Gamebooks (Choose Your Own Adventure Style)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Volcano of Fire Alternate Endings Part 8


Spraying the plant-man with moth mist is as bad an idea as it seems.  Dagma has also become addicted to drugs since the time of Secrets of Glass Mountain.  Maybe the ending in the previous book where she discovered the moon moth colony happened too?


"Dagma', you whisper.  'How much mist have you got?  Do you think there's enough to spray all the plants?'  Dagma's face goes red.  'I've got quite a bit.  It's the only way I can get to sleep these days.'  From a pocket in her tunic, she pulls out a bottle, three quarters full of a bright blue liquid and hands it to you. 


'We can't slide in the dark so we'll have to make a break at first light', you say, tucking the bottle of mist into your pocket.  'In the mean time, let's tell the others what's happening, but do it quietly.  We can't let our captors find out what we're planning.'  Dagma nods and moves off to spread the word.  You do the same.  It isn't long before everyone is in on the plan and settles down to catch a few hours' sleep and wait for first light.


Your internal clock wakes you as Petron's largest moon rises above the horizon.  You can tell from its angle that sunrise is not far away.  Secreting the bottle of moth mist in your sleeve, you get up and walk to the wall of plants.  The plunger on the bottle shoots a fine mist out of its nozzle and coats the nearest leaf.  You make your way around the wall of green giving it a burst every few feet.  Then you step back and wait.


Nothing happens for the first few minutes, but then there's a slight slumping of the rigid framework the plants have formed around you.  Within five minutes the vines are unraveling like crazy and slipping to the ground.  You walk to the wall and force your hands between some of the branches and push them apart.  They feel rubbery, like they've lost all their strength.


'I think they're asleep', you say to the troop.  'Let's get loaded and get out of here.'  Things go well until the first ray of sunlight comes over the ridge.  As soon as it hits the leaves, the plants spring back to life.  Some of them start weaving around your legs and arms.  One wraps itself around your neck.  Before you can do anything, everyone is trussed up and unable to move.


When you look around you see the man-plant again.  He is angry and has formed his bulk into a large tooth-filled mouth.  A strong tendril wraps around one of your troopers, lifts him off the ground and tosses him into the gaping maw.  Moments later the plant burps and spits out a pile of bones.


'Yum, tasty', the huge mouth says.  'I was going to take you back to our community and see if we could come to some peaceful arrangement, but you have proven yourselves untrustworthy.  Looks like you'll have to be breakfast instead.'  And with that the tendril tightens around your neck and your vision goes black".


Deaths are rare in You Say Which Way books, and you'll notice this even more if you go back to this series after reading Ultimate Ending or Choose Your Own Adventure.  Eva's descendants are more aggressive than Eva herself was in Between the Stars.


Results So Far


6 Good Endings

1 Deaths

2 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Volcano of Fire Alternate Endings Part 9


In CHOICE #9, let's zigzag down the ridge instead of moving through the watercourse to New Londinium.


Gagnon says it will be "technical at the top", but easier downhill.  It takes about 40 minutes, and we descend 2000 feet.  We camp under a rock overhang and put up hammocks.  Gagnon and I see a vent in the side of the volcano, hinting at hydrogen sulfide.  Since pangos are the all-purpose birds of Petron, we'll use them like canaries in a coal mine to check for poisonous gas.  "The pangos fall over at about three parts per million.  We can take about 30 before we pass out".


I consult Dagma about where to find pangos, because she hunts them with her family when she's off-duty.  She claims they're "on a pinnacle about 500 feet further up and out to the east".  We agree converting one of Piver's pocket launchers into a net launcher would be a good way to catch them. 


Meanwhile, Piver's spying on Villum's step-cutting machine.  Villum obliges by literally puffing out his chest and telling everything he wants to know.  "What makes my machine so good is the hammer mechanism built into its base.  It gives the drill extra punch when penetrating the rock".


Dagma catches 4 pangos.  However, we don't think about that for long when we see unnatural holes near the volcano.  Either people live around here, or aliens as Piver jokes.  CHOICE #11 is whether to investigate them or continue moving through the ridge.


Looking in the hole results in yet another long ending which I'll mostly summarize instead of quoting in full.  We don't think the hole is dangerous because moon moths live there, and they have good survival instincts.  Piver thinks I'm crazy for exploring this place, and believes a "blood-curdling scream" will be the signal to pull me to the surface.  Dagma offers to go, but I insist on doing so instead.


Crystals in a lava tube "are bigger than tree trunks", even though my character should be unfamiliar with trees.  An seemingly abandoned giant drill has "red teeth" made from a substance unknown to Highlanders or Lowlanders.  Probably red diamond, if you go by another ending.  I launch a bolt from the handheld launcher and talk to Piver and friends.  Gagnon thinks a blue diamond near the surface is the largest discovered, but I say there are bigger ones below.  The presence of the drill makes us think we're intruders in someone else's mine.


