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(If you don't care about the story and want to read the notes for playing, click here) The tavern is almost empty, and unusually quiet. You wonder if Red Tail had to kill anyone to get it that way. With the fires burning low, you squint and rub your eyes, wondering if he'll ever be here. Your ship is anchored two miles north of town, and your crew off partying in an unknown dive somewhere. You told them you were going to town to obtain some treasure maps. This is a complete lie, your real mission is far more dangerous. Your crew would never have let you go if they had known the truth. A secret meeting with Red Tail. You sigh and rub your eyes sleepily again. You're still wondering if you've made a mistake by coming here. You received a letter from Red Tail two weeks previously, asking if you'd meet him (alone) in a certain tavern at a certain port. He says he wants to talk to you "about some things." It stinks like week-old fish, and ordinarily you'd laugh and shrug it off as yet another sleazy attempt to separate you from the Amulet of Nine Lives. But at the bottom of the letter he's added a note. "PS. it involves the tiger called Omar." This grabs your attention. The Princess gave you Omar as a protector, but apparently his own loyalty is suspect. Two days after sailing victorious from Tiger Island, he tried to steal the Amulet from you. At night he crept into your cabin and began taking the Amulet from around your neck as you slept. He would have gotten away with it, except a half-asleep sailor saw him and raised the alarm. Before you could blink Omar was seized and put in chains, and then pushed at your feet to await judgement. Your crew were all for killing him, as the Amulet was precious beyond compare, worth all their lives many times over. But you decided to spare his life out of pure soft-heartedness. You're little more than a thief yourself, so call it professional courtesy. You sailed to a nearby island and marooned him there, warning him that if he ever came after you again, you WOULD kill him. You wonder, what would Red Tail know about Omar? So here you are, alone in a darkened tavern as per Red Tail's requirements, waiting for him to show up. They say curiosity killed the cat, but you're fairly certain that Red Tail doesn't have treachery planned. You spent several days before the meeting casing the joint, there don't seem to be any hidden ambush points. But it never pays to get too complacent with Red Tail. Waiting, waiting. One hour passes, then two, and you're starting to give up hope when suddenly Red Tail strides through the door, an expansive grin on his face. "Ah, Captain! So you did decide to come after all." "Things haven't exactly been eventful lately." you respond, trying to control your racing heartbeat. He gets a flask of wine out of a coat compartment, puts them on the table, and pours two glasses. He pushes one over towards you. "Drink." "So you can drug me and steal my Amulet? I'm not that stupid, Red Tail" you sneer. "Let me see you drink that wine first." "You think I'm trying to poison you? Here." He picks up his glass and takes a long sip. Your suspicians satisfied, you do the same. After a good thirty seconds' silence, you ask "so what do you know about Omar?" Cryptically, he answers "have you ever heard of an island called Lancoth?" "Of course not. Is it my job now to memorise the name of every unimportant island in the world? What are you getting at?" "Oh, Lancoth Island is far from unimportant" Red Tail says, again dodging the question. "Centuries ago a boatload of cats and dogs were shipwrecked there. They found an untouched tropical paradise, and started a settlement. As the years passed, the settlement became a town, the town became a city, the city became a metropolis, and after a while it became a thriving kingdom." You still don't see where this conversation is going."But if it's so big, how come no-one has heard of it?" "The trees on the island are not suitable for building ships, so they have never been able to escape. They are also good at hiding their presence, as the city they built was underground and is hardly detectable from the surface. Every time a ship passes, the captain sees no sign of life and assumes it's yet another uninhabited island. But if he goes ashore and explores, he and his crew are brutally murdered." "Then how do you know about it?" "A few pirates know about the hidden empire on Lancoth, myself included. I've been there many times. But there's one last thing you should know about Lancoth, and that is a myth they have concerning tigers. The captain of the original group of castaways was a tiger, and it was his courageous actions that saved the lives of all his crew. Since then, the inhabitants of Lancoth have held tigers in very high regard. In fact, they are treated as gods." Red Tail smirks. "I'll leave you join the dots, but suffice to say your punishment of Omar wasn't really a punishment." Suddenly, this seemingly random string of statements and observations begins to make sense. You ask "so the island I marooned Omar on was Lancoth Island?" "Yes." "So I was actually releasing him on an island where the natives think tigers are gods." "Yes." "So Omar is now being revered above royalty, and is experiencing luxury beyond his wildest dreams?" You can scarcely believe it. "Yes. In fact, he is now ruler of the island." The absurd irony of the situation makes you laugh out loud. "Heh, some 'punishment' that is!" Red Tail says "a short