The Captives of Kaag

by Joe Dever

  The distant clang and clash of steel tell you that the fighting is not over; it has simply moved on. The noise prompts you to stay crouched in the ruins whilst you consider your next course of action. From this position you survey the street and notice a narrow stairway, directly opposite, which leads down to a crypt door. You focus on the dark portal and sense at once that it is open and unguarded.

  If you wish to cross the street and investigate the crypt, turn to 228.

  If you choose to ignore the crypt, turn to 303.

  173

  The creature is less than ten feet away when it opens its mouth wide and spews forth a stream of white-hot liquid fire.

  If you possess the Discipline of Grand Nexus, turn to 333.

  If you do not possess this Grand Master Discipline turn to 287.

  174

  Your psychic defences repel the probe and the pain rapidly recedes. But upon the instant that the attack is repulsed, the two dragon-creatures raise their scaly paws and shoot forth a stream of flaming bolts, aimed directly at your head and body.

  If you possess the Sommerswerd, turn to 211.

  If you do not possess this Special Item, turn to 169.

  175

  The guards see the approaching clouds of smoke and immediately they come thundering along the corridor. You step away from the door, expecting them to kick it open and come rushing in, but instead they skid to a halt and hurriedly pull the door closed to stop the fire spreading into the corridor. They wait outside for several minutes before they are sure it is safe; then together they return to their positions.

  Unfortunately your plan has backfired, but at least your Magnakai skill of Nexus enables you to extinguish the fire before it gets out of control. Frustrated but not defeated, you return to the spy-hole and try to formulate a more successful plan.

  Turn to 278.

  176

  You give the door a mighty kick, slamming it open to reveal a creature clad in a hooded orange robe, kneeling in prayer before a black stone altar where a golden statuette stands on a square of faded cloth. It is flanked on either side by candles which give off a sickly bitter odour. The creature half-turns and shrieks in horror when it sees you rushing into the room. In desperation it raises its warty fists, but it is a futile defence against a blow which cleaves both its hands, and its head, from its loathsome body.

  Sheathing your weapon, you step over the corpse and examine the creature's remains. You recognize it to be a Ligan, one of those who aid the Nadziranim sorcerers in their evil craft. The statuette is a likeness of Slûtar, a Darklord who once ruled Kaag, and the orange robes mark this creature as one of his minions. It would seem that he still worshipped his master's memory.

  A foul, misty vapour arises from the corpse, forcing you to cover your nose and mouth and retreat from the chamber. As you pass in front of the altar, your eye is drawn to the gleaming golden statuette.

  If you wish to keep this Statuette of Slûtar, mark it on your Action Chart as a Special Item. If you already carry the maximum number of items allowed, you will have to discard one in its favour.

  To continue, turn to 7.

  177

  You enter the passage, but you have covered less than fifteen yards when you see something which forces you to a halt. A group of figures clad in hooded orange robes are walking towards you from the opposite end of the passage. The leader wears silver bracers on his wrists and he carries a silver staff which he levels at you the moment he sees you and Banedon in the tunnel ahead.

  Instinctively you dodge aside; it is an instinct that saves both your lives, for without warning a radiant bolt of energy leaps from the tip of the creature's staff and comes hurtling along the passage to explode in the chamber behind. Hurriedly you turn and run from the group as the leader makes ready to launch a second bolt.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

  If the number you have chosen is even (0, 2, 4, 6, 8), turn to 113.

  If the number is odd (1, 3, 5, 7, 9), turn to 42.

  178

  Your hastily constructed shield fails to protect you against all of the speeding crossbow bolts. Two penetrate its weakened edges, bursting through with a splash of yellow sparks to bury themselves in your thigh and shoulder: lose 7 ENDURANCE points.

  Biting back the pain, you wrench the bolts from your body and stagger towards the Death Knights, hoping to break through them before they have a chance to reload and fire again. The sight of you recovering so bravely from such a fearful wounding leaves many of their number staring open-mouthed with shock. You dodge through their line with ease, and by the time they realize that you have evaded them, and start to give chase, you have passed the junction and have recovered sufficiently to run along the street opposite.

  Turn to 266.

  179

  You call to mind the words of the Brotherhood Spell Lightning Hand and point your index finger at the keyhole. Upon reciting those words a surge of power runs along your arm, culminating in a blast of energy that leaps from your fingertip and rips into the lockplate. Some glowing splinters from the torn plate pepper your face (lose 2 ENDURANCE points), but your spell has worked: the door is now open.

  Turn to 328.

