by Joe Dever
If you wish to continue by river, turn to 115.
242
You roll aside to avoid the deadly disc, but your reactions are not quick enough to save you. The razor-sharp weapon slices into your throat, knocking you backwards with the force of impact.
Your life and your mission end here.
243
D'Val runs past the wagon, leading a dozen of his best swordsmen in a countercharge and driving the enemy all the way back to the barricade. None escape alive. Those who survive D'Val's swordsmen are cut down on the plain by his archers as they run towards the ruins. The shout of victory has barely died away before you are faced by a new threat.
Turn to 124.
244
You slip past the guards and enter the tunnel unseen. It is wide and illuminated by a line of wall torches, whose guttering flames crackle and sputter noisily. You soon arrive at a junction where the tunnel narrows and divides in two.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Sixth Sense or Tracking, turn to 250.
If you do not possess either of these skills, you may enter the left tunnel by turning to 335.
Or, if you wish, you may enter the right tunnel by turning to 11.
245
Two well-aimed blows are enough to dispatch the hissing Elix. The ranger has collapsed and is nearly unconscious through loss of blood. His right foot is almost severed at the ankle; you know that he has only a few minutes to live and there is nothing that you can do to help him. Your men are now beyond all help.
If you wish to escape from the chamber by ascending the stairs, turn to 346.
If you wish to leave by descending the stairs, turn to 83.
246
Taking great care to feel the floor ahead of you with your weapon, you advance very slowly into the dark, unaware of the eyes that are watching your every move. Hidden in the gloom are the dull, satanic orbs of a Daemonak: a macabre and ghoulish vampire. Its attack is swift and silent, painless yet deadly. Before you realize that the parasite has attached itself to your back, you have lost 8 ENDURANCE points.
If you are still alive and you possess the Sommerswerd, turn to 34.
If you are still alive but do not possess this Special Item, turn to 85.
247
Your men look disappointed by your decision, but you are their commanding officer and they are élite soldiers of Sommerlund; they neither argue nor grumble as they follow you southward. Darkness soon engulfs the highway, and you are forced to stop and set up camp by the roadside. The men gather firewood, and a guard is posted on the horses. You are hungry and must now eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.
The night passes without incident, and at dawn you break camp and continue along ‘Raider's Road’.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table.
If the number that you have picked is 0–4, turn to 171.
If it is 5–9, turn to 25.
248
You glance over your shoulder to see a horde of warriors silhouetted in the light of the tunnel entrance. Their blood-curdling war-cries echo along the damp and gloomy shaft.
You soon reach a section where the tunnel has collapsed and a large mound of earth rises almost to the ceiling. Desperately, you climb the mound, claw your way through the narrow gap, and then drop to the passageway beyond. Here you discover a loose timber prop. When everyone is clear, you barge it with your shoulder; the prop splinters and tons of earth and stone come crashing down to seal the tunnel. As the dust settles, you stare into the darkness ahead. On the walls you can just make out a line of torches. Your men gather these and light them before you continue on your way.
Turn to 254.
249
You run half-crouched to the barricade and prise a bow from the hand of a dead soldier. You have spotted the leader of the bandit cavalry — a tall, dark-skinned warrior with a thin, chiselled nose, rallying his horsemen at the foot of the stone watchtower. You know you must kill him before he can regroup his troops, or D'Val and his hard-pressed men will be ridden down and mercilessly slaughtered.
Illustration XIV—You have spotted the leader of the bandit cavalry.
You notch an arrow and draw back the bowstring. The straining cord bites into your fingers as you take aim.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Weaponskill (any weapon), add 2 to the number you have picked.
If your total is now 0–3, turn to 153.
If it is 4–7, turn to 323.
If it is 8–11, turn to 39.
250
You notice that the right tunnel is newly excavated, and you sense that it has yet to be completed. Rather than get caught in a dead end, you push on along the left tunnel.
Turn to 335.
251
You are helped tonight by a cloudless sky, for the highway is illuminated by the pale moonlight. You order three of your men to scout ahead, for you know the notorious reputation this forested highway has for sudden bandit ambushes; the densely packed trees lining the road could easily conceal an army of robbers. Before the scouts gallop away, you order them to report anything unusual they may find on the road ahead.
Within an hour, you arrive at a junction where a track from the east meets the main highway. Abandoned at the side of the road is a burnt-out wagon. You sense that something is wrong; your scouts should have reported this wagon long before you found it, and your men are worried by what may have happened to them. You know that you dare not continue your ride in case you fall into an ambush. You decide to rest at the junction and wait for the return of your scouts. Six hours later, as the sun slowly rises over the eastern tree-line, your scouts have still not returned.