A spiderbot and a robot bird observe us, and I ask the spider if it can hear us.  "We mean you no harm.  Do not fear.  Follow the spiderbot and it will bring you safely to us.  Leave the diamond crystal, you will be permitted to take it with you when you return to your people".


Giant robot snakes from Between the Stars serve as transportation around here.  An android wearing goggles is driving it.  It wouldn't be steampunk without goggles.  One structure in this community looks like the bird-shaped spaceship Victoria.  The people here look like humans, except "greener, thinner and with less muscular legs", and sometimes ride half-plant and half-animal beasts.


Gagnon recognizes the structure from the Book of Myths.  ". . .and they arrived in a giant bird that travelled between the stars".  And we have a title reference for another You Say Which Way, in case New Zealanders haven't bought them all already.  An old woman named Margaret is the Chief Council of Settlement Three.  I'm reassured by the fact that none of the Settlement Three people carry weapons.


I tell Margaret we're looking for tyranium and blue diamond to save our towns.  She already knows this because her hummingbots were spying on us from the moment we left the Pillars of Haramon.  They wouldn't have let us come if the Highlanders and Lowlanders were still at war.  (Maybe Settlement Three just conceals its weapons?)


What Settlement Three wants in return is pango meat.  Pangos require a higher-altitude habitat than what exists on their side of the mountains, and they're forced to rely on poor soil to grow food.  To remedy this, I offer phosphate near pango nests as fertilizer.  Margaret wants to take me on a tour of her ship, because we have a common history.


"Yes.  The book you call the Book of Myths is history not fable.  We come from common stock that left our home planet many years ago.  During the trip our DNA was improved by crossbreeding it with plants.  Our home planet was far richer in oxygen than Petron.'


Margaret sees that you are doubtful.  She smiles and holds out her hand.  You can see the blood vessels through her fine translucent skin.  'Do we not all bleed green?'  You have to admit that if her people came from the stars, and you and she are the same, then maybe your people did too.  But how did your history get lost over the years?


As if reading your mind Margaret smiles.  'We've kept the pass over the mountains closed for generations, waiting for your people to tire of fighting.  Much of your historic relics and books were lost during endless conflict.  When we found out about the truce and felt it might last, we sent a scout, disguised as a miner, over to your people knowing that you would come for the minerals.  Now perhaps we can join together and make Petron better than Earth ever was.'


'Earth?' you say.  'That's where we originated?'  'Yes, Earth.  In the Milky Way Galaxy.'  'Geebus!' Piver says.  'What a funny name for a planet".


If my memory is correct, a friend of mine from years ago once wrote a story about how odd it would be to name a planet "Earth", since the aliens interpreted it as meaning "Dirt".


This ending is another that links Between the Stars and Secret of Glass Mountain.  While typing up this ending, I did a quick Kindle text search for "Geebus" in every You Say Which Way I have.  It only appears in Secrets of Glass Mountain, Volcano of Fire, and. . .Secrets of the Singing Cave.  Maybe the cave and herder peoples in that book live on another continent of Petron or something, given that no mention of Slider or Lowlander technology is mentioned?


The Petron route of Between the Stars doesn't mention plant-human hybrids except for Eva herself.  Lowlanders were also accustomed to the "intelligent plant furniture", which seems unfamiliar to the Lowlanders in this book.  There was a third group who would often trade with the Between the Stars Lowlanders, who are probably Margaret's people in this ending.



The Highlander oral tradition must have been well-preserved, because Between the Stars says Petron had no written records for hundreds of years after colonization began.


EDIT:  Wait a minute!  Way back on page 41 of this thread on June 27, Alternate Endings 1 for Secrets of Glass Mountain has a Lowlander saying "We all bleed green, do we not?"  It may take a few months for me to get a response to my CYOA biology questions, but I found an answer nonetheless.  (Though this raises more questions when you learn green blood is never mentioned in Secrets of the Singing Cave. . .)
 

Results So Far


7 Good Endings

1 Deaths

2 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Volcano of Fire Alternate Endings Part 10


When we continue down the ridge in CHOICE #11, we smell sulfur from the volcano.  Everyone thinks it's a fart at first, but it only grows stronger the closer we get to the mountain.  Crater Canyon looks like a deep chasm with blue rocks at the bottom near magma craters.


Piver and I discuss the engineering problem of pulling up crystals with our cables.  He recommends building a platform at the halfway point to ease stress on the cables.  Piver wants to take a closer look at the bottom because it's not often we get to see scenery like Crater Canyon.  CHOICE #12 is to go with him or remain at the top to stay safe.  Unfortunately, Piver is wrong about something for a change.


