by Joe Dever
In the distant past the Ghagrim were a gentle, primitive folk, who lived as one with the animals and the birds, cared for by the Elder Magi in their jungle paradise. But the Danarg has changed and so too have the Ghagrim, poisoned by the evil that conquered the land.
If you wish to approach the huts, turn to 172.
If you choose to avoid the Ghagrim and continue along the secret track, turn to 229.
331
You unhook a flask of water attached to Paido's belt, tip your healing potion into it, and shake it vigorously. Carefully you tilt back Paido's head and pour the mixture into his mouth, a drop at a time: in his comatose state he is unable to cough and it would be easy to fill his lungs by accident. It is a slow and painstaking process, which takes hours to complete.
It is dawn of the following day before you know for sure if you have saved his life.
Turn to 103.
332
Night is closing in and the shops that line the narrow street are shutting their doors. Lanterns flare into life, their yellow glow warming the chill west wind as the townsfolk return to their homes at the end of another day's trading. But there is one shop where the doors remain open. The sign hanging from its balcony reads:
RHOLA RHADA — MAPMAKER
If you wish to enter the shop, turn to 147.
If you prefer to continue along the street, turn to 204.
333
The slimy stench of the creature drives your horse wild with fear, forcing you to dismount and advance along the tree-bridge to meet it. Suddenly there is a fearful cry as your panic-stricken horse careers backwards into Paido's mount. He fights to keep control of his own frightened horse but the panic is infectious and, with a crack of splintering wood, their stamping hooves split the edge of the tree-bridge. You watch with horror as both horses fall headlong into the watery abyss. Paido leaps from his mount as it falls, grabbing hold of the edge of the splintered wood, but it is wet and you can see his fingers slipping. Instinctively you move to save him, but the stinging lash of a clawed paw reminds you of the creature you must face first.
Anapheg: COMBAT SKILL 18 ENDURANCE 50
This creature is immune to Mindblast (but not Psi-surge). Unless you have the Magnakai Discipline of Psi-screen, reduce your COMBAT SKILL by 2 points for the duration of the combat, for the creature is also attacking you with the power of its mind.
If you win the combat, turn to 197.
334
The hiss of the crossbow bolt surges in your ear as it passes within inches of your skull. Paido leaps to his feet, his jaw agape at the speed with which you reacted to the deadly missile. He shakes his head in disbelief and draws a dagger from his sleeve, hurling it at the dwarf in one fluid movement. It sinks into his black beard and sends him tumbling backwards. He reappears for an instant, trying desperately to dislodge the blade buried deep in his throat with his fingers, but he has suffered a fatal wound. He gurgles his death-cry and drops to the floor, his flailing arms bringing down a shelf full of bottles.
Turn to 70.
335
A full moon bathes the island in its ashen rays, maintaining perpetual twilight. The trail enters a dense thicket of trees, and you can see that it leads to a settlement of crudely made huts. Dark shapes move between them, human once, but far from human now.
‘Ghagrim,’ says Paido softly but with fear in his voice, ‘the man-beasts of the Danarg. Come, let's get away from here while we still can.’
Turn to 272.
336
The stew tastes as good as it smells, and you both make short work of your meal. The monks smile and nod their heads approvingly. ‘Come, the dean wishes to see you before you retire,’ says one, motioning you to follow as they leave the refectory.
The dean's chamber is a domed, hexagonal room hung with tapestries depicting strange and grotesque creatures. Numerous plinths stand upon the richly carpeted floor, each supporting large bowls filled to the brim with a silvery liquid. A gust of air disturbs the tapestry on the far wall. Seconds later it is moved aside to reveal an elderly man in a hooded black robe.
‘Have they eaten?’ he asks, his voice strangely cold and monotonal.
‘Yes, master,’ the monks reply with one voice.
‘Good,’ he says, stepping closer. ‘Leave us.’ The monks depart, clicking the door shut behind them. Gradually the light in the chamber grows dimmer.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Divination, turn to 343.
If you do not possess this skill, turn to 190.
337
One of the black crystal cubes lying on the deck suddenly explodes, sending a cloud of crystal shards screaming through the air. You are hit in the leg by this shrapnel — lose 3 ENDURANCE points.
With horror you realize that if one of these deadly cubes should puncture the Levitron's pressure tank, the skyship will be torn to pieces in the resulting explosion.
If you wish to gather up all the remaining crystals and throw them overboard, turn to 50.
If you wish to help Paido fight off his Vordak attackers first, turn to 200.
338
‘And finally, for my last puzzle, I offer this beautiful treasure,’ he says, as he draws a small silver box inlaid with pearls from the pocket of his robes. ‘This priceless artefact was stolen from the treasure hoard of Valborg the Enchanter,’ he exclaims.
