by Joe Dever
If you win the combat, turn to 210.
258
Your psychic defences hold fast and the Elder learns nothing from his attempt to read your mind. Rather than admit to failure, he curses and denounces you as an empty-headed cretin.
With a growl of disdain, he orders you to rejoin the end of the procession and pushes you out of his way as he strides back to rally those acolytes who are fleeing down the path.
Turn to 250.
259
You race up the staircase and kick open the door through which the black-clad archer disappeared. Inside, you discover a group of gamblers standing at a circular table with playing cards in their hands. They have all risen from their seats to look at something on the far side of the room. When you follow their gaze, you see it is the archer; he is climbing through an open window onto a balcony outside.
If you possess a Bow and wish to use it, turn to 301.
If you do not, turn to 197.
260
You leave the ancient settlement and continue your ride along the sun-baked river trail. As dusk approaches, you keep a weather eye open for the signs of a storm. Clouds are rapidly forming over the mountains to the east, and the metallic smell of ozone is strong on the evening breeze.
In the middle distance you see a large herd of Vythaz. These timid, goat-like mountain animals are rarely seen at this time of the year, yet here are more than two hundred of them drinking at the river's edge. You sense that they are nervous and confused; the eerie weather has disrupted their natural migratory instincts and they have descended to the river a season earlier than is usual.
Suddenly, there is a flash of lightning and a mighty clap of thunder explodes in the sky overhead. The herd scatter in all directions, terrified by the noise. Then an incredible ball of light shoots down from the heavens and hits the trail, scattering stones like shrapnel and leaving a huge, smoking crater in its wake. You pull your horse off the trail and run with the fleeing Vythaz herd as more of the lightning balls streak down from the stormy sky.
If you possess the Sommerswerd, turn to 321.
If you do not possess this Special Item, turn to 236.
261
The blazing cavern walls grow dim, and shimmering waves of the crimson light begin to sweep across the floor towards the crystal dais. Suddenly Shamath reappears in her female form at the base of the dais. In front of her booted legs there stand a dozen powerful warriors, armoured and helmeted as if for war, but their stern faces have no eyes and their mouths have no lips. Behind her, a score of new attendants emerge from the shadows carrying large pieces of shiny black armour. She begins to strap this armour to her limbs and, by the sluggishness of her movements, you can tell that she must have been weakened by your earlier conflict.
Illustration XVI—Suddenly Shamath appears in her female form at the base of the dais.
With a single word she commands the warriors to attack you. They raise their short swords and come marching slowly forwards, their movements stiff and machine-like. Beyond their advancing line you catch sight of the Deathstaff still lying near the base of the dais, and a bold plan springs to mind. If you could evade the oncoming line of automatons, you could reach the dais. Then you would be able to take the Deathstaff and enter the Shadow Gate before Shamath recovers her strength.
Turn to 171.
262
Closer examination of the amulet reveals a wealth of detailed engravings which depict a chilling scene. They portray clearly the rising of Darklord Vashna and his minions from the depths of the Maakengorge. Your Kai skill reveals to you that this amulet once possessed a powerful charge that could have killed anyone who touched it. That charge is spent, but you can still detect the faint, lingering aura of the evil being who crafted this artefact.
Turn to 238.
263
Guided by your Kai instincts, you raise the Deathstaff and whirl it around your head — once, twice, three times …
An ominous hum radiates from its haft. There is a crackle of static electricity and the damp air seethes with restrained, undischarged power. A thread of mist issues from the staff's tip and builds rapidly into a spinning cyclone that ensnares the Vortexi and prevents them from reaching you. In desperation, you sense them pooling their immense psychic energies in an attempt to break out of this whirling prison and attack you.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table.
If you possess Kai-surge, add 4 to this number. If you possess Kai-screen, add 2. If you possess Assimilance, add 1.
Also, if your current ENDURANCE points total is 18 or more, add 1; if your current ENDURANCE points total is 17 or less, deduct 1.
If your total score is now 3 or less, turn to 206.
If it is 4–8, turn to 305.
If it is 9 or more, turn to 138.
264
You are awoken in the middle of the night by an excruciating, vice-like pain that engulfs your whole head. With great difficulty you sit up and open your eyes and, at first, you assume that a new day must already have dawned for the cave is awash with a vivid white light. Then the pain in your head begins to ease and when you look out over the surrounding landscape, you see that the light has a far more sinister origin.
The sky is alive with hordes of glowing, wraith-like phantoms. They swoop down from the roiling storm clouds and skim the treetops, howling and screeching like insane banshees. A trio of these ghastly apparitions are hovering just a few yards from the cave mouth, from where they are assaulting you with a psychic bombardment. You muster your Magnakai skills to erect a Psi-screen to protect your mind from their psychic attack, but your reflexes are pain-dulled and you lose 6 ENDURANCE points before your defence knits together.
Turn to 326.