"Despite the canyon floor being hot and dangerous, it is also a place of great beauty.  Everywhere you look the rock is sparkling with crystals of some sort.  The miners are laughing as they work, amazed at the size and length of the needle crystals they're finding.  But a rumble beneath your feet reminds you how dangerous this place is. 


'Let's start getting some of this rock back up.  We don't want to be down here any longer than we have to', you say to the miners.  'At least the pangos are still kicking', Piver says pointing to a cage near the miners.  'No gas at least'.  You give Piver a thumbs up.  'So far so good'.  As the miners load rock into a basket and start winching it back up to the canyon rim, you look around at the different strata of rock.  One layer is made of tiny hexagonal crystal that looks like diamonds.  You move closer and touch the crystals with your fingers.


'Hey Piver, are these blue diamonds?'  Piver slides over and has a look.  'Sure looks like it'.  Another layer of rock is a solid band, translucent like glass and two feet thick.  The rock is so clear you can see right into it and. . .That is when you see a pair of eyes looking back at you.


'Piver, this rock is looking back at me!'  Piver laughs.  'Geebus, that's your reflection, silly!'  As you look at the rock, Piver giggles like a madman.  Then he calls to the other miners.  'Hey, guess what?  The rock is looking back!'  You can feel your face redden.  But how were you to know?  You look again.  This time the rock blinks.  But you didn't blink.  Then you see teeth, large and gleaming.  A shimmering crystal claw reaches towards you from inside the rock.


You try to run, but one of the claws snags your uniform.  You are trapped.  The rock feels liquid as you are pulled into it.  You try to yell out but it's too late.  As you are absorbed into the cliff face you suddenly feel peaceful.  Like you are part of everything around you.  'Don't worry', the stranger's voice inside your head says.  'You are one of us now.'



You see Piver from inside the rock and try to shout a warning, but your mouth won't open.  Then the magma in the nearest crater rises up and begins to overflow.  The miners are running, but the magma is rising too fast.  You close your eyes and let the warmth sweep over you."


The epilogue text confirms it's a "silica based life forced very different to your own".  This is a fair Death because it's clear staying at the top of the canyon is the safer option.  Being eaten by something like this must be uncommon on Petron because otherwise miners would take off their headlamps, point them at their faces, and tell scary stories about rock monsters.



Results So Far


7 Good Endings

2 Deaths

2 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Volcano of Fire Alternate Endings Part 11


Another Between the Stars conclusion occurs when I stay at the top of Crater Canyon in CHOICE #12.  Piver is disappointed, but we won't risk dewfall (or rock monsters unknown to the expedition).  Gagnon will try to make Villum cut steps to make a zipline, but I call Villum a "lazy sod" and don't believe he'll wake up.  If he has to, Gagnon will use an anchor bolt gun to startle Villum.


Dagma's pangos are now unconscious, and pink gas is rising from Crater Canyon.  If we got greedy and mined more tyranium than necessary, some of our miners would probably be poisoned right now.  Gagnon, Dagma, and Shoola notice a settlement at the bottom of the mountain and a hummingbot. 


"You look at the hummingbot and wonder if it can hear you.  Maybe you should relay a message to the little bird's owner.  Let them know that you come in peace and that they have nothing to fear.  'Come on, let's get going', you say.  'As much as I'd like to stay, we need a place to camp before dewfall.'  You leave the sight of the distant settlement behind and carry on up the ridge.  Half an hour before dewfall, Gagnon spots a flattish area just west of the ridge and you and your Sliders make camp.


The next morning, after another three hours climbing, your troop finally reaches Tyron Pass and stands looking over the Black Slopes towards home.  Then you notice the hummingbot is back.  This time it has something in its beak.  As the little bird nears, you see it's a delicate flower, tiny and perfect.  The bird drops the flower in your palm and then flutters back a few yards away to watch your reaction. 


You take the tiny flower between your thumb and forefinger and bring it to your nose.  Its scent is the most intoxicating thing you've ever smelled.  You look up at the bird and smile.  'Thank you', you say, not knowing if the bird can hear you or not.  'Please tell your owner we will come back soon to talk trade'.


The bird tweets twice, does a quick loop the loop and flies off.  You turn to Gagnon.  'I think it understood, don't you?'  'Yip', Gagnon says.  'Looks like we'll be back this way sooner than we thought.'  You pass the flower to Gagnon who takes a whiff.  Then he passes it to Piver.  Piver lifts the flower to his nose and without even realizing it, rises up onto his toes as he inhales the heady scent.  'Geebus!' he says.  'That's the best smell ever!"


We don't meet Eva's descendants this time, but there is the prospect of trading with them in the future.  This ending is closest to the original Crater Canyon mission.


