by Joe Dever
Turn to 69.
18
With the words of the skull reverberating in your mind, you pull out the cork with your teeth and shake the liquid into the pit, spreading it in a wide arc from left to right. You are certain that there is an invisible bridge across the pit; if only you could locate it.
The footsteps halt. You hear a piercing crack, like that of a whip, and, immediately afterwards, an angry red weal opens around your wrist (lose 2 ENDURANCE points). The container spins from your hand and seems to bounce in mid-air before dropping into the void. You have found the bridge! But now you have an invisible enemy to contend with.
If you wish to step onto the invisible bridge, turn to 166.
If you wish to fight your unseen enemy, turn to 257.
19
A shadow crosses your path and you release the bowstring, but your Arrow does not find its mark. A ghoulish howl is the only warning you receive before the creatures leap out of the billowing smoke, clawing and biting at your face and arms.
Dhax: COMBAT SKILL 25 ENDURANCE 32
Unless you have the Magnakai Discipline of Huntmastery, deduct 3 points from your COMBAT SKILL for the first two rounds of combat, due to the speed and surprise of your enemy's attack.
You may evade combat after three rounds by running into the archway opposite; turn to 241.
If you win combat, turn to 141.
20
The passage leads to an enormous compound of cells that holds the slaves of Kazan-Oud. They are, in the main, a pitiful herd of gangling, black-skinned creatures, with sorrowful eyes and backs bent crooked by years of hard labour. These prisoners press their sad faces against the tiny grates of their cells, curious to see the fair-skinned warrior who walks upright among them.
They hiss as you pass until the entire complex echoes to the sound of their sibilant scorn. At the end of the block, there is a cell that resembles a cage, denying its prisoner even the small degree of privacy provided by the others. You stare through the bars at a dark-skinned man sleeping on the straw-covered floor. His blond hair and red and gold tunic are stained with blood and grime. A key to his cell hangs by a cord on a peg driven into the nearby wall.
If you wish to take the key and release him, turn to 113.
If you prefer to leave him and continue, turn to 142.
21
A maniacal scream of anger echoes from behind the grating as the giant snake crashes lifelessly to the ground. Suddenly bolts of red fire are raining down all around you, splintering the stone floor and leaving nothing but molten cinders wherever they strike. You clamber across the snake and dive into the tunnel to avoid this rain of crimson death.
To your dismay, you discover the tunnel is no more than a shallow cave, a shelter for a clutch of eggs, each one no smaller than a barrel of ale. They rest upon a bed of packs and torn clothing, the last remains of adventurers who fell foul of the traps of Kazan-Oud.
If you wish to examine these items more closely, turn to 148.
If you wish to look for a way of escape from this tunnel, turn to 346.
22
The Rahkos lies motionless on the ground before you, but, in spite of the many blows you have dealt the creature, it bears no sign of having ever been involved in combat.
If you wish to turn your back on the hand and enter the passage ahead, turn to 77.
If you wish to take a closer look at the hand, turn to 215.
23
The stone blocks of a fallen tower lie scattered in an uneven line across the beach, like the vertebrae of a long-dead giant. Lightning flashes and you see in the battlements of Kazan-Oud a wide breach in the wall where the tower once stood. A stone staircase rises from the beach to the top of the ruined wall, but sections of it are missing, presumably torn away when the tower collapsed.
If you wish to attempt to climb the stairs to the fortress, turn to 150.
If you prefer to continue along the beach, turn to 348.
24
After what seems like an hour, but in reality is only a few minutes at the most, the scorching heat subsides and the tunnel air becomes painless to breathe. You press on and soon arrive at an archway, where the shiny steel tube enters a chamber gouged out of solid black iron. There a spiral staircase ascends to a portal. You climb the stairs and peer out through the portal. A sight greets you that sets your pulse racing. Before you stands a gleaming block of solid gold — the back of Lord Zahda's throne. Above it, hovering motionless in the air, are two perfect crystals: one glows darkly with black fire; the other radiates a pure golden light that sends a shiver down your spine. It is the object of your quest — the Lorestone of Herdos.
If you wish to reach up and take the Lorestone, turn to 42.
If you wish to attack the black crystal, turn to 138.
If you prefer to examine the throne, turn to 98.
25
Your senses scream a warning that this object is evil. A powerful spell of shielding has been placed upon it to conceal its true purpose, but your mastery of the psychic disciplines helps you to overcome this barrier. It is a means by which its sorcerous creator may exert his control over any who touch it or gaze upon it.
A coldness probes your mind, like fingers of ice seeking to crush your will, but your Psi-screen melts the numbing grip of this psychic attack. You lash out with your foot and send the Sceptre spinning into the chasm. There is a silence, and then a dull boom, like distant thunder, reverberates in the abyss far below.
If you now wish to enter the east tunnel, from which the Dhax appeared, turn to 185.
