The Captives of Kaag

by Joe Dever

  Study the following sequence of numbers carefully. When you think you know what the missing number is, turn to the entry that is identical to your answer.8

  If you guess incorrectly, or if you cannot answer the puzzle, turn instead to 43.

  [8] The section corresponding to the correct answer will have a footnote confirming that it is indeed correct.

  128

  With a manic cry, the creature lunges at your head in an attempt to impale you upon its shovel-like teeth. You sidestep the attack and lash out at its throat before it can dodge your blow. You strike and open a gash in the leathery hide, but it is shallow and does not deter the beast from launching a second attack.

  Zavaghar: COMBAT SKILL 52 ENDURANCE 60

  If, during this fight, your ENDURANCE score falls to below 12 points, do not continue the combat. Turn instead to 105.

  If your ENDURANCE remains at 12 points or above and you win the combat, turn to 248.

  129

  You draw upon your Magnakai skill of Kai-screen to mask your presence here in the ruins, but the Vordak detects a mental resistance where there should be none. It shrieks an unearthly cry and at once the troop of Giaks respond by drawing their swords and charging towards your hiding place.

  Confident of success, you emerge from the shattered building and challenge your enemy — six Giaks and their Vordak lieutenant — to combat on the street bordering the square.

  Vordak & Giak patrol: COMBAT SKILL 37 ENDURANCE 40

  If you win this combat, turn to 79.

  130

  A wave of nausea drops you to your knees and at once you sense that the ghoulish creature has infected you with a virulent virus, which passed into your body the moment it scratched your face. Hurriedly you draw on your Magnakai Discipline of Curing in an attempt to counter this insidious threat, but already the virus has spread throughout your bloodstream. Shaking and sweating profusely, you keel over and fall flat on your back as a second wave of nausea and weakness robs you of your strength to resist.

  If you possess some Oede, turn to 306.

  If you do not, turn to 49.

  131

  The Arrow hits the centre of the sphere, but the shock of impact is not sufficient to dislodge it. The power wall imprisoning Banedon remains intact and you are forced to try some other way of freeing him.

  If you possess Kai-alchemy and have reached the rank of Kai Grand Guardian, turn to 69.

  If you possess Magi-magic and have reached the rank of Kai Grand Guardian,9 turn to 108.

  If you do not have either of the above Disciplines or have yet to reach the required Kai rank, turn instead to 338.

  [9] You may only elect to use this Discipline if you have not done so already.

  132

  Defiantly you face the Helghast, your weapon at your side. The creature looks upon you and sneers, revealing two sharp fangs which protrude from its lower jaw. It emits a chilling cackle, full of hatred and contempt, and its eyes blaze like hot coals as it confidently quickens its gait. You focus on its ghastly visage and muster all your strength to summon a pulse of psychic energy. The pulse forms an invisible ball of power which speeds across the hall and slams into the head of the approaching Helghast. The concussive force of this psychic attack lifts the creature bodily into the air and sends it tumbling, like some hideous rag doll, backwards into the flame-filled moat.

  As the last shriek of the doomed creature echoes through the hall, the two Drakkarim stumble to a halt and stare down into the all-consuming fire. Nervously they glance at each other, fearful of suffering a similar fate, but years of fierce battle discipline soon override their anxiety and, like two automatons, they raise their swords and continue to advance towards you.

  Drakkarim Veterans: COMBAT SKILL 30 ENDURANCE 35

  If you win this combat, turn to 340.

  133

  Soon you arrive at a circular chamber. There is a huge hole in the roof and another hole, equally large, in the middle of the floor. Carefully you approach the perimeter of this hole and stare down into a deep, dark shaft. It passes through countless levels of the citadel, below and above. The edge of the shaft is overgrown with ivy-like creepers, and a tangle of thorny vines hang down from the levels high above.

  If you wish to climb these vines to another level of the citadel above the one you are currently on, turn to 288.

  If you choose to ignore the shaft and continue along an adjoining tunnel, turn to 59.

  134

  You utter the words of Counterspell and instantly the wall of crackling energy is dispelled. Moments later the Liganim wands explode with a tremendous flash, killing their wielders. Unfortunately for them, your Counterspell reversed the latent energy of their wands, causing them to overload and self-destruct.

  The noise of the dual explosions freezes the escaping Ligan dead in his tracks. He spins around in the archway, his ugly face transfixed into a mask of sheer terror as he watches you come racing towards him with your weapon poised to strike. The sight is too much for his weak heart which ceases to beat moments before you land your blow.

  Turn to 207.

  135

  Your Arrow drills into the warhound's shoulder, but it does not stop the beast's attack. Oblivious to the pain it leaps upon you, knocking you down, its fang-filled jaws snapping within inches of your unprotected face.

  Akataz (wounded): COMBAT SKILL 20 ENDURANCE 22

  This war-dog is especially susceptible to psychic attack. If you can and wish to use a psychic attack during combat, double all bonuses to which you are entitled.