EDIT:  I was looking for You Say Which Way posts on the Fairytale Factory blog, and found this quote about the connections between the Petron books. 

"Another interesting ending that was written in edits happens in Between the Stars.  In that ending some passengers finish the journey early when they decide to live on a marginal planet.  They do this because they are rescuing a sentient plant and that plant is what might help them to survive.  At this stage we'd already published Secrets of Glass Mountain and Blair Polly had a sequel underway.  Glass Mountain is a fascinating world and we suddenly saw a way to connect the two books and gain a rich back story.  So when you read Volcano of Fire you'll find more connections between the books".


So Between the Stars was almost a standalone book, until DM Potter realized interstellar travel could connect it to Secrets of Glass Mountain.  Both were published much earlier than Secrets of the Singing Cave, which has a 2018 publication date according to Amazon and Google Books.



Results So Far


8 Good Endings

2 Deaths

2 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Volcano of Fire Alternate Endings Part 12
 
 
The last branch reveals itself when I take a small group with me in CHOICE #8.  Gagnon knows we're going to Crater Canyon, because he's much better at observation than my character.  I mention "rumors of strange creatures to the east", but Gagnon scoffs at this and says there's no proof.  Shoola and Dagma eat as much as possible while arguing about how good they are about braking on a sledge. 
 
 
Although this is supposed to be a smaller group, both Villum and Trodie come.  Villum rides in the sledge, while Trodie slides much of the time.  Piver has this to say:  "Trodie's straight up.  But that Villum, what a stupid LoLa he is.  Just complains about everything".
 
 
Gagnon and I observe a "bright, metallic disk" that looks like illustrations in the Book of Myths.  CHOICE #13 is whether to visit the spaceship, or look at it from afar.  The 1st option leads to an ending, so let's do that.
 
 
Villum doesn't want to go with us because he's a wimp.  Gagnon worries that the crew of the spaceship might be unfriendly, but I say "If they're smart enough to build a craft that can travel through space, surely they must be smart enough to realize that fighting is just a waste of time and resources".  You're optimistic, player character.
 
 
A dark-haired girl appears and introduces herself as Helena.  Could this be the same Helena who was the temporary captain of the Victoria from Between the Stars?  It's possible given the sleeping technology.  She says she commands the landing pod from the Victoria II.  Her people's ancestors discovered Petron and sent colonists to the planet.  I wonder how a commander could be so young, but she explains the sleep learning process from Between the Stars to the Volcano of Fire hero.
 
 
Helena says descendants of Eva are the 3rd group of colonists who live in the jungle to the east.  The "miner" who saw the ship was one of her scouts.  The jungle people have tyranium crystals and mining machines to trade now that the Highlanders and Lowlanders are at peace.  All Petronians have at least some plant DNA to survive in the high CO2 atmosphere, though the jungle colonists are more plant than the other peoples of Petron.
 
 
"The little engineer wastes no time getting up the steps.  He caresses the hull of the ship as he enters through the portal.  'Geebus!'  Piver says.  'This thing is amazing.'  Piver's excitement is contagious.  Soon both of you have wide grins on your faces.  'Okay, buckle up for takeoff', the young commander says pointing you to a couple of seats.  The door closes and you feel a low vibration run through the hull of the ship.  Then, as if by magic, the craft streaks off around the last of the mountains before turning northwest towards a large lake in the distance.


'Oh, there's one thing I forgot to tell you.  Although all Petronians have some plant DNA spliced into them so they can breathe the carbon dioxide rich atmosphere here on this planet, those of the interior are almost as much plant as they are human.  So don't be surprised if they grow a tendril and wrap it around your hand.  It's just their way of being friendly.'


'Geebus!'  Piver says, having the time of his life.  'This should be interesting!"


But the plant people aren't always so friendly!  They threatened to eat us if we didn't obey them, and actually did in one ending.  The font may be different for this ending because I had to copy and paste it from Word.


There's a link to a special page about Petron's history in this ending.  It's also in the table of contents.  Most of it is meant for newcomers who haven't played Between the Stars or Secrets of Glass Mountain.  There are a few details that may be new, though.  Petron is the 4th planet of a yellow star 12,000 light years away from the center of the Andromeda Galaxy.  The Black Slopes came from volcanic glass erupted from the planet's core "13 billion years ago".  But yellow stars like our sun don't remain in main sequence for that long!  Maybe Blair Polly meant "1.3 billion years ago" but forgot to include the decimal? 



Results So Far




9 Good Endings


2 Deaths



2 Bad Non-Death Endings



0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Volcano of Fire Alternate Endings Part 13


The last 2 endings of Volcano of Fire occur after deciding to observe the spaceship from afar in CHOICE #13.  Gagnon wonders if we should flee, but I say we should hide and find out what the ship will do.  Dagma wants to "slide right over to the ship and demand to know what they're doing on the Black Slopes".  Villum wants to leave and return with troops.  Trodie wants to study them, but is cautious.


