The Cooks of the Black Tower

This illustration is by the artist Russ Nicholson.

The image shows the kitchen of the Black Tower, staffed by three females who are almost certainly witches or hags (Fighting Fantasy in general doesn't appear to make much of a distinction between the two terms).

The attitude of the three figures is disturbing. You, the Hero, have just entered the kitchen unannounced and uninvited, presumably with a sword in hand or at your hip, yet far from being surprised or disturbed in some manner by your audacity, the three figures appear perfectly relaxed and even somewhat amused or pleased by your presence, the two in the background are continuing their tasks as if nothing is the matter.

What are you meant to discern from this? That the figures are believe themselves to be more powerful than you, therefore you may wish not to vex them.

The three figures are known as the the Sisters of Sheena according to the foreword in the gamebook Creature of Havoc, while their individual names are Zanbrok, Adreeveux (A connection to Dree here?) and Nundyl. The TV Tropes page for The Citadel of Chaos mentions that they were first named in an issue of the Warlock magazine, I've yet to find that article myself. Brett Schofield reused these names when writing the Citadel of Chaos Advanced Fighting Fantasy adaption.

The figure in the background is in fact a blackened dwarf turning on a spit. Interesting side note here, in the AFF adaption, you can find yourself assisting a half-dwarf (green skinned) blacksmith named Dagrek Cindergut by searching for his missing brothers, Nagrek and Ragrek. You can have found one the brothers, Nagrek by the time you have made your way to the Black Tower, once you enter you eventually find yourself at a passageway with two options. Take the the left passageway, and afterwards the first door on the left, and you find yourself in the area where Ragrek is. Take the right-hand passageway and you inevitably find yourself in the kitchen, where this unrecognisable yet clearly dwarven corpse is cooking. Can havoc ensue?

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The Illustration is by the artist Russ Nicholson.

These two guard the gate to the Black Tower, AKA the Citadel of Chaos. The Ape-dog (ape's head, dog's body) does the talking, while the Dog-ape (dog's head, ape's body) provides backup with the aid of a mace (not shown in the image).

Both of these creatures are supposed to have been created by Balthus Dire's father, Craggen Dire. Neither of them have actual names, they are just referred to as Ape-Dog and Dog-Ape.

They were originally unique, although the AFF sourcebook Beyond the Pit by Andrew Wright opened this up again, pointing out that blogs (from Armies of Death) bear a strong resemblance to the Dog-Ape. Ironically blogs even possess the engorged belly and opposable toes of an ape, though they lack the body hair. An Ape-Dog appears on an encunter table in the AFF book Creatures of Mishna by Benjamin Quinton-Bottley, although given that the Citadel of Chaos book doesn't have a set date, it's unclear whether this is a different Ape-Dog, or simply the same one seeking asylum or a holiday (I'd guess that it's up to the GM to decide). As a final sidenote, notice that the door beyond the portcullis (look at those decorative swirls!) appears to be a singular door. Most gates like this are usually two that swing open but not this one, perhaps because it's already quite a small gate? Besides, the gamebook mentions that a side-door is opened for you anyway, so what the main door is used for is anyone's guess.