The Chasm of Doom

by Joe Dever

  Turn to 148.

  324

  You are hungry and must eat a Meal before you sleep or lose 3 ENDURANCE points. You have been asleep for only two hours when you are awoken by the sound of a tolling bell.

  ‘Bandits!’ screams the tavern-keeper. ‘They've got into the stables!’

  You must act quickly or the bandits will steal your horses. The tavern-keeper tells you that there are two ways to the stables from here: you can either leave through the front door and run around to the side of the tavern, or climb the stairs to the first-floor window and jump down onto the stable roof.

  If you wish to use the front door, turn to 114.

  If you wish to jump from the first-floor window, turn to 196.

  325

  You are in combat with Barraka, renegade noble of Vassagonia. You cannot evade the combat and must fight to the death. He is a formidable warrior who possesses great strength of will, and he is immune to Mindblast.

  Barraka: COMBAT SKILL 25 ENDURANCE 29

  If you win the combat, turn to 350.

  326

  You suddenly realize that you have entered a remote section of the Maaken Mines via a disused passage from the foothills of the Maaken Range. For hundreds of years, the ore of this range has been the blessing and the bane of thousands drawn here to seek their fortune. Men have either found wealth beyond their wildest dreams, or have perished without trace in the labyrinth of cold, damp tunnels. You know that if only you can locate a section of this mine that is still in use, you will be able to follow its tunnels all the way to Ruanon itself. As Ruanon lies to the south, you decide to take the south passage out of the chamber.

  Turn to 101.

  327

  You draw the sword and offer it to the captain. A look of surprise and delight crosses his face as he examines the blade. ‘I never expected to see my trusty steel again. It is a good omen for the battle ahead.’

  Thanking you, the captain sheathes his sword in its scabbard, that until now, has hung empty from his belt. (Remember to erase this Sword from your Action Chart.)

  Turn to 289.

  328

  As you reach the top of the ridge, a gruesome sight meets you. The bodies of men and horses lie scattered across the shallow valley beyond, their bones picked clean by the scavenging crows. You hear the gasps of horror as your men recognize the armour and tattered white uniforms of these skeletons, for they were once your countrymen, Sommlending Guards of the King's cavalry. They must have died in battle, for the corpses of bandit warriors lie entwined among them. Forty brave soldiers, nearly half of the squadron that left Holmgard one month ago, now lie before you, and it is with heavy heart that your men set about the grisly task of burial. As you ride away from this valley of death, you are comforted only by the knowledge that Captain D'Val was not among those you buried.

  Turn to 120.

  329

  The river fills your ears, your eyes, and your nose. In your desperate fight for air you cough uncontrollably. Blinded by water, you fail to see the large river boulder looming ahead. With a sickening crack, you smash head-first into the unyielding stone and sink beneath the rushing torrent.

  Your life and your mission end here.

  330

  At first light, you prepare to enter the valley. The highway is enshrouded by mist and soon, on both sides, the Ruanon Forest closes in; a tangle of pale grey tree trunks of every shape and size crowd thickly around you. After a few minutes' ride, you find the wreck of a burnt-out wagon abandoned at the side of the road. Behind it, a track disappears eastwards into the hills.

  If you wish to search the wrecked wagon, turn to 38.

  If you wish to ignore the wagon and press on along the highway, turn to 175.

  If you wish to investigate the track that leads up into the hills, turn to 293.

  331

  You soon discover a partially concealed mine shaft descending vertically into the hillside. As your men clear away the briars choking the shaft, you notice a ladder fixed to one side. You realize that this must be an escape shaft from the Maaken Mines, for they honeycomb the foothills of this mountain range. If only you can locate a major tunnel, you may find a path all the way to Ruanon itself. You kneel at the edge and peer down into the gloom. There is such an overwhelming smell of dampness and decay that you decide to send your lightest man down the ladder to check whether it is still secure. All seems well, for he soon reaches a tunnel entrance far below and shouts to you all to follow.

  The tunnel leads to an oval-shaped, rough-hewn chamber, the floor of which is coated with a strange silky fluid.

  If you have the Kai Discipline of Animal Kinship, turn to 41.

  If you do not have this skill, you can search for an exit from the chamber and turn to 276.

  332

  Although the wagons are shrouded in darkness, your Kai sense reveals to you the actor's hiding place. You climb the ladder at the rear of a large caravan, push open the door with your weapon, and enter.

  Turn to 222.

  333

  The horseman is charging at you very quickly. You will only be able to fight for one round of combat before the momentum of his attack carries him past you.

