The Defenders of Dusk

by Dane Barrett

  388

  As the soldiers lie in an ever-increasing pool of their own blood, you wipe your weapon clean and prepare to proceed on into the sewers. In case you should see further conflict ahead, you pick up one of the soldier's short swords and slip in into your belt. It is then that Arinzo notices one of the town guards is still alive, but barely.

  “Go on ahead,” he says. “I must see if this man can be saved. I will meet you at the Guild entrance if I can.” Nodding silently, you carry on through the sewer entrance and into the dark, sodden tunnels beyond. At least down here, you will be safe from the fires above. Turn to 392.

  389

  Your progress comes to an abrupt end as you finally reach the clock face located on the opposite side of the tower. This timepiece is one of the more attractive features in the otherwise drab-looking city of Dusk, with blue-stone statues of creatures and animals embedded upon a metallic layer of silver and gold. None of the pieces are made from real gemstones or precious metals, however, so are not worth stealing. Peering across the immense face, you spy what you've been looking for; an open window. To reach it you will need to clamber across the clock, using whatever protrusions it offers up as handholds. The most prominent convex features upon the giant device are the blue-stone creatures, of which there are several that can serve as a valid path to the open window. Will you climb across the fish, the lion and the bird (turn to 236) or the stag, the centipede and the dragon (turn to 91)?

  390

  You arrive at the western parapet to observe the guardsmen here forming a circle around something. Whatever the creature is, it is big, though its form isn't immediately apparent as you begin to push your way through the ranks of men.

  “What is it?” shouts a guardsman. “Should we attack it?”

  “'Tis not of this world!” calls out another. “How can we possibly defeat such a monstrosity?” You separate the men, manoeuvring your way into the circle. Before you stands a familiar sight; The thick, powerfully-built limbs, the refuse-laden torso. It is the Filth-Demon you have done battle with twice before, though he seems larger now than ever! With the fury of action and adrenaline pouring through your veins, you brandish both of your blades and step forward, making yourself known. With all the power you have in your lungs you summon a savage roar which would wake the dead! Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your CHARISMA, turn to 86. If the dice roll is higher than your CHARISMA, turn to 198.

  391

  You step past the portcullis and find yourself standing inside another tunnel which leads away from the rat room, twisting in several directions as it goes. This passage seems old and has been fashioned without bricks, suggesting this may be an extension to a natural cavern instead of being part of the city's sewer system. Turn to 383.

  392

  It is difficult to remain silent while wandering about in the city's sewer system. The tunnel floors are filled with wastewater and the runoff from previous rainfalls on the roads above, and the audible sloshing from walking in it echoes throughout the interlinked passageways. Members of the Thieve's Guild, however, have learned where each mound of dirt, pile of refuse, and animal carcass lays down here so that your footfalls can be diminished. The place looks ancient, having been built long before the current city owners took possession of it. The walls and ceiling are a series of archways, slick with grime and lined with many pipe-systems belonging to the plumbing networks above ground. You are almost a third of the way along the tunnels when you hear the footfalls of another ahead. Clearly not another thief, to be so loud. Peering around a corner, you recognise the telltale flicker of torchlight, and spot two soldiers conversing before splitting up. The soldiers are searching the tunnels? Did they chase somebody down here? Do they know about the Guild? You will need to be careful if you are to make it to the secret entrance unscathed. Will you attempt to pick off a few of the soldiers as you progress (turn to 244) or attempt to use cleverness to avoid conflict (turn to 235)?

  393

  With your enemy not far behind you, you wind your way through several alleyways before stopping in between two warehouse buildings. You peer back around the corner you just came from and can see Fagen walking with confidence in your direction.

  “You may be quick, and you might be nimble,” the sorcerer calls out as he closes the distance between you. “But I am all-powerful! I have conquered cities! I have dominated races! The Western Realm will be mine, and all resistance will be crushed, beginning with this vile border city! I have even enslaved demons and cheated death itself. You cannot best me! Come! Face me directly, and I shall even give you a fighting chance before putting you in the ground!”

  While you know sorcerers to be powerful, this boastful nut seems to have forgotten about supporting his troops. If you can keep him occupied, and perhaps even kill him, the town guard may be able to push back and retake the eastern parapet. You hurriedly glance about looking for some way to get the upper hand on Fagen. The alleyway is shrouded in the shade of the surrounding structures, providing a limited carpet of darkness to hide in, and there are several shuttered windows which could be entered. Some of the buildings here have balconies which you could climb onto, and the road is dotted with several drains allowing water to run off into the sewer below. Make a note that you will need to keep a record of Fagen's HEALTH during this encounter. He starts with 13 points of HEALTH.

