by Joe Dever
298
You explain the problem to Melchar and he solves it by swiping a pair of lady's pink pantaloons from a washing line that is strung across the alley. Their furious owner sees him stealing her gaudy garment from her bedroom window, and she hurls a chamber pot at him in a desperate attempt to stop him getting away. Unfortunately, the pot hits you on the back of the head (lose 1 ENDURANCE point). As you escape along the winding alleyway, you rub the bruise that is rising on your head and curse your luck. But you are grateful of one thing: at least the chamber pot was empty!
You follow Melchar through the alleyways of the east quarter which take you all the way back to The Song of the Silver Star tavern. The young journeyman laughs with sheer relief at having escaped from Wrok's henchmen when finally you enter the sanctuary of the inn's crowded taproom. The innkeeper asks Melchar if he bought his pantaloons with the proceeds of his winnings at the racetrack. He replies that, thanks to your advice, he did not bet. The only thing he lost was his breeches and he proceeds to tell the innkeeper how that came about. The man frowns.
‘Wrok's not a man to cross, y'know,’ he warns. ‘He's ruthless when it comes to getting even. I think you two had better stay in the attic tonight. Wrok's sure to send his lackeys out a-huntin' for you.’
You heed the innkeeper's warning and spend the night hidden in his attic room. Before dawn breaks you slip out of the tavern by a back door and say farewell to Melchar in the street outside.
‘Captain Leonghi's ship is moored down at the docks,’ he says. ‘It's called Embassage. I wish you a swift and safe journey to Nhang, Grand Master. I'll always remember our little adventure at the Caeno Derby and I hope we'll meet again one day when you return home to Sommerlund.’
Turn to 244.
299
You follow Grooja out of his hut and along a vermin-infested path which wends a tortuous route through a maze of slum dwellings and festering rubbish dumps. After a mile or so, this rough track ascends into a wooded hillside and then ends upon a plateau which overlooks the harbour. From here you can see Jenkshi and his crew working on The Azan by the light of a hundred oily torches. With undisguised pride, Grooja points to the Shrine of the Oracle and invites you to avail yourself of its wisdom. The shrine consists of a man-sized statue constructed from rusting metal and chunks of driftwood held together with nails, strips of animal skin, and twisted steel wire. You decide to humour Grooja and so you ask the statue to tell you if there is anyone you should trust or distrust during your long journey to Suhn. As expected, you get no response. But then a wind arises and it makes a faint whistling sound as it passes through the holes in the statue. For a fleeting moment you think you hear the words: ‘Bad … dragon … is good,’ but then the wind dies and there is nothing but silence. Grooja smiles. He seems to think that the oracle has spoken a great truth.
Illustration XVIII—For a fleeting moment you think you hear the words: ‘Bad … dragon … is good.’
‘Come, we go now. The Oracle speaks but once a day. It has given you good wisdom. You are blessed.’
Turn to 139.
300
You reach Caeno in the early evening. For all its great size and former splendour, this city has the appearance of a half-deserted ruin. The famous grand mansions of its northern quarter are now little more than dilapidated shells, and its paved avenues are broken and overgrown with weeds. Yet despite its state of neglect and decay, Caeno is a crowded city, especially at this time of the year.
You discover why as you make your way through its twisting, soot-blackened streets. On every other wall there hangs a gaudy yellow poster announcing the Caeno Derby, an annual race that attracts visitors from all over Magnamund. The race is to be run tomorrow and the inns and boarding houses are overflowing with customers. After a long search, you finally discover a shabby inn called The Song of the Silver Star that has a vacant room. The fat innkeeper informs you with glee that bed and board will cost you 6 Nobles, an exorbitant sum for such a run-down establishment.
‘It's the derby,’ he says, without a hint of an apology. ‘Beds is at a premium with so many visitors around.’
If you wish to pay the innkeeper 6 Nobles, turn to 259.
If you do not, turn to 325.
301
Quickly you unsheathe your Kai Weapon and hurl it at the sniper. It spins through the air and thuds into his chest, sending him tumbling backwards from his perch to land heavily upon the exposed roots of the tree. You hurry to his body and retrieve your Weapon. To your disappointment, however, you discover that his blowpipe and horn are now useless, both of them having been smashed by his fall.
Quickly you hide his body in the undergrowth and then you move deeper into the jungle, guided and drawn by the strange incessant noise.
Turn to 51.
302
Using your Kai camouflage skills, you step away from the door and press yourself into a shadowy recess in the corridor wall. Then using your powers of Grand Nexus, you cause a torch at the far end of the corridor to topple out of its wall bracket. The guards react immediately; they grab their weapons and rush out of the guardroom to investigate the noise. As soon as they pass by, you slip inside the room and retrieve your confiscated equipment (you may now erase the asterisks from your Action Chart).
As you are sheathing your Kai Weapon into your belt, you hear the guards come walking back along the corridor. Looking around you see that there is one other exit from this room — a heavy oak door which is banded with strips of black iron.