  Vassagonian Horseman: COMBAT SKILL 20 ENDURANCE 28

  If you lose more ENDURANCE points than your enemy in this one round of combat, turn to 209.

  If your enemy loses more ENDURANCE points than you in this round of combat, turn to 220.

  If you both lose exactly the same number of ENDURANCE points in this round of combat, turn to 344.

  334

  As you hit the water, your weapon is jarred from your hand. Panic overwhelms your senses as slimy tentacles coil around your sinking body. You fight to escape but are soon squeezed into unconsciousness. A trail of bubbles and a torn cloak are the only signs to mark your watery grave.

  Your life and your mission end here.

  335

  The tunnel soon emerges into a large chamber divided by a deep mine shaft. A dark-skinned warrior in tatty leather armour stands guard at the entrance to the wooden bridge spanning the shaft. He is whittling a block of wood and grumbling to himself about how unfair it is that he is given the most boring duties. On the far side of the chamber a tunnel disappears into the west wall. You know that if you are to reach the tunnel, you must get past the guard and across the bridge.

  If you possess the Kai Discipline of Camouflage, turn to 35.

  If you have the Kai Discipline of Mind Over Matter, turn to 317.

  If you possess neither of the above Kai Disciplines, you will have to launch a surprise attack on the guard. Turn to 147.

  336

  The arrow flies straight and true towards the bandit but glances off his polished steel breastplate. Unmoved by this close escape from death, he hurls his javelin, pinning the helpless soldier to the ground. You are about to take another shot when you see a menacing black shape dart across the sky; it plummets downwards and lands on the watchtower roof.

  You discard your bow and draw your weapon as you race up the stairs to investigate.

  Turn to 223.

  337

  Although fire has totally destroyed any markings there may have been on the wagon, there still remains enough of the shell for you to recognize its military origin. It is a Sommlending cavalry wagon, one of three that accompanied Captain D'Val and his troopers. It was loaded with provisions when it left Holmgard a month ago, but now all that remains of its cargo are heaps of ash. Having made a thorough search of the wreckage, you remount your horse and lead your men southwards along the highway.

  Turn to 297.

  338

  Your bravado has paid off. The guards accept the password and allow you to enter the crypt. As the stone door is drawn shut, you find yourself in a wide torchlit corridor heading towards the east.

  Turn to 235.

  339

  Although the strangers seem harmless enough, you decide not to take any chances and mount a guard. You are hungry
and must eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points. Having eaten, you soon settle down to get a good night's sleep.

  Turn to 233.

  340

  Your head begins to spin, and your legs feel as heavy as lead from the lack of oxygen. You lose 2 ENDURANCE points.

  Turn to 32.

  341

  A circle of unshaven faces are staring down at you. A soldier cradles your leg as another snaps the shaft buried deeply in your thigh. But before you can even cry out in pain, he has drawn the arrow from your leg with one swift tug. ‘You are very lucky, Kai Lord,’ he says, as he bandages a handful of Laumspur to your aching limb. ‘The wound is clean, and the bleeding is but slight.’

  You lose 4 ENDURANCE points, but the soldier's quick thinking and skill has saved your leg from infection. With great care the soldiers carry both you and Captain D'Val into the stone watchtower.

  Turn to 116.

  342

  You plummet head-first into the darkness, the wind screaming past your face. Gritting your teeth, you try not to think of that terrible moment of impact, when you will smash into the hard, unyielding rock. But instead of a stone floor, you hit the surface of an underground river and plunge far down into its icy cold depths. You are so relieved to be alive that you momentarily forget where you are and inhale. As water enters your lungs, you fight to control the pain that now wracks your chest. You quickly become aware that your Backpack is dragging you down. You must discard it, or you will surely drown. When you eventually reach the surface, you claw your way out of the icy water and collapse on a gravel bank, coughing and gasping for air.

  You have lost your Backpack and everything that it contained, but you are still alive and relatively unharmed.

  Make the necessary adjustments to your Action Chart before turning to 219.

  343

  You are halfway across the underground river when the inky black water begins to seethe and boil. You cling to the gunwale and urge your men to row for all they are worth, for the turbulent water now threatens to capsize your crowded little boat. Suddenly a hideous greyish green tentacle breaks through the surface. Like a whiplash it crashes down, splintering wood and cracking bone as it coils around two of your men. Before you can even draw your weapon, they have been dragged down into the bubbling depths. Then another tentacle rises, snaking towards you. It stabs at your chest and tries to butt you overboard.