Trodie speculates there are too many planets in the universe for a spaceship to stumble across Petron unless they already know about us.  He bases this opinion on the similarities to the Book of Myths.  But we can't investigate it because the disk is flying back to the mothership.  Trodie says this about the new development:  "I'm not normally one to believe in fairy tales, but I'm willing to change my mind when presented with solid evidence".


Piver believes a yellow disk at the landing site is a beacon.  He's right, because a "beam of light, brighter than the strongest torch, shoots out of the disk and up towards the stratosphere".  Is that an American fiery torch, or the "torch" used by the British who can't tolerate the word "flashlight"?


CHOICE #14 is to wait for the spaceship to return, or try to report it at the Pillars of Haramon.


When we wait for the spaceship, we have our doubts that it'll return any time soon.  I offer to go back to the Pillars of Haramon if it doesn't come back by morning.  Gagnon suggests hiding in a crack, and Dagma thinks it's a good idea because it's a good vantage point to attack.  I protest her plans by asking:  "If this ship has come across the galaxy, do you really think its occupants would have any problem dealing with half a dozen Sliders with guide sticks and catapults?"


The spaceship flies toward the Pillars of Haramon, so we leave the sledge behind.  This concerns Trodie, who doesn't think the Lowlanders can keep up with the Sliders.  Drexel is left behind to accompany them.  Piver slides quickly and rides in Dagma's slipstream by hooking onto her backpack.  Dagma later gets revenge by pulling on Piver's backpack during a race.


By the time we return home, Helena is already there visiting the chief of the council.


"Sit', the chief says.  'We've been learning lots of interesting things this afternoon.  Commander Helena is from a planet in another solar system.  Seems we're related.'  'Really?' you say.  'Distantly', the young commander says.  'Our ancestors settled this planet many generations ago while traveling between the stars to their new home.'


The chief smiles.  'She's come back to do a survey to see how we're doing.'  You're not quite sure what to say.  You've often wondered, while sliding around the Black Slopes, how life began on Petron and why you were here.  But you never thought it was a question you'd get the answer to.  'Seems we have more relatives in the interior.  Relatives with more tyranium than they know what to do with.  Helena's offered to take us to them to talk trade.' 


'Wow', you say.  'We're going to go, of course?'  The chief stands.  'That's what I want to speak to you about.'  You cross your fingers and hope the chief is going to say what you think he is.  'I'd like you to go meet these people of the interior as our representative.  You young people are the future of this planet.  I think it's only right that you learn as much as possible from our guests in the short time they are here.'


You find yourself smiling and nodding eagerly at the chief's suggestion.  'And', he says, 'you're young enough, so that in 80 years time, you will still remember this day and be able to say to the others that you saw Helena's ship with your own eyes'.  The visitor rests her hand on your shoulder.  'I have room in my ship for you to bring a friend along if you'd like.  We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning.'


'Now I'm sure you're tired after your slide', the chief says.  'Go get some rest and report here at sunrise.'  You head back down to where your troop is drinking broth and chatting in one of the storage bays.  After explaining what you've discovered, you have one last piece of news to impart.


'Hey Piver, the commander of the landing ship says I can take a friend along tomorrow when we go to visit the interior.  Would you like to come?'  Piver's eyes widen, his hands clasp in front of his chest, and he does a little jiggle as he looks up at you.  'You mean fly in the ship?  Geebus!  Would I ever?"


Another variation on the "find the Victoria II" ending, and a Between the Stars title reference.


Results So Far


10 Good Endings

2 Deaths

2 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Volcano of Fire Finale


The final conclusion of Volcano of Fire occurs when I return to the Pillars of Haramon as fast as possible in CHOICE #14.  Dagma and Shoola enter a patch of "slippery goo", and Shoola only survives by shooting anchor bolt at Dagma's butt.  "Shoola laughs, 'Just as well I had a big target to aim at, otherwise I'd be heading for the bottom".


The spaceship reaches the Pillars of Haramon before we do, but Sliders are still on their normal routines.  In this ending, we learn Helena is from Earth II.  My next mission from the Highland council chief is different from the other CHOICE #14 path.


"The chief stands and comes around to where you are sitting.  'Now that's what I want to speak to you about.'  The chief pats you on the shoulder.  'I'd like you to go with Helena and be our ambassador to their planet.  The time has come to start trading.  We have minerals on this planet they need.  It will be very beneficial for us both.  Young people are the future of both planets.  That's why I think it's only right that you become our representative.'  You find yourself smiling at the chief's suggestion.  What an adventure it will be.