  180

  You muster your skill and use it to calm the unseen Akataz. The growling stops and, when you pull back the curtain, you see the leathery creature lying on the sawdust-covered floor as docile as a lamb. This foul-smelling chamber is littered with Giak bones and half-chewed haunches of meat. Amongst the debris you notice something gleaming dully. It is a bronze statuette, forged in the likeness of Darklord Zagarna.

  If you wish to keep this Statuette of Zagarna, record it on your Action Chart as a Special Item. If you already carry the maximum number of items allowed, you will have to discard one in its favour.

  To your right you notice another curtained archway. Through the threadbare cloth you see a stone staircase spiralling down into the dark.

  If you wish to explore this staircase, turn to 56.

  If you choose to retrace your steps and leave the barracks, turn to 44.

  181

  Beyond the archway, a passage leads to a pair of stout steel-sheathed doors. The lock that secures them is inlaid with a series of numbers and you immediately recognize that they are part of a combination lock. One number in the sequence is missing. By tapping the correct number upon the blank square, you will cause the lock to disengage.

  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.10

  If you guess incorrectly, or if you cannot answer the puzzle, turn instead to 297.

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

  182

  Hastily you push Banedon behind you to shield him with your body as the Drakkarim come rushing across the pen, their barbed tridents poised to strike. ‘Taag!’ they cry, and fall upon you.

  Drakkarim: COMBAT SKILL 34 ENDURANCE 36

  Due to your need to defend both yourself and Banedon, reduce your COMBAT SKILL by 3 for the duration of this fight.

  If you win the combat, turn to 321.

  183

  Driven by fear, you recover your footing and force yourself to the top of the mound. The pursuing Death Knights, handicapped by their weighty armour and lack of special skills, can only watch in astonishment as you disappear from view.

  The street continues beyond the mound, heading due south towards the great citadel, the shadow of this edifice looming ever larger. Soon the street opens out to a wide concourse which encircles the citadel and offers access to its great Northern Door. The entire door is made of black iron, streaked with rust. Turrets jut from either side, on top of which you see giant cannon-like weapons, similar to those once employed by the Darklords aboard their ironclad fleets.

  From the cover of a ruined house you watch the traffic of Giaks and Drakkarim
, all clad in orange uniforms bearing the mark of a bloodied scythe. The more you stare at the citadel, the more you are sure that this is where Banedon is being held prisoner. However, entry into the citadel itself looks to be impossible, until, that is, an opportunity unexpectedly presents itself.

  Turn to 124.

  184

  A ghostly mist issues from the parting jaws of the throne-statue. You step back, your weapon raised, but it does nothing to protect you from the piercing screech which suddenly fills your head. Fortunately, your powerful mind defences are protection enough against this violent psychic attack, and soon the screech fades to a more tolerable volume.

  Turn to 293.

  185

  Stealthily you tail the group as they wend their way through the alleyways and ruined streets of this quarter. Shortly they arrive at a complex of stable-like buildings, each one devoid of all decoration or embellishment, save for a liberal coating of coal-black grime. Here the party splits into two groups. One section enters the complex; the other, led by the Gourgaz, continues on its way southwards, heading deeper into Kaag towards the sound of a distant street battle.

  If you wish to follow the Gourgaz and his troop of Giak soldiers, turn to 144.

  If you choose to investigate the complex of buildings, turn to 160.

  If you decide to avoid both of these groups, you can make your own way deeper into Kaag by turning to 65.

  186

  The purplish glare is generated by a glassy opaque sphere which hangs suspended above the doors. It pours forth a blinding curtain of light which fills the entrance, but this quickly fades once you have passed through into the chamber beyond.

  As your eyes adjust to the gloomy interior, you find yourself standing in a small temple. A plain stone altar dominates the chamber, around which are positioned a ring of twenty black candles. The candles are fixed into elaborately carved holders fashioned to resemble each of the twenty Darklords sent long ago by Naar, King of the Darkness, to conquer Magnamund. Their flames burn brightly scarlet and they give off a rancid, greasy smell that, despite your attempts to block it, makes you feel light-headed and nauseous.

  Hurriedly you move to leave this temple through an archway opposite,11 for there is an extraordinary saturation of evil contained within these walls and you feel it leeching your mental and physical strength. (Unless you possess Kai-screen, deduct 3 ENDURANCE points due to its insidious effects.)

  You are near the centre of the temple when you notice something strange resting in a hollow in the surface of the altar.

  If in a previous Lone Wolf adventure you have ever been to Mogaruith, turn to 116.

  If you have not, turn to 86.

  [11] If you are wearing a Drakkarim uniform, you dispose of it now.

  187

  Your attempt to free yourself from your dusty entrapment goes awry. Your foot slips and your effort merely accelerates your descent. Within two minutes the fine grit closes over your head. You survive beneath the dust for ten minutes more before surrendering to your doom.