  Illustration XX—The rangers are dragged down into the bubbling depths.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If your current ENDURANCE point total is 20 or more, add 3 to the number that you have picked. If your current ENDURANCE point total is 12 or less, deduct 2 from the number you have picked.

  If your total is now -2–6, turn to 194.

  If it is 7–12, turn to 61.

  344

  Your blow has splintered the horseman's lance. As he reins his horse about, he discards his broken weapon and draws a curved broadsword. His smile is evil, exposing a jagged line of blackened teeth. He spits a battle-cry and spurs his horse towards you once more.

  If you have reached the Kai rank of Aspirant or higher, turn to 111.

  If you have not yet reached this level of Kai training, turn to 43.

  345

  You search the stalls to discover that only eleven horses remain; the others have been stolen by the bandits. After careful thought, you decide to call for ten volunteers to continue the mission with you, and order the remaining rangers to return to Sommerlund on foot at first light to report what has happened. As they head off to the north at dawn, you wait until they have vanished from sight before you turn and ride in the opposite direction.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

  If the number you have picked is 0–6, turn to 51.

  If it is 7–9, turn to 120.

  346

  For over five minutes you climb the spiral staircase before reaching the next level, where a mine tunnel leads off towards the south. You have covered less than a hundred yards of the dank passage when you discover a lever, set high up on the left-hand wall. A sudden noise in the distance betrays a guard patrol marching towards you. Without a second thought you pull the lever and a stone panel slides back to reveal a secret tunnel. You enter quickly to avoid the guards. Once they have passed by, you try to leave but find that you cannot re-open the stone panel from the inside. With a growing feeling of despair, you turn and follow the secret tunnel.

  Turn to 335.

  347

  You are at the bottom of the cellar ladder when the trapdoor slams shut and you hear a bolt slide across and lock. You hammer on the trapdoor desperately trying to escape, but your captors cover the trapdoor with a heavy oak cask and keep guard in the room above. Four days pass before the lock slides back, but the hands that open the trapdoor are bony and fleshless.

  Your life and your mission end here.

  348

  Less than fifty yards along the tunnel wall you notice a lever. Your Kai instincts make you naturally suspicious of this unusual feature, and you scour the floor looking for evidence of a trap. You find nothing, but a glance at the roof reveals the underside of a wide portcullis hidden between two beams.

  You pull the lever and the portcullis falls, sealing off the tunnel behind you. To make sure you will not be followed, you smash the lever with a wedge of stone before continuing along the tunnel.

  Turn to 185.

  349

  Judging by the smoothness of the stone floor and the condition of the ore wagons, you deduce that this gallery must service a major section of the mines. A fresh breeze can be felt blowing out of the west tunnel, and you sense that you must be near the surface.

  Ruanon lies due west, the same direction as the ore wagon tunnel. You take a deep breath and emerge from the shadows, cross the gallery, and quietly enter the archway beyond.

  Turn to 55.

  350

  As Barraka dies, the wind suddenly rises in pitch and intensity, filling the temple with a mournful cry of despair. You feel the chill, malevolent spirit of Darklord Vashna engulfing you in an icy embrace, but you sense that he is powerless to harm you. The sacrifice has been foiled; he is doomed to lament for a victory that might have been.

  Lying on the black temple floor is the Dagger of Vashna. As you pick it up and tuck it into your belt (mark this on your Action Chart as a Special Item), the evil blue flame flickers and dies. As long as you possess this evil blade, Darklord Vashna and his legion of dead warriors will remain imprisoned in the Chasm of Doom.

  You free fair Madelon from the altar and carry her through the corridors of the temple that lead up to the surface. As you emerge into the moonlit ruins, an astounding sight greets your eyes. Barraka's warriors are running from the ghost city in all directions, closely pursued by an army of cavalrymen. The light of the full moon and the guttering torches that these horsemen carry, illuminates the sun-crest that bedecks their tunics. Word must have reached Holmgard for they are the Sommlending army, led by King Ulnar himself. Your countrymen praise your courage and daring, their strident cheers drowning the cry of Maakengorge, for once again you have proved yourself a true hero of Sommerlund. As you deliver Madelon into the waiting arms of her father, his overwhelming joy fills you with a sense of great achievement. You are indeed worthy of the title ‘Kai Lord’. You have succeeded in your perilous quest, but the epic saga of Lone Wolf — last of the Kai Lords — is far from complete. A new and deadly challenge awaits you in Book 5 of the Lone Wolf series entitled:

  Shadow on the Sand

  Illustration XXI—Barraka's men flee from King Ulnar and the army of Sommerlund

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