Mydnight's Hero

by Joe Dever

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

  If the number you have picked is 0–4, turn to 72.

  If it is 5–9, turn to 310.

  239

  The barrel of oil explodes with a bright yellow flash and the searing blast knocks you flat onto your back.

  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 current ENDURANCE score by 3. If the number is even (i.e. 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8), reduce your current ENDURANCE score by 5.

  Wincing from the stinging pain of your burns, you pull yourself into a sitting position in time to see a billowing mushroom of oily flame rising up into the darkening sky above. Instinctively you draw upon your Magnakai skill of Nexus to extinguish the fire at the base of the mast and, as these tongues of flame wither and die, Prince Karvas rushes forward to smother the smoking remains with his journeyman's cloak.

  Turn to 121.

  240

  When the final tumbler clicks into place, you press your shoulder gently against the door and it creaks open a few inches.13 The torchlit corridor outside the cell is unguarded, and you beckon Karvas to follow as you push the door open and leave.

  Turn to 150.

  [13] This is the correct answer to the tumbler lock puzzle in Section 113.

  241

  The tavern-keeper looks at the Ren with a mixture of suspicion and disdain. ‘Bah, lousy Bakhasian coinage,’ he spits, and he takes away the frothing tankards and places them under the counter.

  ‘I'll not accept Ren in my tavern. There's some in this town that do, but I'll touch nothing that comes from Bhanar since my son, Foulse, was murdered last year in Bakhasa.’ The tavern-keeper looks to the garrison soldiers seated at the table and indicates, with a jerk of his thumb towards the door, that he wants them to throw you out.

  ‘That won't be necessary,’ says Karvas, and he tugs at your sleeve. ‘We'll leave of our own accord.’

  You abandon the Ren (erase these from your Action Chart) and return to your horses. You are disappointed that you have not been able to slake your thirst, but you are also mindful that you still have many miles to travel before you reach Seroa.

  If you wish to visit the trading post before you leave Battle Pass, turn to 120.

  If you decide to depart without further delay, turn to 230.

  242

  You recite the words of the Brotherhood Spell Lightning Hand and extend your right arm towards the nearest shrine-bearer. A crackling arc of magical energy leaps from your fingers and strikes the man in the chest, knocking him to the ground. As he releases his grip of the platform, it tilts over and the tiger-head idol tumbles from its wooden base. It hits the cobblestones with a mighty crash, breaks in two, and releases a whirling cone of red flame from its hollow core that engulfs the remaining bearers. In the blink of an eye the three men are transformed into smouldering heaps of ash.

  Cries of fear and outrage echo along the street as the Bakhasian soldiers witness the deaths of their comrades and the destruction of their unholy symbol. Before they can gather themselves and give chase, you and Karvas rush across the street and make a hasty escape along the dark alleyway beyond.

  Turn to 180.

  243

  You reach to your Belt Pouch and withdraw a handful of shiny Gold Crowns. The sight of the glimmering coins makes the trader's eyes widen with avarice, but you sense that his greed is tempered by a gnawing fear that you are really an assassin.

  If you wish to offer some Gold Crowns to the trader in return for what he knows about Prince Karvas, turn to 112.

  If you decide to put the coins back in your pouch, turn to 276.

  244

  Once more the deadly blades draw sparks from the stone ceiling as they whirl about. They gather speed until you can no longer focus on them, and then they come screeching down towards your head.

  Sadanzo's sorcerous blades: COMBAT SKILL 46 ENDURANCE 20

  These blades are immune to all forms of psychic attack. If you possess the Kai Weapon ‘Valiance’, you may add the additional COMBAT SKILL bonus (versus magicians) to your score when calculating your Combat Ratio.

  If you win the fight, turn to 106.

  245

  During your wait to enter the city, you must eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points. (You are unable to use Grand Huntmastery in this instance, for you are unable to leave the queue in order to forage for food.)

  It takes you more than an hour to reach the South Gate, even though you give up your horses in exchange for better positions in the queue. As soon as the gate guards nod their approval, you hurry through the gatehouse arch and into the city beyond.

  Turn to 12.

  246

  Your search of the guard's pockets uncovers the following items:

  20 Ren (equivalent to 2 Gold Crowns)

  Dagger

  Potion of Laumspur (restores 4 ENDURANCE points when swallowed after combat)

  If you wish to keep any of these items, remember to make the necessary adjustments to your Action Chart.

  To continue, turn to 16.

  247

  The Marshal of the Guard has his men confiscate your Weapons, your Kai Weapon, your Backpack, and all of your Special Items. (They leave only your Belt Pouch and its contents. On your Action Chart mark each of the confiscated items with an asterisk [*] to indicate that they are no longer in your possession, but do not erase them at this time.) Then he marches you and Karvas under close escort to the cells below the main hall, where you are shackled to the wall in irons. Karvas is shocked by this brutal treatment and he cannot reason why Lodamos would treat you both this way.

  An hour passes before the door to the cell is thrown open and in strides Baron Lodamos, escorted by a bodyguard of his toughest fighting men. Prince Karvas pleads for your immediate release, but his pleas fall on deaf ears.

