Ragnarok Revisited

Ragnarok Revisited
	◄Eamon adventure #170►
Author	Nathan Segerlind
Released	June 1989
Revised	18 April 1990 (DOS); 10 March 1993 (ProDOS)
EAG number	170
EDX number	08-08
EDX set	The Nathan Segerlind Adventures
Native format	Apple DOS 3.3

Ragnarok Revisited is an Eamon adventure written by Nathan Segerlind based on the exploits of Samurai Cat.

Background

Segerlind based his adventure on the short story "Against the Gods", written and illustrated by Mark E. Rogers and published in The Adventures of Samurai Cat (1984). (The short story itself draws its title from that of a 1967 painting by fantasy artist Frank Frazetta.)

Premise

You are a mighty Samurai warrior whose master, Nobunaga, was murdered by an army of monsters and thugs, and whose death you now live to avenge. Having previously succeeded in slaying the villain Otoko in the land of Catzad-Dum, your search has now led you to Scandinavia in pursuit of the Viking brothers Ketil and Halfdan Jormunreksson, whom you believe to be in the village of Jormunreksfel in the Nordic mountains. The weather has been unusually cold and the locals suggest that Ragnarok, the end of the world, is nigh, but as you near the village you ignore the portents and steel yourself for your mission.

Full introduction

Long have you been in search of Ketil and Halfdan Jormunreksson, two powerful Viking brothers who had participated in the murder of your lord, Nobunaga. Now, you are somewhere in southeastern Sweden, knowing only that they live somewhere to the northwest. You were lucky you found that out. If that short, dark stranger calling himself the Shadow didn't tell you, you would still be in Denmark! But now you have other worries. A great northeaster is blowing into this frigid land!

Luckily, an old farmer sees you out in the cold and offers you shelter for the duration of the storm. Soon the two of you are swapping tales. You tell him of your perilous quest in the Mines of Moria and the rescue of P'tin Kan from the evil Mr. Ed.

The farmer says: "Excellent tale, my good traveler, it is hard to follow such up. I shall have to tell of Ragnarok.

"The prophecies of old say that a time shall come when the giants and monsters accompanied by the most evil warriors of all time, shall storm Asgard...

"Asgard, as you probably don't know, is the home of the gods and heroes. It is oft said to be somewhere in the Nordic mountains, accessible by mortals by a road that led to the sea. But the giants wrecked most of the road to hinder an alliance between the gods and mortals.

"Back to the story.

"The giants, led by the Midgard Serpent, Fenris the Hel-hound, and Surtur the lord of the fire giants, will meet stiff resistance upon attacking Asgard. Odin, king of the gods, shall be slain by Fenris, who in turn will be slain by Odin's son. Thor shall slay and be slain by the serpent. When Surtur falls, his flaming body will set the earth on fire, and then finally all the universe will fall in fire."

"Why don't they just put out his fire?", you ask.

The old man merely growls at you.

Soon the storm is over, and the farmer bids you farewell.

While staying with a hapless warrior, Lucky Eddie by name, a messenger bursts through the door and announces: "A letter for Sam," and collapses. You help him into a seat and read your letter. It's from your brother in Honshu!

Shimura T. Samurai
Honshu, Japan
April 3rd, 1066

Sam,
Hello, how's it going with those guys from Sweden who nailed Nobunaga? It's ungodly cold out, especially for April! Of course you probably know all about the cold, spending all winter in Sweden! (Ha-ha)
Seriously; my son Shiro is missing. At first I thought he was just beating up dragons and such, but after three days I called the police, to warn them. I figure he might be looking for you in Sweden, figuring how much he wants to be a warrior, like you.
Hope you write soon!
Shimura

You chuckle as you fold the letter and put it into your sack.

"So Shiro's on the loose...", you think. As you go to sleep that night, you pray Shiro's nowhere near. He's one vicious little dude.

But your travels do not fare too well. Travelling in the Scandinavian winter is hard and takes many months. You are sure that it is now June, and the wind howls with icy rage! Your common sense says it's because you are so high up. But a little voice (probably the same that suggested so often that there was a monster under the bed) replies, "Then why is it so raw in the valleys? Something weird is happening, something unnatural... What of the voices in the wind and the riders in the sky..." You tell the little voice to shut up and go down the pass into the valley. You are now a mere mile from reaching Jormunreksfel.

As you cross the pass, the wind stops howling and is replaced with a sinister silence. After a few seconds that seem like years, the silence is broken by a faint braying of horns. You are filled with terror as a dark, misty rider materializes and takes to the air, almost as if it were following some invisible hills. From behind, some smaller and mistier ghostly riders charge. The first wheels about and brandishes what appears to be a mighty axe, the smaller ones flee into the clouds. The dark rider then veers high into the air over a ridge and out of view. Flame spurts over the rocky keel and is followed by hideous rolling laughter that seems to strangely blend into the now howling wind.

As you descend the cliff, you shiver, and not from the cold. but your fear is replaced by wrath as you enter sight of Jormunreksfel!

And don't let the Valkyrior bite!

