Book Read Free

Flight from the Dark

Page 12

by Joe Dever


  Closing the door of the cabin, you head off along an overgrown path towards the northeast.

  Turn to 103.

  [3] You may take as many Torches as you can carry. Each takes up one Backpack Item slot on your Action Chart.

  348

  Raising your boot to kick away the dead snake, your heart skips a beat as you realize that it was a Red Marshviper. There is no known cure for its venomous bite! You decide that to go any further in this direction would be suicide. Carefully retracing your steps, you eventually reach firm ground and continue on your mission.

  Turn to 95.

  349

  He is a young blond-haired youth with deep brooding eyes. His face is lined with exhaustion and the grime of battle, and his long sky-blue robes bear evidence of living rough in the wilds. He shakes your hand and bows. ‘My eternal thanks, Kai Lord. My powers are nearly drained. Had you not come to my aid, I fear I would have ended my days atop a Giak lance.’

  He is weak and unsteady on his feet. You take his arm and sit him down upon a fallen pillar where you listen intently to what he has to say.

  ‘My name is Banedon. I am journeyman to the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star, which is the Magicians' Guild of Toran. My Guildmaster has sent me to your monastery with this urgent message.’ He removes a vellum envelope from inside his robes and hands it to you.

  ‘As you see, I have opened the letter and read its contents. When the war started, I was on the highway with two travelling companions. The Kraan attacked us and we lost each other in the forest during our escape.’

  The letter is a warning to the Kai Lords that the Darklords have mustered a vast army beyond the Durncrag Range. The Guildmaster urges the Kai to cancel the celebrations of Fehmarn and prepare for war.

  ‘I fear we were betrayed,’ says Banedon, his head bowed in sorrow.

  ‘One of my order, a brother called Vonotar, had explored the forbidden mysteries of the Black Art. Ten days ago he denounced the Brotherhood and killed one of our Elders. He has since disappeared. It is rumoured that he now aids the Darklords.’

  You tell Banedon what has happened at the monastery, and of your mission to warn the King. Silently, he removes a gold chain from around his neck and hands it to you. On the chain is a small Crystal Star Pendant. ‘It is the symbol of my Brotherhood, and we are both truly brothers in this hour of darkness. It is a talisman of good fortune — may it protect you on your road ahead.’

  You thank him, place the chain around your neck, and slip the Crystal Star4 inside your shirt. (Remember to mark this on your Action Chart.)

  Banedon bids you farewell. ‘We must leave this place lest the Giaks return with more of their loathsome kind to put an end to us. I must return to my Guild. I bid you farewell, my brother. May the luck of the gods go with you.’

  Turn to 293.

  [4] Later books assume that you keep the Crystal Star Pendant and ask you if you possess it to see if you've ever met Banedon. It also may or may not be useful in other situations. You may decide whether or not to keep the Pendant.

  350

  You enter the Chamber of State, a magnificent hall decorated lavishly in white and gold. The King and his closest advisers are studying a large map spread upon a marble plinth in the centre of the chamber. Their faces are lined with worry and concentration. A silence fills the hall as you tell of the death of your kinsmen and of your perilous journey to the citadel. As you finish your story, the King approaches and takes your right hand in his.

  Illustration XX—The faces of the King and his closest advisers are lined with worry and concentration.

  ‘Lone Wolf, you have selfless courage: the quality of a true Kai Lord. Your journey here has been one of great peril and although your news comes as a grievous blow, the spirit of your determination is like a beacon of hope to us all in this dark hour. You have brought great honour to the memory of your Masters, and for that we praise you.’

  You receive the praise and heartfelt thanks of the entire hall — an honour that brings a certain redness to your young face. The King raises his hand and all the voices cease.