  ‘Do you not recognize me, my lord?’ he asks. ‘Do you not remember the days we spent hunting wild boar in the Ioma Forest?’

  Cautiously the Baron approaches the Prince. He has one of his bodyguards come forward with a torch so that he may look at his face. The elderly Baron scrutinizes the Prince's every feature, including the birthmark on his wrist.

  ‘The resemblance is uncanny, I grant you that,’ he says, ‘but you are most likely another impostor, another of Sadanzo's sorcerous creations sent here to assassinate me. No, I refuse to believe that you are Prince Karvas.’

  The Baron turns to leave the cell and signals to his bodyguard to follow, but Karvas begs him to stay. Hurriedly he recalls some of the visits he made to Varedo when he was a young boy, and he recounts the summer Lodamos spent teaching him to hunt and ride. Some of the details he recalls would only be known by the real Prince Karvas, and this is enough to make Baron Lodamos stop and hesitate.

  ‘You have a persuasive tongue,’ he says, ‘but I am not convinced. Sadanzo is a cunning foe. Yet there is one way I can be sure.’

  Baron Lodamos turns to the sergeant of his bodyguard and says: ‘Very well, Guntor. Take them both to the chapel. Only there will their true identities be revealed.’

  To continue, turn to 300.

  248

  You hurry past the gate guards and through the open archway into a flagstoned concourse. By keeping low and hiding in the shadows, you and Karvas are able to cross this open plaza undetected and make your way along an empty avenue which bisects the city's west quarter. Grimy two-storey houses of carved hardwood pass by on either side, silent behind their bolts and shutters.

  The avenue leads to a stone bridge that traverses the River Tehda and then continues into the heart of the east quarter. Here you almost collide with a patrol of armed guards which is marching towards the river, and hurriedly you are forced to take cover in a timber yard to avoid being seen. You study the ten-strong patrol as it marches past. These men are clad in black quilted tunics and wide silk leggings, and they are armed with curved swords and hand-axes. They are almond-eyed and they all have
shiny black hair tied in a knot at the nape of their necks. Their leader, a stocky bull-necked sergeant, wears the emblem of Sejanoz emblazoned upon a scarlet armband. Patiently you wait for them to reach the bridge but, as they do so, another patrol comes marching along the avenue from the opposite direction. The east quarter of Bakhasa is a busy place, even at this late hour. Rather than risk being seen and captured, you decide to remain hidden here in the timber yard and attempt to get a few hours sleep before dawn.

  Unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, you must now eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

  To continue, turn to 340.

  249

  You urge your horse towards the wooded hillock and enter the trees with just seconds to spare before the leading fanji come flashing past. You look about you but Karvas is nowhere to be seen. You fear he has been trampled by the stampede, but then he suddenly appears from out of the thundering wall of beasts. He is bruised and battered but he is still astride his horse and in full control of him. He veers his frightened steed away from the herd and comes galloping up the slope of the hillock towards the sanctuary of the trees. He pulls to a halt by your side and strokes the neck of his whinnying horse to reassure and calm him.

  As the herd rush past the hillock, you glimpse more than a dozen horsemen who are galloping close behind them. They are hunters and they are picking off the best fanji at close quarters with bows and spears. Two of these fur-clad plainsmen see you and Karvas recovering among the trees, and instantly they steer their horses away from the herd and urge them towards the hillock. You sense that they suspect you and the Prince are after their quarry and, as they ride closer, they mouth curses and fire their bows at you.

  Their steel-tipped shafts arc through the air and thud into the trees close by.

  If you possess a Bow and wish to return fire at these hunters, turn to 278.

  If you wish to attempt to evade them, turn to 133.

  250

  Sadanzo clutches his injured hand to his chest and falls to his knees exhausted. You sense that the destruction of his gem has greatly weakened him. It has also freed the Siyenese nobles from his evil influence, an influence that robbed them of their free will.

  If you possess Sadanzo's Scroll, turn to 61.

  If you do not possess this Special Item, turn to 296.

  251

  You follow this ancient trail for more than an hour as it ascends, by tortuous twist and turn, towards the forbidding granite peaks of the Dammerdon Mountains. The air is now much cooler than when you first entered the foothills, and the starlight that has illuminated your way so far is fading fast. Your Magnakai Pathsmanship skills warn you that the time has come to seek shelter for you sense a storm approaching.

  You reach a plateau strewn with boulders where a smaller track branches away from the main trail. It leads to a large stone hut that stands perched upon a spur of granite. Further along the trail you can see a ledge of rock that overhangs a narrow gully.

  If you wish to seek shelter in the stone hut, turn to 84.

  If you choose to shelter beneath the rocky ledge, turn to 53.

  252

  Hurriedly you retrieve the seal from your Backpack and thrust it before the Inquisitor-major's face. The man blanches when he recognizes the object you hold and immediately he stops blowing his horn.

  ‘Please, please accept my apology,’ he begs, his voice suddenly dripping with fear. ‘I did not know that you were travelling with the Baron's Seal. Your mission must be of great importance. I … I trust I have not caused you too great a discomfort. I am truly sorry.’