Helena comes to stand beside you.  'I have room in my ship for you to bring a friend along if you'd like.'  After Helena has answered all your questions, you head back down to where your troop is drinking broth and chatting in one of the storage bays.  You can't quite believe how excited you are.  After explaining what you've discovered you have one last piece of news to impart.


'Hey, Piver.  The commander of the landing ship says I can take a friend along.  Are you interested in a trip between the stars?'  Piver's eyes widen and his hands clasp in front of his chest as he looks up at you.  'You mean all the way to another planet, in their spaceship?'  Piver does a funny little jiggle.  'Geebus!  Would I ever?"


Meeting Helena a little sooner means I'm invited to Earth II instead of only the jungle of Petron?


Aside from some of Blair Polly's annoying catchphrases and Fairytale Factory's questionable proofreading, Volcano of Fire is a suitable sequel for Secrets of Glass Mountain.  It links Secrets of Glass Mountain and the added-in-editing Between the Stars in several branches, and readers who want more Slider action will find it here. 


The CHOICE structure has been improved from the previous book.  There aren't any decisions that don't affect the outcome like the "take the fast or slow path in the race" or "choose your second in command" pages in Volcano of Fire.  Though I have no clue why the Mt. Kakona vs. Crater Canyon CHOICE #1 was framed as "accept leadership" or "reject leadership".  Editing should have fixed that one.


I've omitted most of the scenery descriptions in these posts just like in the Secrets of Glass Mountain playthrough, but they work well in Volcano of Fire.  A science fiction mountaineering story wouldn't function without it.


Secrets of the Singing Cave is a more recent You Say Which Way, which probably accounts for that book being Blair Polly's best.  (Unless Island of Giants dethrones it.)


The next book will probably be El Elfo de las Nieves, because I want to practice my Spanish reading a bit.  It's a Jaime Blanch Queral story, so don't anticipate the despair of 22 Minutos:  Tibicenas or Portal Oscuro.




Results So Far


11 Good Endings

2 Deaths

2 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

¿Jugamos a una Aventura?:  El Elfo de las Nieves Part 1


It's time to pick on another Spanish book that no one else will ever read, let alone post a complete playthrough in English about.


"It all begins one winter afternoon.  When you arrive at the park where all your friends are, you're planning what to do next".


Some kids suggest a fútbol game, but they must have already played too many of those recently.  "Not again!"  This park has swings (columpios), sleds, a football field, and a basketball field.  My character's more interested in going to the nearby "cafeteria" and enjoying hot chocolate while playing board games.  But one kid shouts "What's that?", so we check out the bright light near the four trees. 


The light disappears and in its place is what looks like a blue-skinned boy of 4 or 5 wearing a blue tunic.  The other kids have some business sense and do what comes to them naturally in the 2010s:  record the elf with their cell phone cameras! 


"Maybe he's a Martian', says one excited boy, while continuing to point his cell phone at him, 'I'm going to be rich and famous when my video is shown on every TV in the world".  The text says "marciano", not "extraterrestre", so he specifically assumes the elf comes from Mars, instead of being a generic alien.  The boy is called a "chaval" instead of a "niño" or "muchacho", so this book is obviously from Spain.  A girl starts recording him too.


CHOICE #1 is what I should do about the elf.  I'll translate the options below, though some of the words have been changed in English to sound a bit more natural.


A.  "I don't know who he is, but he's little and looks like he needs help.  I get closer to help him."

B.  "He could be dangerous.  It's better for me to wait where I am, with my friends and everyone else."

C.  "I approach him, but not too closely.  Maybe nothing bad will happen to me."


This is the kind of CYOA where you should help whenever possible, if the other ¿Jugamos a una Aventura? books are any indication.  All books in this series are divided into "Scenes", and El Elfo de las Nieves is the longest with 55 51.  Scenes work like pages in other CYOAs.


EDIT: The number of Scenes is actually 51, not 55.  It's still longer than La Extraña Niebla Roja with 34 and Desaparición en el Campamento with 40.


Approaching to help the elf moves me from "The Adventure Begins" prologue to Scene 3.


"Be calm.  Nothing's going to happen.', you say, smiling.  'I'm coming to help you.  Where are your parents?"  The elf responds in a language my character doesn't understand, and it's not displayed in the text.  We hear the siren of a police car approaching, and I tell the elf not to worry because they're coming to help.  The elf is more nervous and starts to glow.  The park seems to be completely covered in snow.  Then I realize we're not in the park at all.  No streets or buildings are visible, and a large pine forest surrounds us.  A wide or fast-flowing river is close.  (The word "caudaloso" used to describe the river is ambiguous.)


The elf now knows how to speak Spanish.  "Thanks for saving me.  I'm Rai, a snow elf., the boy tells you.  'You speak my language, little one?', you ask without being able to believe it."


