The Defenders of Dusk

by Dane Barrett

  93

  As you close in on the far side of the bridge, you spot the telltale fires and tents of a temporary camp ahead, housing the rest of the enemy forces who are holding the bridge. Orcs, goblins, men and even the odd Gekka mill about, eating, drinking, guarding and all the while conversing about what atrocities they would like to commit once they fully invade the city. You glance skywards and over the edge of the bridge to examine what options you have for sneaking past. Above you is a series of wooden beams which would provide a practical pathway over the camp. Below, you observe the beginnings of a new walkway similar to the one you first took to get onto the bridge. You could also try walking directly through the camp, hoping that your enemies would see you as just another mercenary. Will you climb up to the beams (turn to 191), descend to the walkway below the bridge (turn to 257) or attempt to infiltrate the camp directly (turn to 222)?

  94

  The popper explodes against the rock, puffing a cloud of dyed grain into the eyes of the guard, blinding him. Zabel finally becomes aware of the man's presence and proceeds to start cutting into him with her blades, easily avoiding his own attacks due to his inability to see. Before long, Zabel has cut the big man to his knees and kicks him right off the edge of the nearby ledge. You watch with pleasure as the body tumbles, bounces and slides its way down the cliff before turning your attention back to your comrade. Zabel has found another cave further along the ledge and disappears inside. With Zabel once again out of sight, and no sign of Babin, it is now time for you to move onto the western path around the ridge to meet up with your fellows on the other side. Turn to 152.

  95

  Observing the proud way these two mercenaries carry themselves, and considering the quality of their equipment, you suspect they are ranking members of this military force. Knowing what you know about mercenary groups, and especially those who feature orc commanders, they will not care to hear the opinion of an underling. You suspect the man may be attempting to draw you into saying something you shouldn't. Will you suggest that you'd be happy to follow either of the attack plans (turn to 274) or advise them that you're not worthy of making such a judgment (turn to 193)?

  96

  You will have to fight these guards, but you needn't do it alone! Zabel and Babin emerge from different locations on the right side of the courtyard and attack your opponents from behind. You must fight the following guards all at the same time while Zabel and Babin handle the rest.

  GEKKA: FIGHT 8, HEALTH 4

  ORC: FIGHT 6, HEALTH 3

  (the following enemy is only applicable if you do not have the keyword SENT)

  *ORC SENTRY: FIGHT 6, HEALTH 3.

  *If you DO NOT have the keyword SENT, then a further orc sentry appears from an elevated position, armed with a crossbow. Treat him as being part of the combat, but you cannot inflict damage on him until all of the other enemies are defeated. If you DO have the keyword SENT, then the orc sentry is no longer alive and does not participate in this fight. If you win this battle, turn to 74.

  97

  “A pincer movement would give us a better advantage in the battle to come,” you say with a partial bow.

  “Looks like you've found another one,” says the orc, shaking his head in disappointment. “He thinks we actually care about his opinion.”

  “Quite right,” answers the man. “Another upstart who doesn't understand his place in the greater scheme of things. Let's kill him!” Both mercenaries brandish their blades and advance upon you, forcing you to do likewise to defend yourself. You must fight these two at the same time, and need to finish this quickly before anyone else notices the altercation!

  ORC LEADER: FIGHT 7, HEALTH 3

  RUNTY LEADER: FIGHT 7, HEALTH 4

  If you win this battle in four rounds of combat or less, turn to 126. If at least one of your opponents is still alive after the fourth round of combat, turn to 279.

  98

  As you look upon the crack in the stone, you detect voices approaching from the far end of the tunnel. You lower your profile in the water and shrink into the shadows, watching intently as two contrasting figures emerge into view from around the corner ahead. You recognise both of these creatures. The first, a hulking shape much recovered from your earlier encounter, is the Filth-Demon whom you did battle with while in the peasant quarter. The other is the little winged rat-gremlin who tried to stick you with a throwing knife.