265
Weakened by the effects of the cursed water, you stagger away from the trough and very nearly drop your torch. Nearby, at the wayside altar, stands an Acolyte Elder who is watching the procession. He notices your reaction after having dipped your hand into the trough and it makes him suspicious. He steps forwards and grabs your shoulder, commanding you to halt. Then you feel a tingling sensation, as if a horde of spiders were crawling in a line from your shoulder to the nape of your neck: the Elder has psychic abilities and he is attempting to probe your mind.
If you possess Kai-screen, turn to 78.
If you do not possess this Grand Master Discipline, turn to 331.
266
You crash down to earth amidst a heap of jagged stones and broken glass (lose 4 ENDURANCE points), but your quick wits and Kai senses help you roll away in time to avoid being hit by the deluge of burning timber that has been thrown up by the blast.
Adjust your ENDURANCE score and turn to 200.
267
You focus your psychic energy at the distant druid and release a burst of power the instant he takes his eyes off you. You see him falter and place a hand to his forehead, as if he has just been struck by a stone.
Your sudden and unexpected use of a psychic attack caught the Arch Druid off-guard. His inner mind is well shielded, but you sense that your burst of power has weakened him. Seizing this opportunity, you draw your weapon and rush forwards to attack him before he fully recovers.
Arch Druid Cadak: COMBAT SKILL 45 ENDURANCE 32
Arch Druid Cadak is immune to Mindblast and Psi-surge, but he is vulnerable to Kai-surge.
If you win this combat, turn to 298.
268
After a few minutes, the brigands suspect that one of their bolts has found its mark and they come creeping forwards. You inch your way back towards the copse, but before you can reach it you are intercepted by six brigands who come rushing across the rocks brandishing swords and daggers in their battle-scarred hands. You spring to your feet and unsheathe your weapon as they rush at you, stabbing and hacking with their gleaming blades.
Vakovarian Brigands: COMBAT SKILL 38 ENDURANCE 38
You may evade combat after six rounds by turning to 59.
If
you win the fight, turn to 348.
269
Using the Brotherhood Spell of Mind Charm you try to convince the Elder that you are what you outwardly appear to be: a lowly Acolyte of Vashna. A wave of calm washes over him. He ceases to panic and his eyes flicker as if he is about to fall asleep, but you sense that he is fighting hard to resist your spell.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table.
For every level of Kai rank you have attained above the rank of Kai Grand Guardian, add 1 to the number you have picked.
If your total score is now 5 or less, turn to 177.
If it is 6 or more, turn to 129.
270
The screaming winds of the abyss rip and tear at you unmercifully as you are sucked through the heart of this whirling black vortex. All the while you cling to the Deathstaff, although its chill touch is far colder than even the frigid gales of the void and it drains you of warmth like some evil vampire (lose 5 ENDURANCE points).
Turn to 345.
271
Unfortunately, you do not move swiftly enough to avoid the bolt. It gashes the side of your neck and opens a deep wound: lose 10 ENDURANCE points.
The shock of impact knocks you out of the saddle and you land amongst a tangle of roots and briars. Bracer continues on through the undergrowth and quickly disappears into a dense copse of pine trees. Gritting your teeth against the pain, you drag yourself free from the thorny foliage and crawl for cover among some moss-covered boulders nearby.
If you possess the Grand Master Discipline of Deliverance, turn to 253.
If you do not, turn to 39.
272
The hardened steel tip of your Arrow penetrates the roof of the creature's mouth and skewers its brain. For a moment it freezes in mid-stride, seeming to defy gravity as it balances precariously on one hairy foot. Then its eyes roll back, revealing the whites, and it crashes down in an untidy heap at the side of the trail.
You bring your horse about and gallop away in case there are others of its kind lurking nearby. Beyond the plateau, the trail descends steeply towards a thick pine wood. Milky-white pools of water punctuate this section of the track, some deceptively deep, making the descent difficult and tiring. By the time you reach the wood your horse is in need of rest.
You dismount to take the weight off his back, and as you gather his reins together you notice that the flap of your Backpack is undone. On checking the contents you discover that one of your possessions is missing. (Erase the second item on your list of Backpack Items. If you have only one item on your list, erase that one instead.)
As soon as your horse is rested, you remount him and set off through the pine wood, heading east.
Turn to 300.
273
You unsheathe the twisted spike of black steel and thrust it into the swirling coils of energy that are holding you prisoner. There is a terrific Crack! as the tip penetrates the energy wall and, with a breathtaking suddenness, the wall disappears. You look down at the dagger in your hand but, to your astonishment, it too has disappeared (erase the Dagger of Vashna from your Special Items list).
To continue, turn to 132.
274
You dash along the street, your eyes fixed on the shadowy archer as he makes his escape across the rooftops of the north quarter. You are twenty yards ahead of him when the street makes a turn and you find yourself faced by a solid brick wall; you have come to a dead end. You are about to retrace your steps when suddenly you notice a rusty iron staircase away to your right. It is a crude fire-escape ladder and it leads all the way to the roof of a linen warehouse. Quickly you climb the ladder, your weapon drawn in readiness to intercept the assassin the moment he appears.