  If you win this combat in four rounds or less, turn to 13.

  If you win and the combat lasts five rounds or longer, turn to 264.

  136

  You notice that only one of the five Kraan is equipped with a saddle and reins. You focus on this beast and use your Magnakai skill of Animal Control in an attempt to subdue it. The other four abandon their feast and take to the air as you approach, but the target of your attention remains on the roof, eyeing you nervously.

  You have approached to within an arm's length of the reins when suddenly the Kraan takes fright. It beats its wings frantically in an attempt to knock you away, and then propels itself into the air. You leap for its neck and hold fast as the spawn clears the tower and takes to the sky. Desperately you try to swing yourself into the saddle as the creature hovers haphazardly, fifty feet above the concourse.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If your current ENDURANCE points score is 20 or higher, add 2 to the number you have chosen. If your ENDURANCE is less than 10, deduct 2. If you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, add 1.

  If your total score is now 3 or less, turn to 16.

  If it is 4 or more, turn to 249.

  137

  The guard finally loses his patience. He draws his dagger and, with a lunge, he tries to slash open your satchel, causing you to pull away and draw your own weapon. The guard recognizes that it is not one that a Drakkar would wield, and instantly he shouts out in alarm: ‘Intruder!’

  The two silver-plated warriors raise their spears and a blaze of sorcerous energy erupts simultaneously from their tips. Crimson fire lances towards your body to pierce your chest and abdomen, the impact knocking you headlong to the floor in agony. Biting back the pain, you stagger to your feet and retrieve your weapon in time to fight off the merciless guards. But the alarm has been raised and, within minutes, the thoroughfare is flooded with Drakkarim and Giak soldiers. You fight bravely and dispatch more than fifty of the enemy, but eventually your strength fails and you are overwhelmed and beaten by the denizens of Kaag.

  Tragically, your life and your quest end here.

  138

  You break free from the combat and run headlong through the tunnel without looking back. The Plaak are incapable of pursuing you at speed and within minutes you have managed to leave them far behind.

  The tunnel continues for several hundred yards before arriving at an empty circular ro
om. The only feature here is a rusty iron ladder, fixed precariously to the wall, which ascends through a hole in the ceiling to a level above. There is no other exit from this chamber and so, with caution guiding your every move, you climb the rust-eaten rungs.

  You rise through the hole to find yourself in a corridor which is strewn with human bones. Skeletons lie mixed in tangled heaps and many of the skulls and loose bones seem to have been gnawed. The psychic residues of pain and terror left by these luckless victims press in upon your senses, making you feel queasy and claustrophobic. With pounding heart you advance along the bone-choked passage, stepping carefully through the skeletons to avoid making a sound. But you have taken less than a dozen steps when something unexpected makes you freeze in your tracks.

  Turn to 218.

  139

  You twist aside and the liquid passes over your right shoulder to splash, with a sizzling hiss, across the chamber floor. Droplets of the fluid spray your face and cloak, but your mastery of Grand Nexus saves you from being burned by this highly corrosive acid, an acid which would have instantly sealed the doom of a lesser mortal.

  Shaken but undeterred, you scramble to your feet and face the octopoid once more, determined to defeat it in combat.

  If you have a Bow and wish to use it, turn to 243.

  If you do not, turn to 192.

  140

  You take up the Spear and notice three notches cut along the shaft where the guard has recorded the lives he has taken with this crudely made weapon. (If you wish to keep this Spear, remember to record it on your Weapons List.)

  You push open the heavy door carefully and glimpse the Drakkar striding along a corridor. He reaches the end and starts to descend a staircase to the ground floor. You enter and move stealthily towards the stairs. As you draw nearer, you see a gallery which overlooks the cavernous lower level. To your right, set flush to the wall, is a black oak door.

  Slowly you approach the gallery's railed parapet where you look down at an unnerving sight.

  Turn to 47.

  141

  Your senses tell you that you possess the correct key to open this door long before you have even approached the door itself. You retrieve the key from your Backpack, insert it in the lock, and twist it confidently. The lock clicks open and you pass through into the chamber beyond.

  Turn to 328.

  142

  The avenue continues to a square where stands a massive horseshoe-shaped arch, crafted from dull blue metal which is engraved with runes and evil insignia. A score of battle-weary Giaks, some Drakkarim, and a Gourgaz are resting nearby. No guards have been posted around their makeshift camp and your arrival here goes unnoticed.

  Beyond them, in the middle distance, you see the base of the great citadel. It is a truly awesome sight, a pyramid of jet-black stone which rises to a needle-sharp peak more than ten thousand feet above the streets of the city.

  Illustration VII—Battle-weary Giaks, Drakkarim, and a Gourgaz rest near the massive horseshoe shaped arch.

  Soon a rickety wooden cart, drawn by two ugly, ox-like creatures in harness, trundles into the square. It halts and its Giak driver pulls back the tarpaulin which is covering its cargo, revealing haunches of grey-green meat stacked in a pile. Unceremoniously, the driver tosses them to the soldiers who devour them with obvious relish. It is an unwholesome sight, made even more so when you realize that what they are eating is freshly slaughtered Giak meat.