  ‘You have done all that Sommerlund could have asked of a loyal son, but she is greatly in need of you still. The Darklords are powerful once more and their ambition knows no bounds. Our only hope lies within Durenor with the power that once defeated the Darklords an age ago. Lone Wolf, you are the last of the Kai — you have the skills. Will you journey to Durenor and return with the Sommerswerd, the sword of the sun? Only with that gift of the gods may we crush this evil and save our land.’

  If you wish to accept the quest of the Sommerswerd, begin your adventure with Book 2 of the Lone Wolf adventures:

  Fire on the Water

  Numbered Sections

  1-10: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

  11-20: 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

  21-30: 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

  31-40: 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

  41-50: 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

  51-60: 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

  61-70: 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70

  71-80: 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

  81-90: 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

  91-100: 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

  101-110: 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110

  111-120: 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120

  121-130: 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130

  131-140: 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140

  141-150: 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150

  151-160: 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160

  161-170: 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170

  171-180: 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180

  181-190: 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190

  191-200: 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

  201-210: 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210

  211-220: 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220

  221-230: 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230

  231-240: 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240

  241-250: 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250

  251-260: 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260

  261-270: 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270

  271-280: 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280

  281-290: 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290

  291-300: 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300

  301-310: 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310

  311-320: 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320

  321-330: 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330

  331-340: 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340

  341-350: 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350

  Map of the Lastlands

  Action Chart

  Combat Rules Summary

  Add your COMBAT SKILL to any extra points given to you by your Kai Disciplines.

  Subtract the COMBAT SKILL of your enemy from this total. This number = Combat Ratio.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

  Turn to the Combat Results Table.

  Find your Combat Ratio on the top of the chart and cross-reference to the random number you have picked. (E indicates loss of ENDURANCE points to Enemy. LW indicates loss of ENDURANCE points to Lone Wolf.)

  Continue the combat from Stage 3 until one character is dead. This is when the ENDURANCE points of either character fall to 0 or below.

  To Evade Combat

  You may only do this when the text of the adventure offers you the opportunity.

  You undertake one round of combat in the usual way. All points lost by the enemy are ignored; only Lone Wolf loses the ENDURANCE points.

  If the book offers the chance of taking evasive action in place of combat, it can be taken in the first round of combat or any subsequent round.

  Combat Results Table

  Random Number Table

  Errata

  Introduction


  We have taken our unique opportunity to correct errors and to enforce a standard of English usage. We list our changes here. If you see anything that needs correction, please contact the Project Aon Staff.

  Errata List

  (Blurb) Replaced ‘FLIGHT FROM THE DARK’ with ‘Flight from the Dark,’.

  The Story so Far) Replaced ‘Darklord armies’ with ‘Darkland armies’.

  (The Game Rules) Replaced all occurrences of ‘ie’ with ‘i.e.’ Removed ‘that you will find in the front of this book. For further adventuring you can copy out the chart yourself or get it photocopied’. Replaced ‘on 4’ with ‘on the number 4’. Removed ‘ on the last page of this book’. Replaced ‘fall to zero’ with ‘fall to zero or below’. Replaced ‘on to’ with ‘onto’. Replaced each occurrence of ‘Chart. (ie’ with ‘Chart (i.e.’. Replaced ‘14.)’ with ‘14).’. Replaced ‘points.)’ with ‘points).’.

  (Kai Disciplines) Replaced ‘Kai Discipline section’ with ‘Kai Disciplines section’. Removed ‘ on the last page of the book’. Capitalized all occurrences of ‘discipline’. Replaced ‘fully in Equipment section’ with ‘fully in the Equipment section’. Replaced ‘Lone Wolf’ with ‘Lone Wolf’ when referring to the series. Replaced ‘Kai monastery’ with ‘Kai Monastery’. Replaced ‘will be of use’ with ‘may be of use’. Replaced ‘Explained fully’ with ‘This will be explained fully’.

  (Equipment) Added periods to the sentences describing the Helmet and Chainmail Waistcoat.