"Don't call me little one.  I'm almost 7, although I'm so short', he responds.  'Now I can speak your language thanks to my powers.  I've had to transport us to save us from the noisy monster.  I've never seen something like that in my world.  I didn't know the sorcerer could summon (convocar) that kind of creature".


Spanish, like English, has multiple words for spellcasters.  In La Extraña Niebla Roja, I translated "rey brujo" as "warlock king" because it seemed fitting.  "Brujo" is the masculine equivalent of "witch".  For "hechicero", I'll use "sorcerer".  I don't know if this applies to all Spanish writing, but "hechicero" sounds more like a malevolent magician than "mago", used to mean "wizard".  For example, the "Wizard of Oz" is called a "mago" in Spanish versions of the story.  (But can you trust anyone who uses magic, really?)



I try to explain to Rai what a police car is, but then realize he doesn't know what a car is.  He "denies with the head" in true Spanish fashion.  "A terrible growl can be heard from far away, and you feel that you're getting goosebumps".  In Spanish, that literally says "You feel that they're putting chicken skin on you".


Rai shouts that the salamander has found him.  I ask what a salamander is, and he says "A very dangerous monster that the sorcerer sent to capture me!  We have to leave!"  But the elf is too tired to walk quickly.  CHOICE #2 is whether to carry Rai in my arms and run, or hide behind a tree.


To play the hero, I carry the elf.  Fortunately, he's very light.  Rai doesn't know where to go next because he's never been this far from the castle before.  He doesn't think we're far away from it.  Rai can walk now, a relief because my arms are tired.  We follow a wide dirt road from Scene 31 to Scene 32. 


There are 2 roads around here.  One leads into the forest, and one goes around it.  Rai says he recognizes the river in the forest, and that if we follow it, we'll reach the castle.  My character is afraid of running into a wild animal in the forest.  Rai shrugs his shoulders in the "encogerse de hombros" way, like any right-minded character in fiction from Spain.  CHOICE #3 is which road to follow.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

¿Jugamos a una Aventura?:  El Elfo de las Nieves Part 2


I'll take the elf's advice in CHOICE #3.  He has magic powers, and he knows the way to the castle?  What could possibly go wrong?    


We walk through the woods until we reach the bridge, which looks like it's in bad shape.  The wood is old and rotten in some places, and some planks are missing.  The currents in the river are fast.  But can't Rai freeze it or something?  He IS a snow elf.  Too bad he can't, and we have to swim in the chilly water.  The elf grabs onto my neck while I'm submerged.  Eventually I stick my head out of the water and breathe, and later grab onto a rock to escape the frigid river.


Jaime Blanch Queral did account for the possibility of hypothermia, although that word isn't mentioned here.  "If you don't get dry clothes soon and warm up, you will surely die".  I'm about to ask Rai to teleport us somewhere when we see a house.  Smoke is coming out of its chimney, and there is light, probably from a fire.


An old woman greets us with "Come in, quickly, or you'll get sick in this cold.  You're safe here."  She gives us blankets, and we take off our soaking wet clothes.  This moves me from Scene 35 to 36.  I think the illustration of the old woman was also used in Desaparición en el Campamento.  When we ask her about the other rooms in the house, she says "I'm sorry, you shouldn't enter.  Everything's out of order and I would die of shame!"  We laugh and prepare to eat dinner.


But something is suspicious about this old woman.  She looks both like my character's grandmother and Rai's grandmother.  How can she look like a snow elf to Rai and a human to me?  Rai tells me that his mother told him a story about a dangerous shape-shifting creature who lives in a cabin in the woods.  Anyone who visits her disappears forever.  "I was told that they often sent soldiers to kick her out of the forest, but they could never find her.  Some strange magic must keep her hidden.  They call her the siren".


Rai can't teleport us out of here because his powers are blocked.  CHOICE #4's options look like these:


A.  "We run out of the house through the front door".


B.  "We stay in the house and don't do anything strange so the old lady doesn't suspect us".


C.  "We look in the other bedrooms to see if we find another place to escape, or something that could help us".


Bravery is the best option in a ¿Jugamos a una Aventura? story, so we'll look around the other rooms.  Maybe we could shove her into an oven.  The next Scene being 42 is auspicious.


While the old woman is busy in the kitchen (probably preparing a stew pot to throw us in), Rai and I check out the house.  The front door is locked, so picking that option probably would have resulted in Death.  We split up to investigate the rooms quickly.  The room I enter is small and only has one bed.  There's no closet, mirror, or pictures, and I realize the living room has no decorations either.  I find a window that may be a way to escape.  But Rai shouts "You have to see what I found in the other room.  It's important!"


CHOICE #5 is whether to jump out the window with Rai, or look what he found in the room he investigated.  