  “It is ahead, I tell you!” speaks the rat creature in a squeaky voice as it hovers alongside its large companion. “Fresh water, Sloman! It can only be the city's underground river! Do you have the dust?”

  “The box is within my body, Gribb-gribb,” replies the demon, though the words are formed somehow from the rustle of garbage instead of vocal cords. “I shall release it only when you have shown me the source.” The two creatures are heading directly towards your current location and will be upon you soon. You will have to fight them, but may choose to ambush one of them first! Will you attack Sloman, the Filth-Demon (turn to 19) or Gribb-gribb, the rat-gremlin (turn to 261)?

  99

  You climb inside the metal box and brace yourself against its sides in case the wall of fire brings with it a powerful blast. After a few moments, it hits, and you can hear the building around you catch alight and begin to crack like a toppling ship's mast. The fire pours around the metal box, and its boiling embrace begins to super-heat the sides of your hiding place. You are unable to separate yourself from the walls of your enclosure, and experience some minor burns as a result. Subtract 1 from your HEALTH. Suddenly your hiding place tilts sideways, and you know the building around you has toppled. You brace yourself as you are pressed hard against the wall of the box until finally, a jolt signals your progress has been halted by another obstacle. You attempt to lift the lid of the box but, whether it be from its own damage or from something else laying upon it, it just won't budge. You focus your mind and push hard with all of your might as the heat continues to increase around you. Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your STRENGTH, turn to 57. If the dice roll is higher than your STRENGTH, turn to 141.

  100

  The hooks gripping the battlements snap under the pressure of your strength and with one almighty shove you send the ladder back from where it came. Not only do several of the climbers tumble to their deaths, but the ladder, effectively a giant club of solidly-built wood, collapses down upon even more troops, killing some and disrupting the ranks of others. Add 10 to your RESISTANCE points. You help Xanth and the rest of the men dispose of the last of the ladders before taking stock of the situation. You observe the east-most tower and its ballista still firing its mighty darts into the enemy forces below, while to the west you can hear excited shouts coming from the archers. Will you head west, back to the centre of the wall (turn to 354) or climb the stone steps of the eastern tower (turn to 65)?

  101

  You step carefully into another room, this one being just as dark and dingy as those you have traversed through to get here. Glancing about in the dark you can see a doorway with a broken portcullis to your right and another closed door set into the far wall. This other is made of iron, with a small keyhole built into its frame. As you are observing the room, you are suddenly set upon by eight brown-haired creatures which glare back at you with beady red eyes! They are giant rats, and they must have heard you approaching! You must fight them all at the same time.

  GIANT RAT 1: FIGHT 6, HEALTH 1

  GIANT RAT 2: FIGHT 5, HEALTH 2

  GIANT RAT 3: FIGHT 5, HEALTH 2

  GIANT RAT 4: FIGHT 5, HEALTH 2

  GIANT RAT 5: FIGHT 5, HEALTH 3

  GIANT RAT 6: FIGHT 5, HEALTH 3

  GIANT RAT 7: FIGHT 4, HEALTH 3

  GIANT RAT 8: FIGHT 4, HEALTH 3

  If you win this battle, turn to 79.

  102

  As you finally silence the dog, you stoop into a crouch and wait, listening for the sound of hurried footsteps to your position. You detect nothing, howe
ver, which hopefully means nobody noticed the commotion that took place here. Taking up the deceased animal in your arms, you toss it over the side of the platform and into the river below. A sad end for a noble animal, but you have a mission to accomplish! Continuing along the walkway, you notice it eventually joins up with another which descends further under the bridge. Looking down it appears the other path leads back the way you came, so you focus on continuing along your current route. Turn to 301.

