Torches Palace by Mygrator

A CALL

October 17th, 1959
Your old phone is ringing John... WAKE UP ! YOUR ADVENTURE START HERE!
"John? Is that you? Join me right now please! it's...it's amazing... still have the letter i gave you before my....hum... disappearence? Everything is true John, I'm not the madman they said I was !..."
" It can't be true, it's been 8 years now, are you..."
" John I have to go right now, you'll find all the details in the letter to join me. But John, it's dangerous. For yourself. For your mind. You'll need courage and a weapon. Remember all I told you about the Torches Palace since you're a kid. I found the gate! The way is written in the letter! If you only can..." Bip Bip Bip Bip....
"Archibald ? Archi ?! What the..."

Bending out of your bed you open your bedside table drawer. The letter is here for 8 years, you never even tried to understand what 's all about.
But now, in the middle of the night, your eyes and your brain just get a intense fever.... ADVENTURE IS ON !

ARCHI

So this old eccentric is not dead 8 years ago...
The last days before he diseappeared, Archibald Windstone was so excited about the quest of his life. He refused to tell anybody what he found, and just vanished.
He was your philosophy teacher, and often tried to get you into the Torches Palace 's quest. As a kid it was just fairytales to your eyes, but growing up, stangely, all his fantastic tales made sense, and you were the only person following his obsessive madness. In fact, you believed Archibal Windstone was not from planet earth, but from somewhere far in the deep between the stars...

CLIFFS

You're now on the Prince Ringelson Island, after 4 days on the sea.
According to the map in the letter, unobservable stairs can be found hidden amongst the sinister cliffs at the far end of the north west coast. A dismal mist devour each of your footprints and the coldness stabb you painfully...
Just before dusk, the stairs appear, it even seems to call your name through the humid winds wich start blowing....It's dizzy and slippy, old and shaky. Will you dare risk the fall ?

STEPS

If you are lucky enough, you make it alive, but some parts of your mind stay frozen by fear. You saw hideous figures flying around the cliffs as you tried to keep your balance on the stairs.
The mist only disappear on the last stair, as you reach a pathway in the rocks. Then a giant door block the path

CORRIDORS

Madness is waiting for your soul at every corner of the corridors behind the giant door...
Try to find your way in the dark, but maybe you're smart enough pulling some candles in your jacket ?
It seems you're wandering this place for hours, and suddenly a strong light appear far straight before you....

TORCHES

Here you are, torches everywhere.
This place is unbelievable, only ancient gods or cosmic beings could have build such a terrific and solemn place.
Giant yet grotesque statues keep an eye on you. You can't tell if it's human or animal forms. The echo of your steps only put dread in your shivering body.
A yellow and blue strange artefact, the one Archibald told you about, stands suspended in the air, right in the center of the palace.
Someone is really watching you somewhere. You can fell it.
You can steal the artefact and prepare to fight! What weapon do you take?

ABYSSOS

" You made a bad decision stealing our sacred cosmic eye, John Weyslet from London.. I'm Abyssos, keeper of the Palace and it's endless flames... Prepare to die !"

GHOST

As you ultimately defeat Abyssos, you put the yellow and blue cosmic eye in your jacket and decide to search for your friend Archibald...
A dismal scream somewhere on the left !
You run to a stair and climb it to the top of the east citadel.
A door... a bedroom...
You can't believe your eyes ! Archibald Windstone resting on a bed, and a vapourous female ghost is floating above him ! The ghostly figure is about to absorb your friend, and you can't move!
The ghost is poisoning your mind and your eyes are about to pop out!
Are you strong enough to clear this supernatural attack and save your old friend?
On the dressing table you can see an old personal diary covered with dust.
A name on the cover : Jezabel
You scream her name and point her with the cosmic eye artefact. The ghost disappear with a sad howl of terror and you can now move again !
Archibald awakes from his deep nightmare and you help him getting on his feet.
It's time to go back to the boat, as fast as possible because a strange noise start climbing from the deep, right under the bedroom windows...

HOPE TO DESPAIR

Archibald and you are about to reach the stairs climbing up the cliff.
You're out of breath and decide to stop running for a minute.
Your old friend ask you if you can show him the yellow and blue artefact, the true goal of his quest.
As he grab it in his hands, his face start to change in a creepy way! Within a minute you can't tell who, or what, stands before you !
A creature with a grotesque smile now has replaced your old teacher, and start flying away with dark wings in his back !
As he watch you from above, a scary laugh in his mouth, you realise thousands of dead bodies are popping out of the ground to catch you !
The way to the stairs is blocked by the infernal creatures, your only option is to jump into the cold ocean. Are you still enough strong to fight the hypothermia ? The current is strong and within a minute or two all your muscles will be petrified...

ALL IS LOST

You can't fight anymore and start to let you drown. All is cold and calm. Your adventure come to an end and only left you imagine coming back to London with glory and fame.
As life slowly slip away, a thin blue light come back up around you from the dephts. THE FLAME OF ADVENTURE ! Your old phone is ringing John...WAKE UP !

The soundtrack of an imaginary Gamebook....
A solo project by Vetustaa, from raw black metal (Pastoria, Wisdom of dust) to a decomplexed, spontaneous blend of Dungeon Synth, Dark Ambient and whatever retro sounding psychedelic candies