to DEATH #1.


"You leave the cave entrance and continue running through the woods.  You flee, feinting among the bushes, moving away from the fire.  You believe you've given the wolf the slip (dar esquinazo), so you stop.  You stop at the exact moment that it reaches you and throws you to the ground.


You're going to hit it, but your hand fully enters the animal's mouth, which bites you with all its strength".



Results So Far


0 Good Endings

7 Deaths

1 Bad Non-Death Ending

0 Neutral Endings

1 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

22 Minutos:  Tibicenas Alternate Endings Part 31


Every path from CHOICE #44-54 is fatal.  Let's "assure the woman that no one will die" in CHOICE #43.


A wolf attacks the bundle instead of either the woman or me, and shatters the statue inside.  She's about to attack the wolf, but it's clear she can't survive a fight with one.


CHOICE #55 at 13:43 is to either "grab the woman and flee together", or "fight with the wolf to recover the statue pieces".


Attempting to fight the tibicena results in, you guessed it, DEATH #1.


"You shout and throw yourself at the wolf.  You curse in all the languages you know and give it a grandiose kick in the back.  The creature leaves in a hurry (disparado) and turns around, impressed by your boldness.


It begins to turn around you, knowing well that you're dangerous.  You have done damage with that kick, but not enough.


It doesn't delay long in realizing that it was a desperate attack.  It doesn't delay long in jumping on your neck".


Is my character a polyglot?  That would explain the "cursing in all the languages you know" line.


Results So Far


0 Good Endings

7 Deaths

1 Bad Non-Death Ending

0 Neutral Endings

1 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

22 Minutos:  Tibicenas Alternate Endings Part 32


Electing to take the woman and run away in CHOICE #55 does not result in death. . .at least not immediately.


She can run, but her pride is "torn into a thousand pieces".  The wolf seems to laugh at us.  She bursts into tears "murmuring things in a language you don't understand".  Obviously not one of the tongues the player character can curse in!


Perhaps it's Guanche?  If so, this must be a case of a hidden group passing on knowledge.  Guanche died out centuries ago, and most knowledge of it is in fragments or words that survive in the Canary Islands dialect of Spanish.  It's apparently related to the Berber languages of northern Africa.


We hear one of the obligatory earthquakes as we're fleeing from the Cave of Despair and the fire.  She says "We must stop it" and "There's nothing we can do, but we must try".


She turns around and orders me to follow her.  Attempts to talk to her about the severity of her wounds are useless. 


We both see the demon.  The woman has this to say about it:  "Right now, it's vulnerable.  Guayota just escaped from Hell, but he doesn't have much strength yet. . .If he consumes the sun, we're lost.  He will have the strength to subjugate the planet".


CHOICE #56 at 13:46 is to either "leave her to her fate", or "decide to accompany her" to make a probably futile effort to stop Guayota.


Let's play the hero!  The woman is very pale right now, and continues to give defiant looks to Guayota.  Death seems certain, but there's still at least CHOICE #57:  Examine our surroundings before advancing, or pick up the pace, take the woman, and arrive at our destination. 


Opting for the latter leads us to DEATH #1.


"You walk at a good rhythm.  A great part of the forest is burned up, and you can continue without much risk, avoiding the small blazes that are still active.  You see it.  Too late, but you see it.  Inside one fire, crouching as if it formed part of the thicket, there is a wolf.  You're going to shout something, but it launches itself at both of you.


It hits both of you and bites the woman in the face.  She's trying to fight for a few hopeless seconds.  You flee.  You know she's dead, and the only thing left is to save yourself.  But there are more wolves you haven't seen.  One tosses you to the ground and another bites you in the leg".


Results So Far


0 Good Endings

7 Deaths

1 Bad Non-Death Ending

0 Neutral Endings

1 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

22 Minutos:  Tibicenas Alternate Endings Part 33


I'll look at my surroundings more closely in CHOICE #57.


I see a wolf pack, but the woman doesn't.  CHOICE #58 at 13:48 is to either warn her about the wolves, or attack the wolves and buy time so she can go toward Guayota.


Picking the first option makes me whisper to the woman and warn her to look to her left.  Like my character in earlier parts, she "swallows saliva".  She tells me "I'll handle this.  Kill that demon".


She jumps toward the wolf, and more wolves join the battle.  I flee, and it's clear she's going to lose.  I grab a flaming branch and hit the demon's foot.  "A small crack appears, like you would see on a cell phone's screen".  This sends me back to CHOICE #22.


The other CHOICE #58 option of attacking the wolves myself makes me drive away one of the wolves with kicks, only for me to feel another wolf pushing me with its claws.  I notice blood flowing down my back, coldness, and nausea.


CHOICE #59 at 13:49 is to either ask the woman to help me, or ask her to run away from the fight. 


Going for the 2nd option is a DEATH #1.


"You see how the woman gets up and moves away.  She runs as much as she can toward the demon.  A wolf grabs her back and knocks her down.  Three more wolves, appearing from who knows where, begin to devour her.


Her screams decorate your end when a wolf that's standing on your back bites you."

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

22 Minutos:  Tibicenas Alternate Endings Part 34


Picking the other option in CHOICE #59 allows us to survive for at least one more minute.


The wolves are about to go for the kill when the sky turns black.  This distracts them for a moment, allowing us to approach Guayota.  The woman tells me "Flee.  Kill him".  CHOICE #60 asks me to either grab the woman and continue together, or leave her there and run toward the demon.


The latter option causes the wolves to devour the demon.  "You run trying to ignore the woman's screams, focusing on the titanic task that you have ahead of you:  defeating a giant demon with your bare hands".