  103

  As you walk beneath the bridge, watching the water's edge, you remember to periodically glance upwards you in case anything nefarious lays in wait above. You also wouldn't want to disturb any bats that may live down here in case it attracts the guards above you. As you glance up at the bottom of the bridge, you spy a bulbous shape which seems out of place, seemingly hanging from the foundations. You carefully give the shadow a wide berth and eventually make it to the other side of the bridge without incident. This walkway now turns left and ascends to a new level, joining up with the other platform you spotted on the right-hand side of the structure. Turn to 301.

  104

  You climb up the side of a small building located near the front of the bridge so that you can get a better view of the surrounding area. You observe a fortification in front of the bridge, along with mercenary forces guarding it; mostly orcs and goblins, from what you can see. There is also a walkway located to the right side of the structure which sits lower than the bridge itself and appears to have fewer guards patrolling it than the main entrance. Your view of the left side of the bridge is partially obscured from here, but you surmise there will be an identical platform over there. A direct assault will be impractical for a single person to undertake, so you decide to investigate one of the walkways. Will you head to the left-hand walkway (turn to 13) or the right (turn to 73)?

  105

  Just before the soldier reaches your hiding spot around the corner, you use the positioning of the torchlight on the wall to judge your target's approximate height. As his torch arm emerges from the blind spot of the tunnel ahead, you push your back hard against the wall and swing your dagger outwards, stiffly driving it into the man's neck. You slide it quickly across his throat, cutting off any ability he may have had to cry out, replaced instead with a sickening gurgle. You grab his body as it falls; to lessen the splash of its impact on the water. After the soldier stops writhing from his death throes, you continue on towards the intersection where you know you will find the entrance to the Thieves Guild. Turn to 36.

  106

  The deer, fearful of your intentions, takes a few tentative steps away from you before jolting back into the foliage. You reach out in a half-hearted effort to get it to stop before realising this would just scare the beast even more. You contemplate tracking the animal through the vegetation, but before you can decide on anything the area surrounding you is suddenly enveloped in a bright white light. Soon you can see nothing but your own hands before you. You close your eyes to protect them from the brightness, but on opening them again, find yourself back in the narrow crawlspace tunnel. You recheck the wall but find it is now solid, and whatever entrance to the grove that was once here is now gone. Write down the keyword SLIP. Collecting the gear you had previously left behind, you head back to the cavern. Once there, will you instead head down the left-hand twisting passage (turn to 311) or the middle tunnel (turn to 63)?

  107

  You cannot see any inherent flaws in the mechanism's design. Resigning yourself to the realisation that unless you wish to dive off the walkway and become food for the carnivorous fish in the river, you will need to dodge each element of this deadly trap if you wish to make it to the other side. Stepping forward, you ready yourself for this bloodthirsty gauntlet. Roll 2 dice three times. Each result which ends up being higher than your AGILITY will mean that you've been hit by one of the trap elements and must subtract 2 points of HEALTH (so you may lose up to 6 points if you fail all three rolls). If you make it past the trap alive, you may then continue to follow the walkway to the far riverbank and finally make your way up to the rear of the enemy encampment. The leader's tent now looms ominously ahead. Turn to 288.

  108: You turn in despair as the Filth-Demon reforms its body, regenerating itself using more of the filth

  laying around the roof cavity.

  108

  As the Filth-Demon sinks to the floor, melting into a pool made-up of everything unpleasant usually found in a rubbish-clogged drainage system, you notice a key fall from one of its legs. Having been a creature without clothing, you guess the demon stored items within its own body, and that this key opens the lock which holds Arinzo's chains together. Unlocking his bonds, you help your leader to his feet. He is a little worse for wear and shows signs of having been beaten repeatedly. You are about to ask him more of his capture when his eyes grow wide and he lifts his hand to point behind you. You turn in despair as the Filth-Demon reforms its body, regenerating itself using more of the filth laying around the roof cavity. Your mind is still comprehending the creature's regenerative ability when it grabs you by the neck and, swatting the weakened Arinzo aside, it lifts you off your feet and walks you directly towards a sharp outcropping of splintered wood sticking out from the broken section of the roof. Do you still have the keyword EAGLE? If so, turn to 378. Otherwise, turn to 185.