  (Equipment: How to use your equipment) Added a period to the second from last sentence in the Weapons subsection. Replaced ‘food or’ with ‘food, or’. Replaced ‘two weapons’ with ‘two Weapons’. Added ‘You may only use one Weapon at a time in combat.’ in harmony with the Collector's Edition.

  (Rules for Combat) Removed a superfluous period in the second paragraph of the first example. Removed ‘ on the inside back cover of the book’. Replaced ‘on the page after the Random Number Table’ with ‘in the back of this book’. Replaced ‘reduced to zero’ with ‘reduced to zero or below’. Replaced ‘points reduced’ with ‘points possibly reduced’. Replaced ‘at which point the one with the zero score is declared dead.’ with ‘at which point that combatant is declared dead.’.

  (Levels of Kai Training) The Levels of Kai Training section did not originally appear in this book, but has been added for the reader's information.

  (Kai Wisdom) Removed ‘on the back cover of the book ’. Replaced ‘Lone Wolf’ with ‘Lone Wolf’ when referring to the series.

  (1) Replaced ‘Sommerlund’ with ‘Sommlending’. Made the last choice (about using Sixth Sense) the first.

  (4) Moved the last choice (about the Tracking Discipline) into the first position.

  (7) Added a period to the end of the illustration's caption. Replaced ‘skipped and’ with ‘skipped, and’. Replaced ‘If the number if’ with ‘If the number is’.

  (17) Changed the last choice that led to Section 331 to lead to Section 316 instead in order to parallel Section 89. It doesn't make sense to skip the section describing the tumble downhill.

  (18) Moved the choice about the Camouflage Discipline into the first position.

  (19) Moved the choice about the Tracking Discipline into the first position. Replaced ‘Gallowbrush’ with ‘gallowbrush’: you can't pick it up.

  (20) Replaced ‘Jala’ with ‘jala’. Replaced ‘dagger’ with ‘Dagger’. The original versions of this book had this section lead to Section 272, which is incorrect. We are using the correct section, 273, as used in more recent editions.

  (21) The text is unchanged but we have concatenated some of the paragraphs for the dice rolls for clarification. Replaced ‘on to’ with ‘onto’.

  (22) Added a comma after ‘0–4’ in the first choice. Replaced ‘click’ with ‘click’.

  (23) Reordered the choices. The choice that was originally first (about removing the pin) is now last. The choice about the Golden Key was originally last and is now first. Also added ‘and wish to use it’ after ‘Golden Key’. Added a period to the end of the illustration's caption.

  (32) Replaced ‘unmistakeable’ with ‘unmistakable’.

  (33) Replaced ‘fur and’ with ‘fur, and’.

  (34) Added a period to the end of the illustration's caption.

  (36) Added a comma after ‘4 or lower’ in the first choice.

  (37) Added a blank line before the decisions and reversed their order.

  (38) Replaced both occurrences of ‘woodsmoke’ with ‘wood smoke’.

  (41) Added a period to the end of the illustration's caption.

  (46) Moved the last choice (about Sixth Sense) into the first position.

  (51) Added a period to the end of the illustration's caption.

  (57) Replaced ‘liquids and’ with ‘liquids, and’.

  (58) Made the choice that led to Section 286 to lead to Section 251 instead. Many readers have realized that there was an error here but assumed that the original numbers for the choices should simply be reversed, giving Lone Wolf a chance at survival for hiding and certain death for riding on. Actually, there is no certain death possibility here. Hiding is supposed to grant you certain survival. The proof of this correction is that there is no other path to Section 251, and it works perfectly.

  (61) Replaced ‘blood-smeared and’ with ‘blood-smeared, and’.

  (62) Replaced ‘crossbow had’ with ‘crossbow has’. Replaced ‘west and’ with ‘west, and’.

  (63) Added a period to the end of the illustration's caption.