If you wish to search the highway ahead, turn to 175.
If you wish to examine the burnt-out wagon, turn to 38.
If you wish to explore the eastern track, turn to 293.
252
You lead your men in single file into the forest, but in less than a minute, the trees have become far too dense for you to be able to continue on horseback. You are forced to dismount and hide your horses before continuing on foot. Then, by a great stroke of luck, you find a narrow track leading to a ramshackle boathouse at the edge of the River Xane. If it contains a boat, you should be able to cross the river with ease.
If you wish to investigate the boathouse, turn to 68.
If you wish to continue downstream and look for some other way of crossing the river, turn to 130.
253
You are about to order your men to make camp when a scout gallops towards you from the east. He points to a line of horsemen on the horizon. ‘Bandits!’ he cries. You estimate that there are at least two hundred of them, and they are riding in your direction.
If you have reached the Kai rank of Warmarn (you possess 8 Kai Disciplines), turn to 72.
If you have yet to reach this level of training, turn to 135.
254
The tunnel continues to descend for several hundred yards until you reach a wide chamber with a timber floor. Two pairs of footprints can clearly be seen in the silt covering the rotten planks; to your horror, they both seem to disappear into a gaping hole.
Inching your way to the jagged edge, you can make out two bodies lying at the bottom of a muddy shaft. You have found your scouts, but they are beyond all help. As the soft timbers begin to sag, you retreat from the edge to avoid a similar fate. Beyond the hole are two exits from this chamber. One passage heads towards the east, the other south.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Tracking, turn to 326.
If you do not possess this skill, you may enter the east tunnel by turning to 156.
Alternatively you can enter the south tunnel by turning to 101.
255
You must rally the defenders or all is lost. You order two soldiers to help the captain and then leap onto an overturned wagon in order to see clearly the enemy advance. They have already reached the ruined perimeter of Ruanon and are now creeping fo
rward under cover of the broken cottage walls. You shout orders to D'Val's men to defend the barricade, but the enemy are less than one hundred yards from the wall; you are afraid it might be too late to repel their attack.
Turn to 186.
256
You slip many times on the rickety bridge but eventually make your way across to the other side. You can just make out the jagged tunnel wall by the faint light cast by a swarm of mine flies. You press onwards, but you are now so tired that you are soon forced to stop and sleep.
Many hours pass before you awake and continue your exploration.
Turn to 309.
257
The door is unlocked and opens into a small room with a straw-covered floor. A large iron-belted chest rests at the foot of an unmade bed, beyond which lies another door.
If you wish to examine the chest, turn to 302.
If you wish to ignore it and investigate the door, turn to 131.
258
You quickly leave the hut far behind and press on through the trees. By morning, you have reached the edge of the forest. Staring out across the fields of tall crops, you see a small village lying at the base of a shallow valley. The fields are only separated by narrow tracks, which are alive with flying insects hovering in swarms.
You are walking along the track when you suddenly spot bandits ahead. They are wandering idly up the track towards you, their spears slung over their shoulders.
Illustration XV—The bandits are wandering idly up the track towards you.
If you possess an Onyx Medallion, turn to 305.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Camouflage and you have reached the Kai Rank of Guardian or higher, turn to 49.
If you do not have this Special Item or this Discipline and Kai Rank, dive into the tall crops and hide by turning to 159.
259
‘Go away!’ shouts a nervous voice. ‘We're a tavern, not a barracks!’ shouts another. You try to reason with them but they are adamant; they will not let you enter. You have no choice but to continue along the highway.
Turn to 141.
260
The Warhounds spread out and stream towards the barricade, their eyes aflame with evil intent. A group of five snarling dogs tear through the wall of sacks and casks and engulf the soldiers around you. Lashing out, you dispatch two of the loathsome dogs with one swipe, but in the heat of battle you fail to notice the Warhounds that are diving towards your back. They pitch you forward into the collapsed barricade; before you can free yourself, they have sunk their fangs into your legs.
Vassagonian Warhounds: COMBAT SKILL 18 ENDURANCE 30
If you are still alive after 3 rounds of combat or if you have won in the first three rounds, turn to 311.
261
On the first body that you search you find:
8 Gold Crowns
Enough food for 1 Meal
You are about to search the others when you hear the sound of running footsteps approaching from the other side of the chamber. You pull the rope once more and breathe a sigh of relief as the portcullis rises into the ceiling. Rolling under the widening gap, you jump to your feet and make a hasty escape along the tunnel.
Turn to 348.
262
You leap forward to strike, but the bandit rears his steed to avert your attack. You feel the horse's flailing hooves crash down on your head, and you are quickly trampled into the blood-soaked ground. Concussed and mortally wounded, the last thing that you remember of this world is the evil sneer of the bandit horseman as he raises his longsword for the death-blow.
