The Defenders of Dusk
Page 12
219
Your endurance holds out against the boiling fumes of the oil and you successfully tip it directly on top of the orc climbers. You duck down to avoid a few incoming crossbow bolts while listening to the piercing screams below. The archers toss a few lit torches over the battlements for good measure and the cries of pain down below intensify as the climbers burst into flames. It is safe to say that this particular attack has been successfully repelled. Add 10 to your RESISTANCE points. Zabel slaps you hard on the chest to signify her pleasure at having knocked back the enemy forces for now, and picks up her bow, resuming her role as an archer. As you wipe the sweat away from your brow, you watch as a trebuchet boulder sails over the eastern battlements, hitting and collapsing a building beyond the wall. You can also hear the sounds of a fierce battle to the west. Will you leave the archers and head west (turn to 110) or head east (turn to 128)?
220
“Its good you're here,” says Dabbek, acknowledging your arrival. “All we know so far is that the city is under attack. We do not know by whom, though we suspect it to be the city-state of Dactyl, who have desired control of the border for decades. The wall of fire was seen to be conjured by a powerful beast, and there have been reports of other strange creatures in the streets.”
“I encountered a man in the sewers who had centipedes as part of his guts,” you say. “He was searching for something.”
“Then we must flee at once!” exclaims Cabomb. “If they know where we are, we'll be trapped here like rats in a... a... rat trap!”
“All in good time, my imaginative friend,” replies Xanth. “I have received a report that our fearless leader, Arinzo, is in trouble. Zabel saw him being escorted by enemy soldiers and tracked them to the peasant quarter. They entered a building there and haven't been seen since.”
“So they may still be inside?” mutters Dabbek aloud, though you can tell by his beard-rubbing that he was speaking his inner thoughts.
“Allow me to head to the peasant quarter to investigate,” you announce. “The rest of you should consider retreating to an alternate base of operations in case Arinzo gives up this location under pain of torture.” With Dabbek nodding his head in approval, you swiftly take your leave out the nearest exit leading to the streets above. Turn to 72.
221
You cannot keep down the broth, ejecting much of it onto the ground beside the fire. The goblins and orcs boo loudly at the disrespect shown towards their favourite meal. As you stumble away from the fireside gathering, the mercenaries take up handfuls of dirt and stones and pelt you with missiles. Subtract 2 from your HEALTH. If you are still alive, you finally manage to separate yourself from the rowdy group and move on to the far side of the encampment. Turn to 29.
222
You purposefully mess up your hair and lather a bit of grime across your forehead before striding towards the encampment. Walking in between the first of the tents, attempting to look like you belong here, you are encouraged to find you are not immediately challenged by anyone. Passing by a campfire you scrunch up your nose at the foul stench emanating from the enemies' stew pot. Noticing your grimace, a goblin cook waves his spoon in your direction and calls out.
“What's the matter, man-flesh?” the goblin growls. “Our hot pot not good enough for the likes of you? Think you're above our kind, eh? Come over here and try some, or I might take it as an insult!” Will you accept the goblin's offer of some stew (turn to 231) or fervently refuse (turn to 264)?
223
Slowly drawing your longsword from its scabbard, you make a leap at the rats, swiftly cutting down two of them before the others even realise what is happening. Your remaining targets dodge about, evading your initial sword swings until they finally regroup and launch a counterattack! You must fight them all at the same time.
GIANT RAT 1: FIGHT 5, HEALTH 2
GIANT RAT 2: FIGHT 5, HEALTH 2
GIANT RAT 3: FIGHT 5, HEALTH 2
GIANT RAT 4: FIGHT 5, HEALTH 3
GIANT RAT 5: FIGHT 5, HEALTH 3
GIANT RAT 6: FIGHT 4, HEALTH 3
If you win this battle, turn to 79.
224
You are unsure what gives away your position; an errant slosh of the water from your boots, you shadow casting itself upon the wall at an inopportune time? It matters not, as the soldier has detected your presence and turned to advance directly upon your position, sword and shield at the ready. You will need to fight him!
ENEMY SOLDIER: FIGHT 7, HEALTH 3
If you win this battle, turn to 350.
225
Using a boot to promote momentum, you push yourself up, grabbing the ledge with one hand. The gargoyle snaps away from the wall suddenly, leaving you suspended via one arm, straining desperately to hold on. You will need to pull yourself up! Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your STRENGTH, turn to 8. If the dice roll is higher than your STRENGTH, turn to 327.
226
Your feet scamper across the wooden wall planks, picking up momentum as you travel on your downward curve and slowing again as you bend upwards towards the window. You quickly scramble to your target before deftly swinging yourself into its opening, releasing the rope as you do. Now safely inside, you find yourself in a small enclosure with a ladder leading into a hatch in the ceiling. There is nowhere else to go, so you climb the ladder and slowly open the door above. Turn to 377.