On hearing this wondrous revelation the tap-room comes alive with excited chatter. You are inclined to disbelieve the tale of the box's origin but, nevertheless, it is a beautiful object and is undoubtedly worth at least 100 Lune, perhaps more.
Silence descends on the hold as all await the Count's final puzzle. ‘When I was last in the market of Garthen,’ the Count begins, ‘I asked an egg trader how many eggs he had sold that day. He replied: “My first customer said that he would buy half my eggs and half an egg more. My second and third customers said exactly the same thing. When I had filled all three orders I was completely sold out of eggs and yet I hadn't broken a single egg all day.” How many eggs had the egg trader sold in all?’
If you can answer the egg riddle, turn to the entry number that is the same number as the answer.13
If you cannot answer the riddle, turn to 133.
[13] If you decide to make a guess, the section corresponding to the correct answer will have a footnote confirming that it is indeed correct.
339
They snicker with malice as you approach slowly, your weapon held in readiness in case they attack. The smell of the marsh gas ties a knot in your stomach as you move deeper into the cloud. Paido halts; he can go no further. He drops to his knees and is violently sick. The creatures make a sound like laughter and slink forward to meet you in combat.
Rahgu: COMBAT SKILL 23 ENDURANCE 33
These creatures are immune to Mindblast and Psi-surge. Unless you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Nexus and have reached the rank of Primate, deduct 8 points from your COMBAT SKILL for the duration of the fight, due to the insidious effect of the marsh gas.
You may evade after three rounds of combat; turn to 48.
If you win the combat, turn to 344.
340
The door is unlocked. You flick the latch with the toe of your boot and enter a gloomy passage that descends to a cellar. Casks of ale and dusty bottles of vintage wine fill the cubby-holed walls as far as your eye can see. Thick, vaulted columns support the ceiling, and the air is sweet with the smell of burning tallow.
You kneel and rest Paido against the cellar wall while you examine the glass vial you found in the kitchen. Your fears and suspicions are immediately confirmed — it contains poison. The clear, sticky fluid is sap from the gnadurn tree, a substance frequently used by assassins because of its lack of flavour or scent. The monks must have put some of this poison in the stew that Paido unwittingly consumed. The sap is deadly and you must act swiftly if you are to save his life.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Curing, turn to 320.
If
you do not possess this skill, turn to 261.
341
You sense that the innkeeper is hiding behind the bar with a loaded crossbow in his hands, just waiting for the chance to fire.
If you have a Bow and wish to use it, turn to 215.
If you wish to hurl a Fireseed over the counter, turn to 33.
If you wish to shout a warning to Paido, turn to 176.
342
You urge your horse up the steep bank and across the fallen branches that litter the trail beyond. Less than a mile from the brook you hear the sound of rushing water. The track bears north and you see a roaring waterfall cascading into a rocky pool, its surface lost in a cloud of fine spray. A huge tree has fallen across the pool, creating a bridge, and the track leads straight to it. You are halfway across the tree-bridge, looking down at the swirling spray and foaming water below, when a ghastly howl rings out above the thunder of the waterfall. You look up and stare slack-jawed at the creature that is advancing towards you across the tree-bridge.
Turn to 212.
343
You are in the presence of great evil. Your skin prickles and your blood runs cold as you recoil at this sudden realization. But alarm soon turns to fear as a new threat begins to manifest itself.
Turn to 190.
344
You pull Paido to his feet and help him along the causeway, leaving behind the dead Rahgu and the stinking cloud of gas. The volcanic spur soon comes to an abrupt halt, its jagged edge overhanging a sprawling tangle of reeds, marsh thistles, and black moss. The pools of dark water are few, but the hazards are more than ever before.
‘The brown patches,’ says Paido, his voice hoarse from the effects of the gas, ‘are quicksands.’ He points to where the marsh weeds are sparse and the ground pale and sandy. You stand and count the little tan-coloured patches but give up when you reach fifty.
If you wish to try to cross this quicksand bog, turn to 21.
If you decide to return to the junction and take the west spur, turn to 175.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Divination, turn to 142.
345
Using your Magnakai skill you increase your metabolism, burning your reserves of body fat to counter the effect of the necromancer's freezing spell. In seconds the frost and ice have gone, thawed by the heat that emanates from your body.
Turn to 199.
346
A Ghagrim lopes towards you, fixing you with a ghastly stare. It slavers and drools through thick grey lips as it licks the blade of its rusty iron sword. With a chilling howl it issues its battle-cry and closes to attack.
Illustration XX—A Ghagrim lopes towards you fixing you with a ghastly stare.
Ghagrim: COMBAT SKILL 23 ENDURANCE 38
You can evade combat after three rounds; turn to 309.
If you win the combat, turn to 9.