  Will you attempt to surprise him around an alley corner (turn to 146),

  drop on top of him from a balcony (turn to 34),

  attack him from under a drain grill (turn to 90),

  ambush him from one of the windows (turn to 190)

  or hide in the shadows and try to sneak up behind him as he passes by (turn to 60)?

  394

  You are dismayed to discover that the narrow tunnel terminates at a dead-end. Not only is there nowhere to go, but there isn't enough room to search for other openings in the rock. Frustrated at having wasted your time coming down here, you begin pushing yourself back in the direction you came from. Once you've picked up your equipment and arrived back in the welcoming open space of the cavern, will you instead head down the left-hand twisting passage (turn to 311) or the middle tunnel (turn to 63)?

  395

  The guard detects something below and leans over the ledge to peer downwards. He beckons the other guard over to his position before briefly conversing with him, and then both men duck back into the cave. You feel uneasy as Zabel finally reaches the ledge with the waterfall. Did the guards spot her, or did they see something else? You watch as she follows the same path as the men into the cave located behind the waterfall. Write down the keyword FALLS. Turning your eyes over to Babin, he seems to be making surprisingly quick work of ascending the cliff face until you realise he has discovered a section of hidden steps carved into the stone. He then uses a grappling hook and rope to swing himself around to another sheer wall, before shimmying across to another rock. As he disappears from view entirely, you realise he must have discovered another hidden cave. It is then that you notice three guards creeping up the hidden steps, tracking Babin's path. The little man may have been spotted! Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your INTELLIGENCE, turn to 373. If the dice roll is higher than your INTELLIGENCE, turn to 142.

  396: You remember him as Fagen, a tall and solidly-built man dressed in dark robes with a face seemingly

  carved from pure hatred and evil.

  396

  As you descend the steps, you take a moment to glance down upon the fields outside the wall to see the enemy ranks hurriedly thinning. Though your side has sustained many of their own casualties, you are nonetheless gaining the upper hand! Your enthusiasm is short-lived, however, as you reach the eastern parapet and play witness to the decimation before you. Every defender who was on this wall has perished, including your own comrade, the master spy, Xanth. All the bodies show signs of having been burned or frozen to death! Standing within the carnage is a figure you recognise from
Eastwood Ridge. You remember him as Fagen, a tall and solidly-built man dressed in dark robes with a face seemingly carved from pure hatred and evil. Swirls of fire and ice circle about his hands.

  “Why must I do everything myself?” says the sorcerer, spying your approach as he admires his handiwork. “You might be under the misconception that you are winning this battle, but I will show you what true power looks like!” With that, he performs a gesture with his hand, and a gust of air suddenly wraps around you, constricting your throat! You are lifted up off your feet and thrown from the wall, plummeting down toward the city street uncontrollably until you land most fortuitously in a cart filled with hay. As you scramble out of the straw, you realise you have lost your swords in the fall, and so retreat hurriedly into a darkened alley as you witness the sorcerer floating down from the wall to give chase! Turn to 393.

  397

  Your strength sees you make it to the top unscathed, and silently enough that no one below noticed your ascent. You carefully make your way across the beam, which is a mixture of ageing wood with metal bands, but solid and wide enough to provide you with a safe and stable path underfoot. Once you are clear of the guardhouse your makeshift walkway slopes back down and meets back up with the bridge proper. Now clear of the previous batch of guards, you quicken your pace and move to the middle of the bridge. Turn to 93.

  398

  You pause to catch your breath as the bodies of the Filth-Demon and the Rat Gremlin add carrion to the garbage already littered about the floor. While the gremlin's days of throwing knives at people are over, you are fully aware that the Filth-Demon may reform at any moment, so you hurriedly start to put distance between you and its corpse. You are disappointed to have arrived too late to prevent the deployment of the mind control dust into the water supply, but perhaps if you hurry back to the surface you might yet be able to influence the outcome of this conflict! Write down the keyword DEEP. Knowing you shouldn't waste any more time in the sewers, you quickly retrace your steps back to the surface. 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.

  399

  You arrive quickly at the top of the western tower to find an exhausted Ullucus resting, having spent much of his power already during the battle, while the ballista crew appear to be working on the weapon's mechanism. You peer over the edge of the tower and can see a lizard rider tentatively making its way in your direction through the throng of enemies below.

  “What is wrong?” you ask, turning to face the ballista team. “Why have you stopped firing? One of the giant lizards is almost upon us!”

  “It's the mechanism,” says Ullucus, pushing himself to his feet to glance over the tower's edge. He resembles an old man now more than you have ever seen him. “Something has jammed, and the arms won't pull back all the way without slipping forwards. We can't load another dart until we fix it. Would you have any knowledge of engineering, perchance?”

  You place your hands upon the ballista and peer at its complicated mechanical components. You once studied great siege engines as a pastime, though you aren't sure how much you can actually recall of how they function. Roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to or lower than your INTELLIGENCE, turn to 27. If the dice roll is higher than your INTELLIGENCE, turn to 7.