  109

  Have you amassed 90 or more RESISTANCE points? If so, turn to 396. Otherwise, turn to 335.

  110

  You rush onto the western parapet just in time to witness a group of orc axemen leaping over the battlements. They have managed to set their ladders and climb up and over the wall before they could be knocked back. Glancing over the edge you can see even more orcs making their way up the ladders, so this first group needs to be defeated quickly before the rest arrive! You must fight three opponents at once!

  ORC AXEMAN 1: FIGHT 7, HEALTH 2

  ORC AXEMAN 2: FIGHT 6, HEALTH 3

  ORC AXEMAN 3: FIGHT 5, HEALTH 4

  If you defeat all three, you and the other guardsmen turn your attention to knocking down the remaining ladders! One particularly strapping guard wielding an axe has managed to chop away the hooks on the eastern-most ladder, but his comrades along the battlements are not having the same level of success. The axe-wielding guard is about to push the ladder away when you have an idea.

  “Wait there, soldier!” you call out to him. “You get to chopping away the other ladders. I'll handle this one.”

  As the trooper obediently moves to his next target, you swing yourself up and over the battlement, bringing your boots down sideways upon the ladder's upper struts. Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your AGILITY, turn to 342. If the dice roll is higher than your AGILITY, turn to 53.

  111

  Getting down on your hands and knees, you shuffle your body across the top of the cracked section of wood. The beam groans as you move, and you fear momentarily that it may snap entirely under your weight. Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your AGILITY, turn to 68. If the dice roll is higher than your AGILITY, turn to 92.

  112

  As you finally silence the dog, you stoop into a crouch and wait, listening for the sound of hurried footsteps to your position. It becomes immediately apparent that you haven't succeeded in dealing with the animal fast enough when two orc patrollers come rushing down the walkway. You must fight them both at the same time!

  ORC PATROLLER 1: FIGHT 6, HEALTH 3

  ORC PATROLLER 2: FIGHT 6, HEALTH 3

  If you win this battle, you quickly dispose of the bodies by tossing them over the side of the walkway and into the river before continuing your trek across the platform (turn to 301).

  113

  You know that if you shoot regular or armour-piercing arrows that it may require several well-targeted hits to kill the guard, leaving Zabel having to struggle with this enormous man on the edge of a cliff in the meantime. Instead, you line up one of your poppers, hoping to burst it
upon the rock wall beside his face. Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your AGILITY, turn to 94. If the dice roll is higher than your AGILITY, then your popper flies wide and you will need to instead try to kill the man with regular arrows (turn to 55).

  114

  As you step onto the eastern parapet, you glance about to get an idea of the present situation. If you have amassed 70 or more RESISTANCE points, then things are relatively quiet here with the guardsmen awaiting their next engagement. If this is the case, you may now choose to move on to either the centre wall (turn to 298) or climb the steps to the eastern tower (turn to 241).

  If you have not yet amassed 70 RESISTANCE points, turn to 297.

  115

  You manage to maintain your grip upon the tree branch and, using every ounce of strength you can muster, you swing yourself over to the lower ledge. As you land, you realise this new path is built upon a far sharper slope than the view from above suggested, and you begin to slide down the rock face, dragging several stones with you. You watch as the dragon swoops down on an intercept trajectory, but as it hovers below, it is pelted with several stones from the rockslide created by your rapid descent. As the wyrm retreats, your path comes to an end, and the cliff finally throws you away from its grasp. You tumble through the air until you ultimately impact the surface of a small lake, located fortuitously below you. While the water breaks your fall, the sharpness of the impact still injures you. Subtract 1 from your HEALTH. If you are still alive, you drag yourself from the lake and, after making sure the dragon is no longer pursuing you, you hurriedly make your way back to the city. Turn to 332.