  (67) Made the choice that led to Section 140 to lead to Section 252 instead. If you read Section 222, you'll notice that the choice leading to Section 252 is the east track. Indeed, only Section 140 may lead you to the bear of which Tracking is supposed to warn you in this section.

  (69) Replaced ‘Gallowbrush’ with ‘gallowbrush’: you can't pick it up.

  (70) Moved the last choice (about Sixth Sense) into the first position.

  (71) Moved the last choice (about Sixth Sense) into the first position.

  (73) Replaced ‘the Darklords cruellest troops’ with ‘the Darklords' cruellest troops’.

  (75) Replaced ‘border rangers’ with ‘Border Rangers’.

  (76) Replaced ‘slip it into the pocket of your jacket’ with ‘slip this Vordak Gem into your Backpack’. Replaced ‘horse and’ with ‘horse, and’.

  (82) Replaced ‘steed and’ with ‘steed, and’.

  (83) Added another ‘s’ after ‘posses’ in the last choice and moved that choice into the first position.

  (87) Replaced ‘Graveweed’ with ‘graveweed’. Replaced ‘click’ with ‘click’.

  (88) Replaced ‘or do’ with ‘or if you do’. Replaced ‘my Lord’ with ‘my lord’.

  (91) Moved the last choice (about Sixth Sense) into the first position.

  (97) Added a period to the end of the illustration's caption.

  (105) Replaced ‘jet black’ with ‘jet-black’. Replaced ‘skill,’ with ‘skill, or if you do not wish to use it,’.

  (112) Replaced ‘cavemouth’ with ‘cave mouth’.

  (119) Replaced ‘Gallowbrush’ with ‘gallowbrush’: you can't pick it up.

  (120) Replaced ‘strike, then’ with ‘strike and then’.

  (121) Added a period to the end of the illustration's caption.

  (122) Split the first sentence which was actually two independent clauses into two sentences to fix it.

  (125) Moved the last choice (about the Tracking Discipline) into the first position.

  (128) Replaced ‘border ranger’ with ‘Border Ranger’. Replaced ‘Durncrag mountains’ with ‘Durncrag Mountains’.

  (131) Replaced ‘Magicians Guild of Toran’ with ‘Magicians' Guild of Toran’. Replaced ‘area, and’ with ‘area and’.

  (132) Replaced ‘sumptuous Meal’ with ‘sumptuous meal’.

  (137) Replaced ‘20 Gems’ with ‘20 Tomb Guardian Gems’ and ‘mark these on
your Action Chart’ with ‘mark these on your Action Chart as a single Backpack Item’ based on changes made to the Collector's Edition.

  (142) Replaced ‘Durncrag range’ with ‘Durncrag Range’.

  (144) Added ‘ or if you have no Backpack Items’ to the second paragraph. Replaced ‘one Item is stolen’ with ‘one item is stolen’. Added a period to the end of the illustration's caption.

  (151) Added ‘If you wish to remove the pin, turn to 337.’ This is the only other possible choice for what is a strangely one-sided option in the original text. More flavourful language might make more sense, such as ‘If you still wish to remove the pin with your hands,’ but to best preserve the integrity of the text, we simply copied the choice from Section 23.

  (152) Added a period to the end of the illustration's caption.

  (153) Replaced ‘Durncrag range’ with ‘Durncrag Range’.

  (154) Replaced ‘head first’ with ‘head-first’. Replaced ‘last thing you feel are the black shafts’ with ‘last things you feel are the black shafts’.

  (163) Replaced ‘nearly an half’ with ‘nearly half’.

  (166) Replaced ‘tortuous’ with ‘torturous’.

  (167) Moved the last choice (about Sixth Sense) into the first position.

  (170) Added a period to the end of the illustration's caption.

  (172) Moved the second choice (about the Camouflage Discipline) into the first position.

  (175) Moved the last choice (about the Camouflage Discipline) into the first position. Replaced ‘border rangers’ with ‘Border Rangers’.

 

‹ Prev