while ago I paid a visit to Lancoth Island, and Omar was...quite interested to meet the main rival of Captain Claw. We spent several days talking. You might say that we're now business partners, working towards a common goal." "Oh? And what goal is that?" "Killing you. And recapturing the Amulet of Nine Lives." "Nice of you to tell me," you scoff sarcastically. You look outside the window of the tavern, noting that it's now some time after dusk. Your crew will be wondering where you are. You'd better head back to the ship soon. "Well, I suppose if this concludes our meeting, I'll be leaving." "No, Captain. You're not leaving. Not now, not ever." Red Tail says in a voice you do not like at all. Suddenly, you realise how weak you're feeling. Your arms have no strength. Your legs feel like jelly. You try to get to your feet, but you half-fall, half-stumble and end up flat on your face. "W...w...what's happening to me?" You ask, panic edging your voice. "Ah, so my sleeping drug is finally taking effect. No, the wine wasn't poisoned. The cup your drank from on the other hand, was smeared with one of the most potent drugs in all the world. For the next 24 hours, you'll be sleeping like a baby. You frantically try to rise, but instead slip down further towards the floor. Your mind is spinning, unable to concentrate on any one thought. Small patches of black are creeping into the corners of your vision. From your position on the floor, you see Red Tail standing over you grinning. "The game is over, my friend. You've lost and I've won. Pleasant dreams, Captain Nathaniel Joseph Claw." The last thing you see before everything goes black is Red Tail reaching towards your amulet. * * * The first conscious thought you are able to form is am I dead? Or am I alive? You have no idea where you are, or what happened that you should be feeling so much pain. Your head throbs and pulses with agony, it feels like someone fired a cannon inside your skull. Gradually, as the pain starts to lessen, you get up the courage to open one eye and take in your surroundings. Oh shit, this doesn't look good. You're in a solid stone chamber that looks like it was carved right out of a mountain. The red volcanic rock seems to shine with dormant evil. Strange carvings line the walls that you don't understand but send rivers of dread up your spine all the same. There are some wall torches that provide a dull, murky light. You're not in a peaceful seaside port, that's for sure. You try to move your paws and you realise they are tied behind your back. Damn. It's OK, you think instinctively. I'm safe so long as I have the Amulet... Crap! The Amulet! Suddenly your memories of the previous days come rushing back. You jerk yourself up into a sitting position and look down, praying that it will still be there. It isn't. "Welcome to the Island of Lancoth, Captain Claw," you here a deep male voice say. You turn your head and see Omar, flanked by Red Tail, watching you. Red Tail has customary grin in place. "Give me back my amulet, you fucks! I've earned it, fair and square!" you snarl at the two of them. "What's fair in this life, captain?" Omar says cryptically. You turn to face him. "YOU! I SPARED YOUR LIFE! NOW GIVE ME BACK MY AMULET AND LET ME GO!!" "How much I'd love to watch you two exchange banter, but I fear I must go." Red Tail says with a yawn. "Omar, it has been a pleasure working with you to bring this stubborn cat down." Omar nods. "I'll arrange for payment to be sent to your ship. The elevator back to the surface is in my private headquarters. You need a three-number combination to enter. That combination is..." he leans over and whispers something to Red Tail, who nods agreement and then disappears through a tunnel carved in the rock wall." Omar then turns to face you, and says "I'm sorry, Captain, but it is time for you to die. GUARDS!!" Immediately two cats rush into the room, armed with cutlassess. "Take this cat down to the dungeon and execute him." Without hesitation or pause they grab you and haul you away. * * * Things arent't looking so good. Beyond a doubt you've been taken prisoner in the Island of Lancoth, and Omar, who now rules the island, has ordered you to be killed. You struggle with the ropes, but they're well-tied and you don't seem to have any hope of escaping them. The two soldiers drag you roughly through a maze of passages and tunnels, ignoring your complaints and protests. Twice you've tried to stop them up by wedging your body into a narrow crack, but they pound you with their sword hilts until you are forced to let go. As you get dragged deeper and deeper through the labyrinth of stone, panic starts to set in. Holy shit, I must be miles underground! Even if I escape these guys I'd almost certainly never escape this place. Suddenly, you see a small chunk of broken rock lying on the ground. You snatch with your bound paws as you get dragged past. The chunk of rock is jagged and lumpy, but it has a sharp edge. As quietly as you can without attracting attention, you begin to saw away at your bonds. You think: if I have ten more minutes, I might be able to free myself. But if it's any less, I'm a goner. You continue sawing at the rope as you go bumping and sliding across the stone floor. The guards pulling you don't notice what you're doing. Things continue like this for some time. One by one, you saw through your ropes until there's only one holding your paws captive. You scratch away at it, but are careful not to snap it. The guards have got a good hold on you, and