"You jump.  You wait for what seems like an eternity to fall, but you finally land on the giant foot/groin? (empeine) of the demon.  The skin breaks like the thin ice on a lake.  But you don't fall onto water, but fire.  A liquid fire that kills you almost instantly. 


You are left breathless by the impact and when you manage to take in air, your mouth fills with lava.  You die before you can feel more pain.  The last thing you manage to see is a human figure, totally made of fire, floating above you.  It seems to have just left the fire, and it looks at you.  It smiles, and it thanks you.


You don't know what just occurred, but the figure heads toward the sky and turns into a sun.  The light returns to its place in the firmament, and the demon screams in impotence".


ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED:  ENDING #6:  "Remake the light".


This is a Good Ending for the world, but a Death for me!



Results So Far


0 Good Endings

8 Deaths

1 Bad Non-Death Ending

0 Neutral Endings

1 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

22 Minutos:  Tibicenas Alternate Endings Part 35


Trying to take the woman with me to fight Guayota together in CHOICE #60 results in another DEATH #1 instead of saving Earth by self-sacrifice.


"You get up.  The pain in your back is incredible.  You see stars with every movement, but you continue walking.  You take the woman, you help her get up, and. . .a wolf throws itself at me.  And later another one.  The woman hits the wolves, but doesn't have much strength.  And they outnumber you both.  They begin to devour her.  It doesn't bother them much to kill you so they can begin to eat her entrails."


Results So Far


0 Good Endings

8 Deaths

1 Bad Non-Death Ending

0 Neutral Endings

1 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

22 Minutos:  Tibicenas Alternate Endings Part 36


"Leaving the woman to her fate" in CHOICE #56 generates a minor variation CANONICAL ENDING, and doing so in CHOICE #42 takes me to CHOICE #44.


Ignoring the woman who's not "in her right mind" in CHOICE #41 leads me to a new 13:41.


I shout at the woman to come with me, but she isn't listening.  She's holding onto her bundle with the statue.  She enters the fiery region, and I lose sight of her.  Then there's a new illustration of a tibicena facing the reader directly.


Wolves are approaching the woman, and she's certainly doomed now.  "What happens now is her business.  It's not your fault, you repeat over and over.  It's not your fault".


CHOICE #61 is to either flee from the zone and look for some refuge from the fire, or hide and see what the wolves do.


The 2nd option is an alternate DEATH #3.


"You duck behind some thickets and contemplate the wolves.  Evidently, they're hunting the woman.  Her screams can be heard without a problem from your hiding place.


Despite everything, you feel fine.  You've managed to hide.  You're safe.  Until you begin to smell something burning.  All your surroundings burn up.  You too."


Results So Far


0 Good Endings

8 Deaths

1 Bad Non-Death Ending

0 Neutral Endings

1 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

22 Minutos:  Tibicenas Alternate Endings Part 37


The "look for refuge in the fire" option of CHOICE #61 loops back to CHOICE #10.


A new possibility may await in CHOICE #40, this time glancing and trying to find out where the sound is coming from.


We see some trees falling, as is typical in this book.  The woman says "We don't have time.  Help me".  She takes the lead when we leave the car, and we head through a passage of ashes near the edge of the burning forest.  


At 13:41 we finally get some plot!  "I don't know who you are, but you must help me".  "I'm the last Harimaguada.  The protector of the Guanche rituals that maintain the world."


My character is skeptical at first, but then it seems no materialistic explanation is going to explain events like these.  The woman continues her brief exposition speech:  "The demon Guayota has too much power, and it's all my fault.  I've waited too long to repair this idol.  And now its tibicenas are free.  We must stop them".


CHOICE #62 at 13:41 is to either believe her immediately, or say I need more facts before helping her.


Believing her wild but true claims takes me to CHOICE #63, which is very similar to CHOICE #43.  Both in fact lead to CHOICE #44 if I take the idol and run.  But the former option takes me to CHOICE #55, which is the scene with the broken statue pieces.


If I say I need more facts in CHOICE #62, I go to CHOICE #43.  There are far too many CHOICES relative to the number of routes that have anything more than minor differences.  Once the novelty wears off, 22 Minutos:  Tibicenas can become tedious if you're going for the Playstation Platinum Trophy.  Speaking of Achievements and Trophies, I got one during the anonymous woman's exposition speech.


ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED:  PRESENCE OF SOMETHING MAGICAL


Going into the fire with CHOICE #39 takes me back to CHOICE #37.


A somewhat more productive path is available in CHOICE #32 if I try avoiding the trees by going slowly.  This takes me to 13:47, where I can either stop and call the firefighters, or drive slowly but surely in CHOICE #64.  Attempting to make a call using my cell phone's terrible coverage on this island gives me another DEATH #2.


"You dial the phone with one hand while you drive with the other.  You type the emergency number and wait for a tone.  It cuts off.  You've advanced too far and are in another zone without coverage. 


You hit a tree.  You haven't looked at the highway, and now you are falling into a hole through a curve of the highway.  You make impact on the tops of various trees before falling to the ground".


In case you didn't think this CYOA would have a public service announcement about driving while talking on a cell phone. . .


EDIT: But that option in CHOICE #64 literally says "If you stop and call the firefighters, click here".  Nothing about doing it while continuing to drive.  Some of these decisions are as arbitrary as La Isla de los Dodos!





Results So Far


0 Good Endings

8 Deaths

1 Bad Non-Death Ending

0 Neutral Endings

1 Inconclusive Endings