347
The north gate guards, tired after the long night's watch, grumble wearily at your demand for the gate to be opened. ‘What's the hurry?’ growls one guardsman.
‘Matter o' life and death is it?’ sneers the other.
The portcullis finally clanks open and you leave the town, riding the broken dirt track towards the distant hills and the frontier town of Syada. Grey-brown grasses brush your shins as you cross this wild, uncultivated plain. Accompanying your ride is an unnatural silence which is broken only occasionally by the cawing of ravens circling like vultures overhead.
By midday you are among the hills. The terrain becomes increasingly rocky, undulating like a storm-tossed ocean. The tall plains grass has given way to sad little plants, scraggy and deformed, stunted by the winds that sweep down from the barren wastes of Ogia. The track passes through a narrow valley where a small stone cabin stands beside the entrance to a disused mine shaft. As you approach the cabin you see a face at the window.
If you wish to stop at the cabin, turn to 85.
If you wish to investigate the mine, turn to 120.
If you wish to continue along the valley, turn to 152.
348
‘We had best delay no longer, Lone Wolf,’ says Paido, looking anxiously at the afternoon sky. ‘The highway's no place to be after dark and we're still a long ride from Tharro.’ You nod your agreement and spur your horse along the track towards the village of Topham.
If you possess a Lodestone, turn to 29.
If you do not possess this Special Item, turn to 170.
349
You take a bottle from the rack, crack it open against the wall, and tip the potion into the remaining wine. Carefully you tilt back Paido's head and pour the mixture into his open mouth, a drop at a time: in his comatose state he is unable to cough and it would be easy to fill his lungs by accident. It is a slow and painstaking process, which takes you hours to complete.
It is dawn of the following day before you know for sure if you have saved his life.
Turn to 10.
350
Anger and frustration well up inside you as helplessly you watch the Kraan and your captured companion disappear beyond the horizon. Gradually your anger gives way to sadness as you ponder his fate and wonder if he will ever survive this cruel abduction. You pray for his safety, calling on the spirits of your ancestors to watch over and protect him and, as if in answer to your prayer, you feel a sudden calm engulf your senses. The power of the Lorestone, transfused into your being the instant it appeared in your hands, has greatly increased your intellect and awareness. With confidence you know that Paido will survive his ordeal and that one day you will meet and fight again, side by side.
The return voyage to Dessi is a swift but lonely journey. The starguider ensures that the Levitron stays on course for Elzian and as you cross the canal which encircles the city, a pilot skyship arrives to escort you down. During the voyage you have discovered how to control the Levitron, and now, as slowly you approach the landing platform of the Tower of Truth, you disengage the starguider and make a faultless landing. Lord Rimoah and the High Council have gathered to greet your return, and upon hearing of your successful quest their hopes for the future are renewed in spite of the sad news of Lord Paido's capture by agents of the Darklords.
The High Council listens avidly as you recall your treacherous journey through Talestria, the perilous trek across the Danarg, and the wondrous discovery of their lost temple. When finally you have completed your account they applaud and pay tribute to your courage and daring, their faces beaming with pride. But, despite their joyous greeting, you sense that something is wrong; they seem distant, as if their minds were preoccupied with the solving of a difficult and perplexing problem.
You ask Lord Rimoah if all is well, and he replies: ‘You have grown in perception, Lone Wolf. Many things have occurred since last we spoke, and although your quest for the Lorestone of Ohrido has succeeded, the peril of our age has grown ever more deadly. The Darklords now wage open war throughout Magnamund, and many lands have fallen before their Giak legions. Talestria has been overrun. So too have the Stornland nations. Sommerlund stands firm against the armies of Darklord Gnaag, but she has lost her southern province of Ruanon.’
This shocking news fills you with an urge to return to your homeland, yet to do so would defeat the Magnakai quest.
Lord Rimoah bids you follow him to the chamber of the High Council. Set into the floor is a circular well, brimming with a silvery liquid metal. Rimoah kneels and touches the surface and slowly a vision takes form within the shimmering depths of the pool: it is a fortified city surrounded by rolling hills. ‘You look upon the city of Tahou in the land of Anari,’ says Rimoah, his voice now solemn and composed. ‘The Lorestone you must find next lies deep below its streets, in an ancient city that was built during the dawn of Magnamund.’
The vision of Tahou heralds the start of a new and perilous episode in your quest for the Magnakai. If you possess the bravery and courage of a true Kai Master, the challenge of Tahou awaits you in Book 9 of the Lone Wolf series entitled:
Numbered Sections
1-10: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11-20: 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21-30: 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31-40: 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41-50: 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51-60: 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
61-70: 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71-80: 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
81-90: 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
91-100: 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
101-110: 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110
111-120: 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120
121-130: 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130
131-140: 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140
141-150: 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
151-160: 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160
161-170: 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170
171-180: 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180