  Tragically, your life and your quest end here in the citadel of Kaag.

  188

  You rush forwards and try to revive Banedon but he is deeply unconscious and does not respond. Taking hold of your friend by the arm, you lift him across your shoulders, and then carefully begin your descent from the platform. Once you are safely at the bottom of the steps, you cast your eyes around the hall for a means of escape. There are only two exits visible: the light-filled doors by which you entered, and a tunnel in the north wall.

  If you wish to leave the hall by the main doors, turn to 203.

  If you choose to leave via the tunnel in the north wall, turn to 310.

  189

  You catch the fleeing Giaks and cut them down before they have a chance to retaliate. Breathless and bloodied, you are about to sheathe your weapon when suddenly you see the Vordak appear at the far end of the street. This time it is not alone; it is flanked by two others of its kind. With a chorus of shrieking howls, these three undead spawn raise their bony fists in your direction and launch a combined psychic assault on your senses.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you possess the Discipline of Kai-screen, add 3 to the number you have picked.

  If your total is now 6 or less, turn to 317.

  If it is 7 or more, turn to 58.

  190

  Bloodied and battered, you struggle to disentangle yourself from the bodies of the slain Kraan. Their deaths have scared their confederates who are now flying from this quarter of the city, shrieking and cawing in alarm and dismay.

  Once free, you stumble off the street into the relative safety of the ruins, where you find an ideal hiding place. It is concealed from the sky by an upper storey, and it commands an unobstructed view of a deserted plaza, its only means of approach. Here you rest while you consider your next course of action. Restore 2 ENDURANCE points.

  During your rest, unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, you must eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

  To continue, turn to 201.

  191

  A wave of negative psychic energy crashes against your mind and you stagger back, shocked and dazed by the ferocity of this unexpected assault: lose 4 ENDURANCE points.

  If you have survived this psychic attack, turn to 229.

  192

  You draw your weapon but before you can raise it to strike, a mass of flailing tentacles come snaking towards you, forcing you to retreat towards the pool. Each of these limbs is tipped with a razor-sharp segment of tile which whistles as it cuts the air before your face.

  Slowly but relentlessly the octopoid advances, pushing you steadily back towards the rubble-strewn entrance to the chamber. As it draws level with the central pool, you suddenly realize something that had eluded your senses when first you entered this hall. The pool itself contains not water, but a clear, oily fluid … a clear, oily, inflammable fluid!

  In a moment of vivid realization your Kai senses inform you that this creature is especially vulnerable to fire. Hastily you sheathe your weapon and search instead for something capable of igniting a fire.

  If you possess a Lantern, or a Torch and a Tinderbox, turn to 223.

  If you do not possess any of these items, turn to 14.

  193

  The fading echoes of the voice give way to a low, rumbling growl which seems to emanate from somewhere behind the sealed archway. This rumbling persists for more than a minute until, with a startling abruptness, there is a loud crack. Chunks of mortar fall from the octopoid mosaic and, to your mounting horror, you watch as the eyes of the creature begin to glow with a baleful green light.

  Illustration X—Chunks of mortar fall from the tiled hide of the octopoid mosaic as its eyes glow with baleful green light.

  Like a waking goliath, the mosaic comes slowly to life. Mesmerized by its pulsating gaze, you barely step back in time to save yourself when its tile-encrusted tentacles burst from the wall and come writhing towards your head. You lash out at the flailing limbs but your blow glances off the armour-like skin, inflicting no more than a scratch upon the tiled hide of this supernatural creature. Briefly the tentacles move apart to reveal once more the two glowing green orbs. Then a wave of psychic energy buffets your mind, designed to weaken and subdue you, but your Magnakai defences deflect this attack. You sense that the creature is surprised by your natural resistance and, before it can muster its powers to launch a second, far stronger psychic blast, you leap forwards and aim a blow between its evil green eyes. You are within an arm's length of striking the creature's bulbous head when suddenly it squirts a stream of clear liquid from its beak, aimed directly at your face.

  If you possess mastery of Grand Nexus, turn to 139.

  If you do not possess this Grand Master Discipline, turn to 258.

  194

  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.

  195

  Using your Magnakai skill of Animal Control you attempt to will the waking creature into returning to sleep. Unfortunately, this Giant Doomwolf is very hungry and it has already detected your scent.

  Stirred to wakefulness by its gnawing hunger, and angered by the close proximity of a natural enemy, the great beast breaks free of the rope that is keeping it tethered and comes leaping through the air towards your chest.

  Giant Doomwolf: COMBAT SKILL 39 ENDURANCE 49

  You cannot evade this combat and must fight this creature to the death.