Turn to 314.
303
The globes dance around your boat and their chilling laughter echoes through the mist. Suddenly the Moonstone and the satchel disappear and an icy coldness invades your heart when you sense that you have now fallen into the thrall of these supernatural beings. Tragically, you are doomed to spend the rest of eternity a prisoner of this timeless void.
Your life and your quest end here in the Sea of Mists.
304
While you are observing the longboat, you repair the broken satchel strap and check the condition of your Backpack and Weapons. Whilst doing this you discover that you lost one Backpack Item during your underwater battle.
Erase from your Action Chart the third item which you have recorded on your list of Backpack Items.
To continue, turn to 171.
305
The man shrieks with rage and curses you in a vile language that you do not recognize. Yet the sound of his words sends a shiver of dread coursing down your spine, like a trickle of icy-cold water. He denounces you as an agent of the City Council sent to spy on their meeting, and he orders the group to attack and slay you. The men react slowly to his frantic commands. It is as if they are struggling to awaken from a deep sleep. You have no wish to fight these men and so you turn and run towards the park entrance to escape from them. As you reach the open gate, you glance over your shoulder to see that the bald man is preparing to hurl a dagger at your back.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you possess the Disciplines of Grand Huntmastery and Grand Nexus, add 3 to the number you have picked.
If your total score is now 4 or less, turn to 241.
If it is 5 or higher, turn to 135.
306
The villagers fire their bows and every arrow strikes the dragon, yet none of them penetrate the creature's scaly hide. You hold your fire until you have a clear shot at the creature's eye, which appears to be the only part of its body that is vulnerable to a missile. Your shaft comes close to its mark: it glances off the dragon's eyelid. The creature seems not to even notice your hit. It circles the village once more and then hovers above the burnt-out remains of the central hut. You watch the creature and your Kai Sixth Sense tells you that it has not come here bent on destruction. It is seeking something in the charred ruins.
Illustration XIX—Every arrow strikes the dragon, yet none of them penetrate the creature's scaly hide.
Turn to 85.
307
<
br /> You land on your back with a jolt that leaves you gasping for breath, yet you sustain no injury from your fall. You have landed on a bale of silk, one of dozens stacked in this cargo hold. Above, framed in the open hatchway, you can see the creature getting ready to leap. Quickly you roll off the bale as it drops into the hold, and your speedy action saves you from its deadly talons as maniacally the creature slashes the silk bale to ribbons.
Hissing like an angry snake, it leaps after you and lashes out again. This time it rakes its talons along the wooden wall of the hull, barely inches above your head. The tips of these razor-sharp claws become embedded deeply in the timbers and for a few moments the creature is held fast.
If you wish to attack the creature while its talons are stuck firmly in the hull, turn to 82.
If you choose to use this opportunity to try to evade the creature, turn to 143.
308
Night has fallen since you were first imprisoned in the hut and you are able to use the cover of darkness to avoid being seen. You are anxious to escape from this place but you are not prepared to leave without first retrieving the Moonstone, your Weapons, and your confiscated equipment.
You allow your Kai Sixth Sense to guide you to where your Kai Weapon is being stored. It is a large wooden shack at the centre of the settlement, and it is occupied by the village elders. Soon the news of your disappearance prompts the leader to order a search. You stay hidden until the shack is empty and the coast is clear, and then you enter it by means of an open window. Inside you discover all of your confiscated equipment, as well as several other items which could prove useful during your quest:
Bow
6 Arrows
Spear
Rope
3 Fish Hooks
Bottle of Rice Wine
Soap
Short Sword
Lantern
Crystal Prism (Special Item)
Having restored your equipment, you leave the shack and make your way into the jungle. Your Kai skills enable you to avoid the villagers and make a swift escape westwards into the hills.
Turn to 137.
309
You hear the spear come whistling towards your back and you throw yourself through the doorway, but your reactions are not swift enough to avoid being struck by the gaoler's weapon. It pierces your shoulder and knocks you to the ground at the foot of a set of spiral stairs: lose 8 ENDURANCE points.
Biting back the agony of your wound, you wrench the spear from your shoulder and hurl it away.
Turn to 59.
310
Upon reaching your room, Lord Rimoah bids you goodnight and reminds you that he shall call for you an hour before dawn. You retire to bed but remain awake for more than an hour as you contemplate the quest that lies ahead. You are apprehensive of the dangers you may encounter, but you are also greatly inspired by what you have witnessed this night and by Rimoah's prophetic words of wisdom.
No sooner have you fallen asleep, it seems, than you are awoken by Rimoah's knock on the door. You gather your Weapons and belongings and walk with him through a procession of torchlit corridors that lead to the entrance to the Tower. As you approach the main doors, Rimoah points to a chamber close by.
‘That is the Tower Armoury, Grand Master,’ he says. ‘You are welcome to inspect it and take whatever you wish before you embark upon your voyage.’