Your life and your mission end here.
263
You twist to one side to avoid it, but the disc bites deeply into your shoulder. You lose 4 ENDURANCE points. Clutching your wounded arm, you sprint along a narrow alleyway that leads to a mass of densely packed firs. As you reach the trees, you hear the shouts of bandits close behind.
If you wish to press on through the trees towards the south, turn to 123.
If you wish to change direction and head west, turn to 169.
264
Your Kai sense enables you to identify the hoof prints disappearing along the path towards the east as those made by a Sommlending cavalry horse.
If you wish to follow the prints, turn to 134.
If you wish to head in the opposite direction to the tracks, turn to 191.
265
There is no time to search the bodies. Other patrols have been alerted by the struggle and are now hacking their way through the trees to reach you. Parting the bloodstained foliage, you leap from the trees and run for Ruanon.
Turn to 307.
266
‘We've heard nothing for nearly a month,’ he says, shaking his bearded face from side to side. ‘Some horsemen from your country passed here about that time, but since then all we have seen are a travelling band of troubadours from Cloeasia and those accursed bandits.’
The tavern-keeper's sons each take it in turn to sit watch at the arrow slits, so that you and your men can get some sleep.
Turn to 324.
267
A terrible pain racks your chest as you are thrown backwards by the force of the crossbow bolt. You claw at the unyielding shaft, catching a glimpse of the face of an enemy guard as he raises his sword to deliver the coup de grâce.
Your life and your mission end here.
268
A thorough search of the two guards reveals the following items:
4 Gold Crowns
Spear
Broadsword
Iron Key
Brass Key
Enough food for 2 Meals
Potion of Red Liquid
You recognize the liquid to be Laumspur, a potion of healing. If swallowed after combat, it will restore 4 ENDURANCE points. You may take any of the above items but be sure to mark them on your Action Chart.
Set into the north wall of the well chamber is a large iron door. Next to the door, a stone archway leads to a spiral staircase.
If you wish to examine the iron door, turn to 118.
If you wish to ascend the spiral stairs, turn to 170.
If you wish to descend the spiral stairs, turn to 228.
269
You follow the passage for nearly an hour before finding yourself in front of a solid rock-face. Shovels and barrows lie discarded upon the floor as if the excavation was abandoned in a great hurry. You may take one of the Shovels if you wish, but it will occupy the same space in your Backpack as two normal items.
You are now hungry and you must eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points. (If you possess the Kai Discipline of Hunting, you are unable to use it within the Maaken Mines to hunt for food.) Cursing your bad luck, you are forced to retrace your steps all the way back to the junction.
Continue your exploration by turning to 145.
270
The rain and the gloom hide your approach, and you reach the marble stairs unseen. The steps are overgrown with mould and weeds, but a path has been trod through them leading into the darkness of a huge underground vault.
If you possess a Torch and a Tinderbox in your Backpack, turn to 29.
If you possess a Firesphere, turn to 168.
If you have neither of these items, you can continue your way forward in darkness and turn to 246.
Alternatively, you can leave the vault and attempt to enter the temple via the crypt door by turning to 183.
271
You are halfway across the bridge when someone pulls the hanging rope. You glance back, and to your horror you see that the rope travels through a series of metal rings that lead to a couple of locking pins anchoring the bridge floor to the edge of the shaft. A shiver runs down your spine as the rope snaps taut and the pegs rise out of the floor.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table.
If you possess the Kai Discipline of Hunting, add 2 to the number you have picked.
If your total is now 0–6, turn to 9.
If it is
7–11, turn to 104.
272
You smash feet-first into a large river boulder. Recoiling from the impact, you cough uncontrollably in your desperate fight for air as the water fills your ears and nose. Down and down, around and around you go, your eyes stinging and the pain in your legs grinding agonizingly upwards through your body. A glancing blow to your shoulder rips the sleeve from your jacket and numbs your arm; your weapon falls from your hand. You are somersaulted into a steep V-shaped channel and buffeted on all sides as you tumble towards a pool far below. You feel the sheer weight and volume of water behind you will plunge you to your doom, and as you plummet into the swirling dark water, all consciousness rapidly gives way to a blind and silent numbness.
When you open your eyes it is dusk. You have been washed up on the river bank near to a twisting forest track. The silhouette of the Maaken Range rises steeply to the east, and you realize that you must have drifted many miles downstream. You have survived a terrible ordeal; one that would have killed any lesser mortal. You have lost 5 ENDURANCE points due to leg and head wounds and one Weapon.7 All of your Special Items, Backpack Items, and Gold Crowns are still intact.