Turn to 95.
275
As soon as all of the acolytes have clambered aboard, you see them cut the grappling lines which tie their longboat to the sinking Vakovarian ship. At the longboat's prow there stand a trio of Acolyte Elders, each holding a glowing wand of power in their outstretched hands. The moment they touch them together to form a triangle there is a flash of light. A swirling cone of vapour pours from the tip of this triangle and coils into the sky, creating a howling wind which fills the ship's sails and catapults the vessel away from the quayside at tremendous speed. Five minutes later the longboat has disappeared from sight, beyond the stormy horizon.
The raiding acolytes leave chaos behind them. The brigands flee in all directions, taking with them little more than the bitter regret that their hoard of loot is now resting in the hold of a sunken ship, ten fathoms down at the bottom of the quay. You leave Vorn as soon as you can and return to the copse to retrieve your horse. Then you set off on a trail that heads east, following along the shoreline of Lake Vorndarol. You pass a few brigands on this trail but they are too busy nursing their battle-wounds to cause you any concern.
Three miles later, you come to a cove where the trail splits in two. The left trail continues on along the shoreline whilst the right trail turns towards the foothills of the Durncrags. Your natural tracking instincts tell you that the shoreline will be the harder of the two routes to follow. The hill trail looks easier, but it could take you much longer to reach the east shore of Lake Vorndarol that way.
If you wish to follow the shoreline trail, turn to 230.
If you decide to take the foothills route, turn to 61.
276
You draw on all your Kai Mastery to evade these swooping horrors as you make good your escape. At first they pursue you, but when you leave the island they seem to lose interest and they turn back to their lair. Within a few minutes of their departing, a grey vapour boils up from the cracks in the ground. The vapour thickens with breathtaking speed until the basalt island and the entire fiery plain beyond is engulfed by this grey fog.
You walk through this cloying sea of mist for what seems like an eternity until your senses detect that something is circling high above you. At first you suspect that the golden-winged creatures have come hunting for you again, but then you detect that it is something completely different. There is only one creature, and you sense that it is using a highly-developed psychic probe in order to seek you out.
If you possess Grand Nexus and have reached the Kai rank of Sun Knight or higher, turn to 31.
If you do not possess this skill, or if you have yet to attain this level of Kai Mastery, turn to 106.
277
Tearful with gratitude, the boy's parents kiss your hands and thank you with all their hearts for saving their child's life. The man asks if there is anything they can do to help you in return and you respond by asking who they are, and how they came to be hiding here.
You learn that they once lived in the hamlet of Vorn where the man, whose name is Bayan, made a humble but honest living fishing the waters of Lake Vorndarol. Then one fateful night, some weeks ago, the Acolytes of Vashna came and destroyed Vorn. They managed to escape with their lives but they fear that the rest of their community were slaughtered in the attack, or perished in the dreadful storms which followed. For the past few weeks they have been hiding in the hills to avoid the acolytes and the marauding bands of robbers who have come from Vakovar looking for loot.
You tell them that you have been sent here by President Kadharian to find out what is going on at Lake Vorndarol. Bayan replies that he knows a safe route through the hills which leads directly to the ruins of his old home. He says he is willing to act as your guide and you accept his offer gratefully.
Turn to 335.
278
‘Fools!’ screams Cadak at his fleeing acolytes. ‘Must I do everything myself?’
With these words he bangs the tip of his staff three times against the floor of the dais and a gout of crackling energy arcs through the rain-laden air towards you. Instinctively, you raise the Deathstaff and catch the arcing bolt on its haft. There is a flash of sparks; then the crackling energy flickers and disappears.
Cadak curses loudly and promises that you are about to die, but for all his b
ravado you sense that he is scared. He recognizes the Deathstaff for what it is and he fears that, in your hands, it could lay waste to all his meticulous plans. The aged druid looks to the stormy clouds and screams a command to the circling Vortexi to help him finish you once and for all.
Turn to 162.
279
The first light of dawn brings with it a dramatic change in the weather. The storm has ended and the sky is now bright and clear, but on the distant horizon you can still see flashes of lightning and hear thunder rumbling in the mountains.
You leave the old mine and urge Bracer down the muddy slope towards the track, most of which you discover has been washed away by last night's storm. The damp earth is steaming in the unusual heat of the morning sun and the air crackles with an eerie residue of static electricity.
You continue your ride through the hills without stopping until, shortly after midday, you come to a derelict hovel which stands at the edge of a marshy peat bog. Your Kai senses inform you that there is somebody inside and, spurred on by curiosity, you resolve to find out who they are. You dismount and leave Bracer to feed on the marsh grass while you go forward to investigate the hovel on foot. You are twenty feet away from its rotting wooden door when suddenly it creaks open and you see an old man standing in the doorway. He is smiling at you.