If you wish to accept Rimoah's offer, you may enter the armoury and examine its contents by turning to 152.
If you choose to decline his offer, turn to 49.
311
As the dragon takes to the air, you are struck in the thigh by an arrow. Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If the number you have picked is odd (i.e. 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9), reduce your ENDURANCE score by 4 points. If it is even (i.e. 2, 4, 6, 8, or 0), reduce your score by 2 points.
To continue, turn to 102.
312
You coil yourself up tightly like a wound spring in preparation to leap from the longboat. The officer is nervous, and when he sees you shifting in your seat, he panics and overreacts. The instant you make your move to leap over the side, he lunges at you and attempts to plunge his half-pike into your chest.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 2 to the number you have picked.
If your total score is now 4 or lower, turn to 202.
If it is 5 or higher, turn to 12.
313
You speak the words of the Brotherhood Spell Net and point your right hand at the creature's head. A sticky gout of liquid emerges from your fingertips and shoots towards the creature, yet it reacts with incredible swiftness and leaps aside in time to avoid being caught up in the gluey fluid.
Having evaded your attack it now continues to stalk its chosen target. Gemulkin frees himself from the wheel, but before he can get away, the beast is upon him like a hungry lion. It grabs him by the throat and lifts him off the deck. You race across the slippery decking and unsheathe your Kai Weapon to strike the creature in the side. Callously the beast hurls Gemulkin into the sea and then spins around to face you. Your first blow opens a wound across its chest, making it shriek loudly. But it recovers in an instant and it lashes out at you to connect with your shoulder. The force of the blow knocks you sideways and sends you sliding across the slick deck to fall headlong through an open cargo hatch.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table.
If the number you have picked is 0–4, turn to 307.
If it is 5–9, turn to 266.
314
You run to the door, pausing only to pick up a nail that you see lying on the floor. Using this nail you attempt to pick the lock and open the door before the approaching gaolers reach the guardroom.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you possess the Discipline of Grand Nexus, add 3 to the number you have picked.
If your total score is now 4 or lower, turn to 337.
If it is 5 or higher, turn to 286.
315
The owner pockets the coins and then he gives you a sly smile.
‘Radyard upped anchor and sailed two days ago. He's gone back north to Siyen. It looks like you got here too late, friend.’
Turn to 22.
316
The officer is outraged by your offer. He summons his guards and he has you dragged away to the cells. All of your equipment is confiscated, including your satchel.
Fearing for your life and the safety of the Moonstone, later in the day you escape from your cell and go in search of your missing equipment. Your make it as far as the Hall of Correction's inner keep before the alarm is sounded and you are entrapped there. You offer to surrender but the officer refuses to listen. He orders his guards to encircle the battlements and then, without mercy, he orders them to open fire at you with their crossbows.
Tragically, your life and your quest end here in the Hall of Correction.
317
Your Arrow glances off the blade of Sesketera's spear and gashes his face. It is not a serious wound but it makes him drop his weapon and stagger backwards. He is clutching at his injured cheek with both hands and you can see blood is beginning to trickle freely through his fingers. Then you hear a noise over on the far side of the balcony and moments later three citadel guards come rushing through the open archway.
‘Kill him!’ shouts Sesketera, and he presses himself flat to the wall so that they are able to get to you. Looking down into the hall you note that the main doors are still unguarded despite the incessant ringing of the alarm bell. Fearing that your only route of escape may soon be sealed off, you shoulder your Bow and leap boldly over the parapet.
If you possess Kai-alchemy, turn to 75.
If you do not possess this Grand Master Discipline, turn to 142.
318
You use the power of your Grand Mastery to whip up a cloud of dust from the ground. The sudden whirlwind causes the crowd to panic and a clear space forms around you and your elemental summon
ation as they fight to get away. You direct the whirling dust cloud at Wrok's henchmen, and as they are engulfed and blinded by it, you and Melchar seize the chance to make good your escape from the racetrack.
Turn to 272.
319
Guided by your companions, you make your way through the darkening streets of Ghol-Tabras and arrive at the entrance to the Flying Fish Tavern. The inn is filled with the captains and crews of many of the vessels that are moored down in the harbour. They are a raucous crowd, yet their noise quietens to barely a whisper the moment you and your companions step through the door.
Slowly you approach the bar, trying your best to ignore the dark mutterings that are passing among the hard-faced sailors. The innkeeper glares at you. It is as if he is daring you to ask him for service. You swallow hard and ask if he knows of anyone who would be interested in buying some copper.
‘Hey, listen up,’ he shouts to the others. ‘This infidel wants to sell some copper!’
The crowded inn erupts with laughter. Now grinning inanely, the innkeeper fixes you with his piggy eyes and asks: ‘An' just what is it you've got to sell then, eh? Your father's old spit-pot maybe? Bah! Begone, y'scabs. We don't serve the likes o'you no more. I'm the new owner of this fine establishment and we don't want your kind here!’