If you prefer to enter the west tunnel, turn to 308.
26
The inner surface of the bubble is lined with globules of transparent fat, which absorb the force of your blows.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table and add 3 to the number you have picked. If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Weaponmastery with sword, deduct 2 from this figure. The final number equals the number of ENDURANCE points you lose owing to lack of oxygen before you cut your way free from the transparent prison.
If you survive the ordeal, you can cut your way through the rest of the bubbles; turn to 151.
27
Stepping carefully through the slime-smeared rubble, you stop for a moment to catch your breath and survey the shattered keep of Kazan-Oud. It is a desolate sight. Only stone buildings remain intact, and everything is covered with creepers and mildew. A great fire must have ravaged the inner fortress to have resulted in such total devastation.
In the centre of the keep stands the Great Hall, still an imposing stronghold and made all the more frightening by the constant flash of green lightning. Beyond its burnt and fungus-covered wooden door, twisted tree forms, with sharp, barbed thorns, sprawl across the cracked flagstones like coils of steel wire. You are about to enter when a movement in the air around your head arrests you. A shape is taking form in the doorway, a shadowy figure with flaming red eyes. An icy chill grips your heart as it sweeps past you with a swirling rush of wind. You spin round to see it hovering in the sky, its shadowy hand now gripping a great spiked ball and chain. It shrieks an unearthly cry, and the ball whistles down towards your unprotected face.
Illustration II—A shadowy figure with flaming red eyes is hovering in the sky, its hand gripping a great spiked ball and chain.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Psi-screen, turn to 38.
If you do not possess this skill, you must prepare to defend yourself, for there is no time to evade this sudden attack. Owing to the speed of the attack, deduct 3 points from your COMBAT SKILL total for the first three rounds of combat (unless you have the Magnakai Discipline of Huntmastery).4
Oudakon: COMBAT SKILL 20 ENDURANCE 29
If you win the combat, turn to 5.
[4] You may decide to add a +5 bonus to your COMBAT SKILL if you are using the Jewelled Mace (cf. Shadow on the Sand Section 253).
28
Before you reach his body, a second crossbow bolt
hits your head. The missile passes through your skull, and you are dead before your body hits the ground.
Your life and your quest end here.
29
The tunnel winds its way deeper and deeper into the solid rock until it emerges at a chamber illuminated by a shaft of shimmering red light that pours down from a square hole in the ceiling. A pair of huge iron doors fills the opposite wall and appears to offer the only exit from the room. In order to reach the doors, you will have to pass through the eerie red light.
If you wish to walk through the light and examine the iron doors, turn to 269.
If you prefer to retrace your steps and take the east tunnel, turn to 272.
30
The sand is unexpectedly warm, and as you make your way between the boulders that litter the shore, your boots soon become unbearably hot. Just a few feet ahead, a distinct line of stepping stones rises out of the sand and heads towards a fissure in the sheer rock wall.
If you wish to leap onto the nearest stone slab, turn to 177.
If you choose to avoid the stepping stones and press on through the scorching sand, turn to 104.
31
Your attack is swift and deadly. You dispatch all three of them in as many blows and cover their dead bodies with a tapestry torn from the wall. There is nothing of value in the pockets of their robes, but lying on the table, you find a Skeleton Key and a Parchment. Both items look as if they could be of use, and you decide to keep them. (Mark them as Special Items on your Action Chart, to be kept in the pocket of your tunic.)
You leave the chamber, but as soon as you set foot into the corridor beyond, you are confronted by an armoured guard. He screams a cry that is muffled by the visor of his helmet and turns to run towards a bell-rope hanging from a hole in the ceiling.
If you have a Bow and wish to use it, turn to 266.
If you do not have a Bow, or if you do not wish to use it, turn to 40.
32
As the tip of your weapon flicks the lever down, you feel a surge of water engulf your arm. The flow is reversed: the statue is sucking water from the chamber at a tremendous rate. Your weapon is torn from your hand (remember to erase it from your Action Chart), but you manage to wrench your arm clear and swim to the surface uninjured.
Within minutes, the water drops to the level of the statue's mouth and remains there. Suddenly, the door emits a click and is forced wide open by the weight of the remaining water pressing upon it.
Turn to 172.
33
At first there is silence. Then a faint squeak grows to a shuddering rumble as the cogs of a hidden counterweight grind into action. The squeal of tortured metal resounds in your ears as the portcullis rises jerkily into the soot-blackened ceiling.
Wasting no time you duck under the rising bars and hurry into the tunnel beyond.
Turn to 277.