Walkthrough

You begin on a snowy path somewhere in the Nordic mountains.

Mountains

Map by Huw Williams, 2021

Descend on the path and follow it north to reach the village of Jormunreksfel.
Bodies and scattered treasure litter the Jormunreksfel square, and only a single ancient man remains alive. In exchange for your promise not to bother him or the gold, he tells you that Halfdan and Ketil died fighting each other in the square and were carried off to Asgard by the Valkyrior, and that the apocalypse of Ragnarok is rapidly approaching. He gives you directions to reach Asgard.
Go straight east three times through the snowy mountains, then up once and you'll reach a broken road. (Deviating from this path through the mountains leads to a maze of confusing connections.)
Follow the road south to a cliff and climb it.
The god Thor, son of Odin, suddenly rides out of the clouds in an attempt to stop you reaching Asgard. Turning his war-hammer into a lightning bolt, he hurls it at you, but by using deflect you split the bolt in two. The astonished Thor will retreat, whining about his broken hammer.
Follow the road as is climbs south to another even greater cliff.
Climb the cliff and you'll reach the entrance to the massive mountain fortress of Asgard. The main gate is south, but a sign says it's out of order and to use the side door instead.
Take the small path west along the base of the fortress walls to reach the side door and enter south.

Fortress

Inside Asgard is a throng of viking warriors, hooting spectators, and converted land-battleships. Fight and kill the band of five vikings, grab the missile launcher, then go south.
You're now in Valhalla, the throne room of Odin himself, surrounded by thousands of his warriors (and in disguise, your nephew Shiro). A portcullis firmly seals the exit and Odin asks, "What do you want?" If you respond with "vengeance", Odin will summon Ketil Jormunreksson.
Strike and kill Ketil. To your amazement he'll soon reappear and tell you that in Asgard the dead return in the evening to carouse. A party begins and kegs of potent grog are brought out. You have the choice to join the drinking, but Shiro advises against it, so decline the offer to drink.
The partying warriors eventually all pass out in heaps, and you and Shiro catch some sleep. When you awaken in the morning, a pair of crows warn you that giants are approaching from the east. Grab the healing potion and any of the scattered weapons, then head east.

Battlefield

Emerging from a cloud you see a staggering army of giants and other monsters led by the evil Halfdan. The army unleashes a volley of projectiles against you; deflect them and the shrapnel will cut down the army.
Go east through the remains of the fallen army and collect the fire extinguisher.
Go east again and defeat the 20 stoned trolls.
Head east once more and you're on a broad battle plain that stretches east and south. Go south and defeat the three odd vikings: Mr. Roesslersson, David Lettersson, and Jvacko.
Go east and fight the five intoxicated frost giants. A battleship looms to the east.
Go north and kill the five dragonians. Another ship stands to the east; ready your missile launcher before you head toward it.
Go east and you'll face the massive German battleship Bismarck. Attack and destroy it with your missile launcher, then go south and do the same to the Tirpitz. The surviving enemies flee to the camp to the east, where you can see a giant wolf, snake, and giant plotting. Ready your sword.
(Note: As an alternative to using the missile launcher, you can flee from one of the ships toward the other, and when they open fire together one will accidentally strike the other, and the two will start to blast each other to pieces. If you stick around, the explosion when they mutually annihilate will be fatal, so flee back north.)
Head east and you'll enter what remains of the army camp, loomed over by the massive wolf Fenris who'll immediately snatch you up and eat you! You'll drop into the beast's stomach and be burned by acid, so attack the stomach's wall to break free.
You'll emerge standing above the battlefield on the corpse of the now-deceased Fenris. The Midgard Serpent slithers up, but with your Scarlet-Tapeworm attack you can sever its fangs and it will die from its own venom.
Next the fire giant Surtur approaches; use your fire extinguisher on him to quench his flames, and with his real form revealed he'll die of embarrassment.
Finally, Ketil's surviving brother Halfdan appears, armed with his own missile launcher. With a well-placed blast he'll knock you down, but just as he prepares to finish you off he'll be cut down by a hail of gunfire... from your nephew Shiro!
Climb down and you'll be in the northeast corner of the battle plain. Head back west and re-enter Asgard a hero.

Odin, just waking from his drunken stupor along with the other warriors, praises you for your victory and announces that Asgard's next great battle will be against the Greek gods in Olympus. You decline to accompany them and instead return home with Shiro who confesses that he helped spark the initial battle in Jormunreksfel and arranged for you to find the location in order for you both to have a great adventure.

Instead of Sam Slicker, you deliver your goods to a black-haired, sleazy-looking pawn broker named Slash N'hackersson who pays you what they're worth and asks if you'd like to join a new group of minstrels called "Swords 'N' Pine Trees." (You decline.)

Trivia

Samurai Cat's nephew Shiro first appeared a year earlier in Segerlind's The Computer Club of Fear.

Gallery

The Adventures of Samurai Cat
Regional map by Mark Rogers
The artwork that inspired Segerlind's animation
Adventure map by Frank Black

External links

Ragnarok Revisited

Contents

Background

Premise