  Without saying a word, you return the seal to your Backpack and watch as the Inquisitor-major and his hunting party make a hasty departure. As they gallop away across the plain towards the distant foothills, you use your Magnakai Curing skills to revive Prince Karvas fully before you continue your ride east towards Varedo.

  Turn to 55.

  253

  ‘Hail, Prince Karvas,’ you call, trying hard to make your voice sound as unthreatening as you can. ‘You have no need to fear us — we come as friends. We have journeyed far to find you and we bring important news from Siyen. Please, sire, put down your bow and let us talk.’

  The blond-haired man hesitates, and then he lowers his crossbow just enough for you to be able to see his face clearly. Now you are sure that he is the man you seek.

  ‘Who are you?’ he shouts. ‘And what do you want from me?’

  Turn to 170.

  254

  With a sneer on his face, the man snatches his hand away. He then raises his empty pipe and waves it in the air above his head. He is signalling to someone behind you, and when you turn to look, you see eight grim-faced mercenary knights emerging from hiding places at the entrance to the bridge. They unsheathe their weapons as they swagger towards the middle of the bridge.

  Illustration XIV—Eight mercenary Knights swagger towards the middle of the bridge.

  ‘We've got ourselves a pair of troublemakers,’ shouts the man with the pipe to his confederates as they draw closer. ‘They say they won't pay us the toll.’ You sense that these robber knights cannot be reasoned with. All they are interested in is taking your money and your horses. Karvas draws his sword and you unsheathe your Kai Weapon in readiness to do battle as these ruthless robbers quicken their pace.

  Robber Knights of Voshno: COMBAT SKILL 47 ENDURANCE 50

  You cannot evade this combat. However, you may add 5 points to your COMBAT SKILL for the duration of this combat for support given by Prince Karvas, who is fighting by your side.

  If you win the fight, turn to 77.

  255

  You pull hard on the reins and twist in the saddle to avoid the onrushing shaft. Your swift reactions save you from being struck in the body, yet the arrow gouges your leg before it shatters into the ground: lose 2 ENDURANCE points.

  Karvas leaps into the saddle and you toss him the reins of his horse. With a cry of elation, you wheel your stallion about and spur him towards an avenue on the west side of the square. You and the Prince gallop side by side along this broad thoroughfare as fast as your horses will carry you, trampling any Bakhasian who is foolish enough to stand in your way. The road leads directly to the city's east gate where a bell is tolling loudly. A crowd of militiamen have gathered at the gate, summoned from their beds by the alarm, but they are without their officer and in the chaos and confusion they have forgotten to close the gate. They scatter in all directions as you thunder along the avenue towards them and you are able to escape through the open archway without challenge.

  Whooping with excitement, you race away from Bakhasa along a dusty trail that heads towards the foothills of the Dammerdon Mountains. You glance to your side and see Prince Karvas punch the air victoriously. Clearly he is as excited by this daring escape as you are, for he has a grin fixed to his sweat-streaked face that stretches from ear to ear.

  Your strong Bhanarian stallions carry you swiftly into the foothills and never once do they falter in their stride nor slacken their impressive pace. Only when you can no longer see the lights of Bakhasa do you let them slow to a canter. For more than an hour you travel the trail as it meanders through pine-covered hills and shallow valleys. The night sky is clear and the way ahead is illuminated by bright starlight. When you come to a shallow ford that crosses a fast-flowing stream, you stop awhile to let your horses drink their fill.

  Unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, you must now eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

  To continue, turn to 323.

  256

  You leave the jetty and hurry to the tavern. This riverside inn is in urgent need of some paint and repair, yet for all its shabby outward appearance, its taproom is filled to overflowing with customers. The sound of lyre and pipe music mingles with the chatter and raucous laughter of its patrons, many of whom are river travellers bound for Seroa within the hour. You push your way through the noisy crowd and climb a flight of stairs that
gives access to rooms on the upper floor. From the top of the stairs you are able to get a better view of the crowded bar room. Karvas points out two men who are standing at the tavern counter. They are dressed in dandified court costumes and they wear Sadanzo's eagle's-head emblem pinned to velvet berets that are resting on their coiffured heads.

  Illustration XV—Karvas points out two men standing at the tavern counter.

  ‘I'd wager those two dandies have tickets for the riverboat,’ says Karvas, conspiratorially. You focus your concentration on the two men and your Kai Sixth Sense confirms that the Prince's assumption is correct.

  If you wish to approach them and offer to buy their riverboat tickets, turn to 17.

  If you wish to wait outside the tavern and approach the men when they leave, turn to 111.

  257

  Beyond the arch there is a narrow brick walkway which borders on the river. You hurry along this unlit footpath until you come to a flight of stone steps. You are about to climb the steps when suddenly an armed soldier appears from out of the shadows. He raises his spear and commands you to halt.

  If you wish to attack this soldier, turn to 115.

  If you decide to obey his command, turn to 132.

  258

  You back away from the safe and hurry to leave this evil library. As you approach the arch which leads to the adjoining chamber, you suddenly hear a noise which makes you stop dead in your tracks.