  Turn to 250.

  143

  Your Arrow slams into the centre of the crystal and cracks it open. There is a flash of sparks; then the shimmering wall of light which imprisons Banedon flickers and disappears completely.

  Turn to 188.

  144

  The Gourgaz, followed obediently by his squad of ragged Giak warriors, crosses a mile-wide section of derelict buildings before entering a broad, clear avenue where there is very little cover. Unhampered by the terrain, you watch as they start to outdistance you, but you are not lured into following them. You decide to stay in the ruins rather than run the risk of being detected out in the open. However, within a matter of minutes you discover the reason why the Gourgaz took his troops out into the open. The ground in this section of the ruins is unsafe. It is riddled with pot-holes and concealed cellars, covered by rotten wooden beams and slabs of paper-thin plaster. Suddenly one such section gives way beneath your feet and you find yourself falling headlong into coal-black darkness.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you have the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, add 2 to the number you have picked.

  If your total score is now 0–5, turn to 32.

  If it is 6 or more, turn to 51.

  145

  You climb the broad staircase, ascending more than twenty levels. Your camouflage disciplines keep you hidden from the inhabitants of the citadel that you encounter during your ascent, but as you climb higher, you notice that these encounters are becoming fewer and fewer.

  At the top of the staircase you are engulfed by a furnace-like heat. A deserted corridor extends into the distance, its walls glowing a deep dull red. Yet beyond this initial section you detect that the tunnel is far cooler.

  If you wish to try to reach the cooler section of this tunnel, turn to 313.

  If you decide not to enter the tunnel, you can descend the stairs to a lower, cooler level, by turning to 24.

  146

  The moment the heavy iron bridge crashes down across the moat you leap upon it and race towards the dais. But as you near its centre a wall of sparkling magical flame erupts at either end, sealing off both routes completely. In desperation you call telepathically to Banedon, hoping to awaken him to consciousness, but you are unable to make contact. Then, unexpectedly, your psychic calls are answered by a blood-chilling scream.

  Horror floods your mind when you realize that the person on the dais is not your friend Banedon — it is a Helghast. As the creature rises and its features twist and distort before your gaze, you cast an anxious glance back across the bridge towards the great door. Standing there now are two Drakkarim guards with a slavering boar-like beast which is straining on its leash. Suddenly the magical flame vanishes and, with relish, they release the creature and send it bounding towards you.

  If you have a Bow and wish to use it, turn to 335.

  If you do not, turn to 89.

  147

  You have retreated barely a dozen yards along the passage when suddenly a troop of Drakkarim appear in the distance, blocking your escape. They howl like demons and unshoulder their bows as they come rushing along the tunnel towards you.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

  If the number you have picked is 0, turn to 275.

  If it is 1–3, turn to 283.

  If it is 4–9, turn to 36.

  148

  The moment you step inside the building your breath is snatched away by an overpowering stench. It takes some considerable effort to stem the waves of nausea welling up from the pit of your stomach as, slowly, you follow a corridor which winds its way deeper into this foul place. The smell is atrocious, but not unfamiliar, and when the passage finally reaches its destination your suspicions are confirmed. What you can smell is the stench of Giak blood.

  Before you is a vast, low-ceilinged hall, filled with butchered carcasses hanging from hooks drilled into a criss-cross of roof beams. A dozen Giaks stand at gore-stained benches, cleavers in hand, hacking the grey-green meat into more manageable sizes. It does not seem to worry them in the least that the meat they are crudely shaping is of their own kind.

  Your churning stomach prompts you quickly to leave this abattoir by means of another passage. This ends abruptly at a flight of stairs, at the foot of which is a door secured by a large wooden bolt.

  If you wish to descend the stairs, turn to 38.

  If you choose to investigate the door, turn to 279.

  149

  You move stealthily to a new position, directly opposite the towe
r, and wait for the traffic of Giaks and Drakkarim to clear. The street is soon empty and you get ready to make your move.

  If you wish to ascend the stairs which lead directly to the tower roof, turn to 53.

  If you prefer to attempt to climb the tower wall, turn to 277.

  150

  Slowly a brooding, malignant vapour arises from the creature's corpse to hover in the air above it. You sense a powerful magical aura radiating from this sinister shadow and, as you back away from it, a mass of swirling sparks begin flickering at its core. Banedon calls for your help, his cry echoing faintly in your mind. You spin around and see him falling sideways to the floor of the platform, unconscious and unmoving. Fear runs cold in your veins, a fear that grows wilder when you glance once more at the hovering shadow, for now it has descended to the ground and from beneath its curtain-like base there pours a seething tide of black-bodied insects, some as large as mice.

  Illustration VIII—Black-bodied insects seethe from the base of the hovering shadow.

  If your current ENDURANCE points score is 12 or lower turn to 30.

  If it is 13 or more turn to 77.

  151