  400

  It has been several days since the defenders of Dusk successfully repelled the ambitious conquest by the city-state of Dactyl, not only saving the border town but also retaining the safety and security of the Western Realms. You now find yourself sitting upon a hilltop under the shade of a solitary tree with a gigantic dragon lying down alongside you. You look out across the countryside, watching as you spy Zabel approaching on horseback, though she is still some distance away due to the winding path she has taken. Tannurat expels a puff of black smoke from his nostrils, drawing your attention away from your friend.

  “I have done as you asked,” says the dragon, his booming vocals scaring off several squirrels hidden in the branches above. “I harried your enemies until they were clear across the river and saw them back to their own city. I doubt they will return anytime soon. What plans have you for me? My kind becomes restless if left unoccupied for too long.”

  “Then I release you from my service,” you say. The dragon's eyes widen with sudden interest. “I am not one to hold such a magnificent beast against his will.” You remove your armband and lift the golden whistle from around your neck, offering both to the dragon. He peers back at you curiously.

  “You would release me from my bond? Just like that?”

  “It is done.”

  “Then I thank you with utmost sincerity,” Tannurat says as he accepts your gifts, promptly crushing them both underfoot with one of his immense, clawed paws.

  “I am afraid I know nothing of the key which unlocks your restraining collar, however,” you tell the dragon. “I have queried the Wizard Ullucus, and he has never heard of such a thing within Dusk or anywhere else. I know finding it was your purpose for being here, and if I could locate it, rest assured I would not hesitate to give it to you.”

  “You have misunderstood,” says the dragon, lifting itself up and stretching its muscles. “The key is not a thing, an object or a tool. It is a symbolic belief; a gesture. I knew long ago that the key to my freedom lay in the city of Dusk, but it was not some crude metal thing that you use to unlock a door.” Tannurat raises one of his mighty claws to point in your direction. “You are the key, my friend. You killed Dysidious and restarted my ritual of servitude, in which a new master is chosen for me by the four great powers of our land. The elements of nature, bravery, time and magic selected you for this responsibility. And you have, in turn, chosen to grant me my freedom. You were the very thing I came to this city to find.” As if to prove his point, Tannurat lifts his massive head and shows you that the old metal coil that once was wound around his neck, glowing with its mystical aura, has since disappeared.

  “So what will you do now?” you ask as you detect the sound of Zabel's horse trotting somewhere upon the road below.

  “I will return to the mountains of my ancestors, far off to the north. I am a dragon made for war, bred from the gold and the red of our kind. I wish to discover the peace of exploration, and perhaps collect a nice horde of treasure along the way. I believe that is the traditional way of most wild dragons.”

  “So you'll become an adventurer then? Will I ever see you again?”

  “Perhaps,” Tannurat replies. “My path may bring me back here, or it may not. I will be a feather in the wind until I discover a new purpose.”

  “Then this is goodbye?”

  “It is.”

  “In that case, fare thee well, my enormous friend,” you announce, pushing yourself to your feet and walking out from the shade of the tree. “You know where to find me if you ever need a thief!”

  And with that, Tannurat acknowledges you one last time before taking to the sky, his immense wings blotting out the sun momentarily. As the great wyrm becomes a distant shape on the horizon, you hear Zabel's horse approaching you from behind.

  “I thought I would find you up here,” she says, choosing to stay upon her mount, a black and grey steed which was gifted to her by the Mayor for her leadership of the archers during the defence of Dusk. “Come. The sun is approaching the horizon, and we have patrol duty tonight.”

  “It seems you have forgotten something,” you point out. “You have not brought me a horse to ride. It is not like you to fail to provide for a friend in need.”

  “I've done nothing of the sort,” she retorts. “We will share my steed, and we shall talk of things on the slow ride back to the city. We have much to discuss.”

  “Very well,” you respond with a grin while effortlessly leaping up behind her saddle. Zabel turns the horse about, and then pauses for a moment, staring off into the distance.

  “Where is he headed?” she
asks you, peering at the ever-shrinking form of the dragon disappearing over the horizon.

  “The same place we are,” you reply. Zabel glances over her shoulder at you, her eyes sparkling in the failing light of the day. “Home.”

  THE END.

  Congratulations. You have completed The Defenders of Dusk!

  KEYWORDS

  (In alphabetical order)

  BONE

  BULB

  BRAVE

  CLEAN

  DEAD

  DEEP

  EAGLE

  ECHOES

  FALLS

  FLUTE

  IRON

  MAGIC

  NATURE

  PLAN

  QUARTZ

  RAPIER

  SENT

  SLAYER

  SLIP

  SPIKE

  TAIL

  TOOT