227
Revealing the key you found within the buck rat, you can now see it is the right size for the keyhole in this door. You insert the key into the lock, and with a quick turn, you hear a satisfying click. The door swings open, revealing another passageway beyond. Stepping through into this new path, you find that the tunnel swings to the left for a short distance before twisting back to its original direction. At one point the water becomes deeper, almost making it to your waist, before receding again as you approach a droplet-shaped dead-end. The passage terminates at a raised dais, upon which the stone is cracked, revealing a torrent of water below. You have found an access point to the underground river, and the city's primary source of clean water! Do you have either of the keywords CLEAN or DEAD (or both)? If so, turn to 179. If you have neither of these keywords, turn to 98.
228
You pause to catch your breath as the bodies of both Sloman and Gribb-gribb add carrion to the garbage already littered about the floor. While the gremlin's days of tossing knives at people are over, you are fully aware that the Filth-Demon may reform at any moment, so you hurriedly search its remains for the box the two were talking about when they arrived. Pulling aside Sloman's innards, you eventually find what you are looking for; a small wooden box, with a seal of wax which is tightly wound around its lid. You carefully open it, observing powdery dust inside which glints with the colours of a rainbow, even with the lack of light in the passage. You walk a short distance up to where the wastewater is deepest, and upend the box, dispensing the dust harmlessly, and well away from the underground river access point. You have successfully intercepted your enemies before they were able to deploy their mind-control substance, which will hopefully give the townsfolk an advantage during the battles to come! Write down the keyword SPIKE. While you know that your enemies might create another batch of dust to deploy at a later date, you can't very well stay in the sewers indefinitely, so you hurriedly retrace your steps back to the surface before the Filth-Demon begins to reform itself. Restore 2 points of lost HEALTH as you can take a rest before undertaking your next mission. Return to 362 and choose another option, remembering to cross off any locations already visited.
229
The muscles in your arms pulse with the strain of pulling and twisting the rusty grate, and the set of bars finally succumbs to your strength, popping open with an echoing clang and bringing some of the surrounding stonework with it. You almost fall back onto the dirty floor as the grate comes loose, but you successfully manage to keep your footing due to your strong centre of gravity. Placing the section of bars a
side, you slip on through the newly-created entrance. Turn to 101.
230
You lift the armband and snatch up the letter before the breeze can summon its departure. The band is made from copper but has been inlaid with several stones which are fashioned from pink quartz. Glancing at the letter, you see it is nothing more than a short note made out to the Wight.
General Visidious,
Your brother is dead. He perished at the hands of an unknown assailant who infiltrated our encampment at Eastwood Ridge. Without your brother's ability as a dragon rider, Tannurat has become unruly and unpredictable. You, being the last remaining member of Dysidious' family, must attempt to get the dragon under some semblance of control. Do this for me, and I may see to resurrecting your brother like I once did for you. I have included the armband in the hopes you know what to do with it.
General Fagen.
Will you try wearing the armband (turn to 38) or put it back on the table where you found it (turn to 211)?
231
Striding forward confidently, you grab a spare wooden bowl which you find sitting alongside the stew pot and hold it out to the goblin so that he can serve you. The vile slop slides into your receptacle and congeals into a slimy goop. Taking up a spoon, you shovel some of the food into your mouth and swallow it down while attempting to avoid the awful taste. The stew passes through you like a knife through melted butter, and your stomach tries to reject it with ruthless aggression! Will you be able to hold it down? Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your current HEALTH, turn to 33. If the dice roll is higher than your current HEALTH, turn to 221.
232
As you rejoin the archers on the central parapet, you glance about to get an idea of the present situation. If you have amassed 60 or more RESISTANCE points, then things are relatively quiet here, though Zabel and her companions are running low on arrows. There isn't much for you to do here, so you decide to move on to either the western side of the wall (turn to 390) or the eastern side (turn to 114).
If you have not yet amassed 60 RESISTANCE points, then the situation is dire. Several orcish rogues have scaled the wall unseen and have already eliminated several of the archers. Zabel is desperately trying to repel them from the battlements! You leap into the fray to help with the battle. You must face off against five opponents at the same time!
ORC ROGUE LEADER: FIGHT 7, HEALTH 4
ORC ROGUE SWORDSMAN: FIGHT 7, HEALTH 3
ORC ROGUE ASSASSIN: FIGHT 6, HEALTH 3
ORC ROGUE SCOUT: FIGHT 6, HEALTH 3
ORC ROGUE LACKEY: FIGHT 5, HEALTH 4
If you defeat all five enemies, the archers manage to regain control of the central parapet. Add 5 to your RESISTANCE points. You regather yourself after such a hard-fought battle, and you may now choose to move to either the western side of the wall (turn to 390) or the eastern side (turn to 114).