When you have a CHOICE for an inventory item, ALWAYS TAKE IT.  Playing Ultimate Ending books will make that a habit.  The "jump out the window immediately" options in both CHOICE #5 and #6 go to Scene 43.  But I move to Scene 44 when I take a "shining crystal ball".  All the walls and the roof are covered with viscous branches that move as if they were worms".  This is the source of the siren's power according to Rai, and where she keeps all the souls she's stolen from her victims.  I can take it with me and stop her for good because I'm not a magical creature.


CHOICE #6 is whether to jump out the window without the sphere because the branches are moving like snakes toward us, or to take the sphere and stop the siren.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

¿Jugamos a una Aventura?:  El Elfo de las Nieves Part 3


The sphere is "hot to the touch and seems very fragile".  The old lady appears, and doesn't smile.  "Did your mother teach you to take things from others?"  Something prevents me from exiting through the window.  The siren's body turns gray and grows more wrinkles.  "Her head loses its hair and her mouth loses its teeth.  You let out a scream when you see the creature's true form.  Rai told you she's a siren, but the sirens you've seen in movies and books don't look anything like the horrible monster before you".


Rai's already left the house without me.  Ain't he a stinker?  After all I did to help him too!  I have to raise the sphere to defend myself, and it turns blue.  The siren pretends to be nice and says she won't do anything to me if I return her sphere.  My character doesn't believe her and leaves while continuing to use the sphere's magic.


"The siren's wooden house is being unmade, and a black smoke comes out of it.  In a few seconds it has completely disintegrated".  The sphere shrinks to the size of a tennis ball.  A voice comes out of it saying "Thanks for freeing us".  It asks if the siren is dead, and I say "I think so.  She received her power from the sphere.  I suppose she could never stay far away from it".  The voice recommends that I keep the sphere and deliver it to the speaker's father.  Two moons rise in the sky, and I tell Rai there's only one for Earth.


When we leave the forest, the salamander from before falls on me and swipes at Rai with its tail.  I order Rai to use his magic, but he can't do anything.  The salamander glows, and we're teleported to a castle plaza with a high wall and an "immense tower".  Five soldiers with pig faces armed with spears and swords are approaching us.  Rai is unconscious, so I hold him in my arms.  My character isn't afraid because the siren situation was worse. 


CHOICE #7 is whether to use the sphere against the soldiers, or surrender and hope the sorcerer doesn't harm Rai.  As if I am going to trust another magical NPC.  (Hey, even Rai teleported me to a hostile world and his powers don't work when they'd actually be useful. . .)


The sphere freezes 3 of the soldiers, and the other 2 retreat.  The salamander knocks me to the ground again.  Its claws are on my shoulders, but I'm still holding the crystal sphere.  When I touch it with the sphere, it backs up and screams, then turns into a popsicle.  Rai wakes up, but he still can't teleport us, as told by "denying with the head".  He mentions that his uncle enchanted the castle so no one could teleport away.  Rai's uncle is the sorcerer, because CYOAs always require strange uncles.  Walking out isn't an option either, because now there are 20 soldiers. 


The sorcerer's skin and hair are blue, just like Rai's, though he has a white beard.  Unlike the warlock king from La Extraña Niebla Roja, the sorcerer here has a name:  Vestian.


"Bad person?'  the sorcerer denies with the head.  'Absolutely not.  Everything I do is for the kingdom.  Your father is a soft and poorly prepared king.  I am the one who deserves to reign.  With me, everything will go better.  I'll do it for our people!  Besides, I don't want to harm you, Rai.  I only want your father to give me the crown".


Vestian is interested in my sphere, but he claims his scepter is stronger.  I hear noises coming from beyond the walls, and according to Rai they're his parents and their soldiers.  There are a few typos where the 2nd person singular conjugation is used, making me wonder at first why the player character thinks their parents will come here.


CHOICE #8 is whether to attack Vestian with the sphere, or order the sphere to strike the door.  The latter sounds like the better option to me.  Vestian may not be bluffing about his scepter, and the soldiers could help if they enter the castle plaza.  The first option is Scene 41, and the second option is Scene 18.


"A powerful blue ray comes out of the sphere and strikes the enormous wooden door directly, shattering it".


Vestian expected me to attack him with the sphere because he was preparing a spell to counterattack.  Blue-skinned soldiers fight against Vestian's pig-faced troops.  Vestian defrosts the salamander with his scepter.  Rai's father the king looks just like Vestian, except he's wearing a crown.  "You're finished, Vestian.  Give up and repent".  Vestian fires a red ray, and the king casts a golden ray against the sorcerer's shot.  Neither can defeat the other for now unless I act.


CHOICE #9 is whether to help the king with my sphere, or wait and see what happens.