if they see that you've escaped your bonds they'll be able to subdue and re-tie your ropes with no effort at all. No, you'll have to wait until the right moment before making your escape attempt. Finally one of them dumps you on the ground and says "I've had enough, let's kill him here and be done with it." The other one nods in agreement and draws a skinning knife from his belt. It's now or never, you think anxiously, applying the final ammount of pressure necessary to snap the rope. The rope breaks, and suddenly your paws are free. You kick out with both legs, catching one of the guards in the groin and the other one in the chest, hurling them both back. With growls, they rise and charge with with weapons drawn. You leap backwards, avoiding their slashes. You still have the jagged rock you used to cut through your bonds. Adjusting balance perfectly, you throw the rock at the head of one of the guards. It connects with a thud and he goes down in a heap. You roll forward under the swipe of the second guard, his swordblade passing so close over your head you feel it brush you. The first guard's sword has fallen to the ground, you pick it up and go on the attack. You block a wild slash aimed at your head and counter with a thrust to your opponant's belly. He parries it and reverses his sword into a back-hand cut. The clash and clang of swordplay echoes through the cavern. The two of you battle back and forth for some minutes, neither one gaining any advantage over the other. Sweat rolls down into your eyes, you wipe it out and knock his blade wide with a well-timed cut. He throws himself at you, his sword leading. You knock it aside, and move forward into the path of his oncoming body. This is the last thing he expects you to do, and he is caught by surprise. Your sword comes up and pierces his chest, skewering his heart. His sword falls from nerveless fingers, and his final breath rattles in his throat as he falls over backwards, impaled on your sword. You sigh with relief, trying to regain some breath. "I'm getting too old for this" you say to yourself. You go over to have a look at the unconscious guard you knocked out with a rock at the very start of the battle. He's still breathing. As you watch, he slowly comes around. You turn his head over and begin speaking very sternly to him. "Listen, mate. I'm having a hard day here. If you try anything at all I'll gut you like fish." You pick up a knife from the guard you killed and jab it lightly into his neck to emphasise the point. He groans softly. "Now, I want you to speak. Tell me what's the quickest way out of this hellhole." A tiny smile hovers around the guard's mouth. "You can't get out. There's no way." You jab the knife into his neck again, this time not so lightly. He yelps and blood begans to flow in a trickle. "Wrong answer. Stop bullshitting me or else I'll ram this knife right through whatever passes for your spine." He winces and finally nods. "Ok, I'll tell you. Don't kill me but I don't think you'll make it. You're three and a half miles underground. The elevator that took you down here only goes one way. There's another elevator that goes up to the surface, but it's in Omar's private headquarters. That's all I know, I swear!" "Are you sure?" you give him a vicious, tooth-baring grin. He looks at the knife again and says hurriedly, "OK, there's one more thing. You need an entry code to get into Omar's headquarters. The code consists of three numbers. Those numbers can be found in other parts of the city. You'd have to explore all of Lancoth to find the code. The only person who actually knows what the full code is Omar himself and a few officials. I have no idea what the code is." Something about the guard's pleading tone makes you believe him. Also, you seem to remember Omar telling Red Tail about a code. "Fine, I'll let you live. Consider yourself lucky, asshole." You slam the hilt of the knife down on the guard's head, stunning him again. You look around and the luminescent walls, and wonder which path to take. You don't have long. Once someone realises that the two guards are missing the whole city will be looking for you. So here you are on a quest for the gems that are rightfully yours, while trying to elude capture. Oh yeah, and you've got a score to settle with Red Tail. The feeling of deja vu just keeps getting stronger. Revenge of Red Tail is a series of levels for Claw. Think of it as an unofficial expansion pack or add-on. If you skipped past the story, here's the score. Claw is stuck underground with his Amulet stolen, and the only way to the surface is through an elevator guarded by his old ally Omar. To make things even worse, you need a three-digit combination code to activate the elevator. This code is hidden in three different parts of the underground city. The first level (The Barracks, based on level 1) contains the first number for the combination. The second level (The Construction Zone, based on level 9) holds the second. The third level (The Mine, based on level 11) has the third. Once you're sure of the combination, play the fourth level (Omar's Last Stand) to take on the big guy himself and win your right to freedom. The fifth level functions is like an epilogue. It was previously released on my site as "Waterfall". If anyone wants to put these levels on their sites they can, but I request that all the levels and this readme are kept in the one zip file. All comments on these levels can be sent to mail@ben-ts.net or posted on Gunner's Claw Forum. -- Grey Cat |