233
Beyond the grate is another tunnel, which twists left before straightening again. You know from your knowledge of the sewers and the pipe formations along the wall that you are proceeding in the right direction, and that the underground river shouldn't be too much further ahead. Your progress is halted by another grate, but unlike the last one, this set of metal bars appears to be rusted shut. You try to open the grill, but find that it resists your attempts to move it. Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your INTELLIGENCE, turn to 238. If the dice roll is higher than your INTELLIGENCE, turn to 344.
234
You gasp in dismay as your hands fail to grip the cable, and you free-fall down through the air with no hope of grabbing anything to break your descent. As you plummet towards the roof of the Town Hall, it occurs to you that by the time someone recovers your corpse from its stone tiles, the crows will have already made a feast of you. Your adventure ends here.
235
You position yourself at the end of the tunnel opposite the lone soldier who had been in a conversation only seconds ago, still standing at the corner with his torch. You observe some copper pipes along the wall and devise a possible plan to make the man move on, allowing you to proceed. The pipes here, when not passing water deposited by the town shops above, link up to each other with several outlets located throughout the tunnels. Arinzo once showed you a trick in which speaking through specific outlets can project your voice up to two corners away, making it sound like you are in a completely different location within the sewers. If you could successfully pull off that trick here, you may be able to make the soldier walk off down a side tunnel to his left, leaving the way open for you. You peer at several outlets along this wall and attempt to calculate where each would lead from what you remember of this pipe network. Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your INTELLIGENCE, turn to 181. If the dice roll is higher than your INTELLIGENCE, turn to 245.
236
You begin your steady traversal of the blue-stone statues, being careful to watch out for elements of weathering and mould which may have built up over time. The climb is relatively easy until you reach the bird statue, whose rounded edges make it difficult to retain a grip. You attempt to scurry over its surface as quickly as you can. Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your AGILITY, turn to 321. If the dice roll is higher than your AGILITY, turn to 281.
237
As you step onto the western parapet, you glance about to get an idea of the present situation. If you have amassed 80 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 292) or climb the steps to the western tower (turn to 307).
If you have not yet amassed 80 RESISTANCE points, then the situation is dire. Several Gekka shock troops have climbed the wall, some with ladders and others with their claws, and are currently in the process of overwhelming the guardsmen. You leap into the fray to help with the battle. You must face off against five opponents at the same time!
GEKKA ANNIHILATOR: FIGHT 9, HEALTH 3
GEKKA SLICER: FIGHT 8, HEALTH 4
GEKKA DICER: FIGHT 8, HEALTH 4
GEKKA TROOPER: FIGHT 7, HEALTH 5
GEKKA BRUISER: FIGHT 7, HEALTH 4
If you defeat all five enemies, you look around to see that order has again been restored to the western parapet; the enemies having been killed or driven off the wall. Several of your own guardsmen have been killed in this latest attack, however. Add 5 to your RESISTANCE points. You regather yourself after such a hard-fought battle, and you may now choose to move to either the centre wall (turn to 292) or climb the steps to the western tower (turn to 307).
238
You retreat a short distance along the tunnel, examining the various pipes which are attached to the walls and ceiling. You open a few pipe outlets and sniff, recoiling from most of them in disgust at the types of garbage people above ground throw into street drains. Eventually, you find what you are looking for; mutton fat. You carefully scoop a generous amount of the slimy substance into one hand before transporting it back to the stuck grate. You liberally apply the fat to the gaps around the rusted bars, spreading it into every crack and cranny you can find. You periodically push and pull the bars while doing so, until you finally feel their grip loosen, the fat lessening the friction between the grate and the wall. This allows you to eventually pop the grill out of its opening and slowly lower it to the muddy ground, creating only a small amount of noise in the process. Wiping off your hands as best you can, you slip on through the newly-created entrance. Turn to 17.
239
Having misjudged your jump, your body is soon taken by the pull of gravity. Your doomed path is not without pain, as your knees impact a jagged boulder jutting out from the cliff face, shattering the bones in your legs. As you tumble in a circular motion, your arms repeatedly slap against stones, ripping away flesh and smashing limbs like pulp. Mercy eventually gifts itself to you as your head collides with a sharp stone, much harder th
an your own skull, which splits open, inviting in the darkness and relief you so desperately seek. Your adventure ends here.
240
Realising that your boots will make a substantial racket on these wooden walls as you traverse over to the next window, you steal a garment from one of the clothing lines and tear it in half. You then wrap the dampened fabric around each of your boots, hoping that this will be enough to lessen the noise created by your upcoming wall-run. Feet now prepared, you wrap the end of the rope around your hand tightly before bracing your back against the window frame. Launching yourself forwards, you run sideways along the wall, using the line to guide your path. Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your AGILITY, turn to 18. If the dice roll is higher than your AGILITY, turn to 359.