34
In reply to your correct answer,5 the oval door emits a click and slowly swings open. You step through and descend a steep ramp to a long corridor whose walls are covered with what appear to be gigantic cocoons that stretch into the distance for as far as you can see. The oval door clicks shut but the clicking continues, like an echo, only growing steadily louder. In the gloomy corridor ahead you can see that something is moving. A huge worm-like creature with great black eyes and horny mandibles is slithering towards you, a purple froth bubbling from its mouth as it picks up your scent.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Invisibility, turn to 86.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Animal Control and have reached the Kai rank of Primate, turn to 130.
If you have a Silver Whistle, turn to 347.
If you have neither of these skills nor the Special Item, turn to 233.
[5] This section is the correct answer to the Zakhan's riddle from Section 100.
35
By sheer force of will, you focus your skill through the pain that fills your head and try to command the sphere to stop its psychic attack.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you have reached the Kai rank of Primate, you may add 1 to the number you have picked.
If your total is now 0–4, turn to 97.
If it is 5 or more, turn to 246.
36
An opening to your right reveals a spiral staircase, and you can distinctly hear the sound of approaching footsteps. Judging by the noise, you estimate that at least a dozen iron-shod warriors are descending the stairs to this level.
If you wish to stand and face the approaching enemy, turn to 273.
If you wish to descend the stairs as quickly as possible, turn to 55.
37
In a matter of seconds, the exit is sealed off completely. A loud hissing fills your ears, and a strangely bitter smell assails your nostrils. By the time you realize that the air is being flooded with a powerful sleep gas, pumped in through tiny vents near the door, you are already succumbing to its irresistible power.
Turn to 165.
38
Your psychic senses tell you that what you see before you is an illusion. The Oudakon is a spectral force, placed here by a powerful magician and activated by anyone or anything that dares to approach the door of the Great Hall.
Mustering your courage, you challenge the illusion by commanding it to disperse. The shadow, which, seconds before, looked all too real, dissolves like mist into the chill night air. All that remains is a fading cry of frustrated anger that echoes through the ruins of the keep.
Turn to 293.
39
You sense that a bridge, hidden by a powerful spell of invisibility, spans the pit. Kneeling at the edge, you sweep your hand back and forth in the hope of locating it, but a noise in the passage behind makes you stop and turn. The sound of heavy footsteps grows louder, but the passage looks deserted. Frantically, you continue your search for the invisible bridge.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table.
If the number you have picked is 0–4, turn to 344.
If it is 5–9, turn to 58.
40
The guard tugs the rope and the corridor is filled with the harsh clangour of an alarm bell. More armoured guards appear, their weapons drawn and their visors closed for combat. They take one look at you and hurl themselves along the corridor in a frenzied attack. They strike simultaneously and you must fight all four of them as one enemy.
Zahda Beastmen: COMBAT SKILL 30 ENDURANCE 39
If you win and combat lasts three rounds or less, turn to 248.
If combat lasts more than three rounds, turn to 160.
41
A terrible growling follows you across the bleak shore as you race towards the high rock wall that is the base of Kazan-Oud. At first the sand felt comfortably warm, but now your boots have become unbearably hot.
A few yards ahead, a line of stepping stones rises out of the scorching black sand. The stones lead away towards a jagged fissure in the rock wall.
If you wish to leap onto the nearest stone slab, turn to 177.
If you choose to avoid the stepping stones and press on through the burning sand, turn to 104.
42
Your heart pounding, you reach for the Lorestone, your fingers trembling in anticipation of the moment when, by merely touching its crystal shell, you will absorb its vast wisdom. You feel giddy with excitement as your hand draws closer. Then suddenly a severe pain burns your fingers, jolting you to your senses: a gout of black fire has sprung from the dark crystal, stabbing you viciously with its spiky flame (lose 3 ENDURANCE points). Lightning dances around the crystal, fusing it to the Lorestone with a crackling fire. A cone of light bathes the throne and, in its shadowless glare, Lord Zahda appears, gaunt and wild-eyed; in his hand he holds a rod of inlaid platinum, which he now points directly at your head.
If you possess the Sommerswerd, turn to 174.
If you do not have this Special Item, turn to 202.
43
The Blue Pills are made from the dried a
nd crushed roots of the Sabito plant, commonly found in the Boari Jungle, but rare in any other part of Magnamund. They enable the human body to extract oxygen from water by absorbing it through the skin, thereby allowing anyone who swallows Sabito root to ‘breathe’ underwater.
There are enough pills for one full dose. Record them as Sabito on your Action Chart.
Turn to 323.
44
Your bleeding hand strikes something close to the edge of the pit that feels like a narrow plank. You thank your good fortune, but before you can scramble across it, a blow catches you in the ribs and leaves you gasping for air (lose 3 ENDURANCE points). You have been dealt a vicious kick that leaves you sprawled over the edge of the pit.
If you wish to get to your feet and try to retaliate, turn to 257.
If you wish to pull yourself onto the invisible beam and try to struggle across to the other side, turn to 166.
If you wish to risk diving into the pit, turn to 275.
