Shadow on the Sand (17 page)
You escape from the combat and sprint along the opposite passage, but the enemy gives chase, and the crunch of iron-shod boots echoes in your ears. You race down a stairway, through an arch of silver and along a balcony overlooking the lower palace.
You glimpse the silhouette of Darklord Haakon in the hall below, his spiked fist raised. A Drakkar appears from nowhere and leaps at you, his sword raised high above his skull-like helm. There is a deafening crack, and a bolt of blue lightning streaks from a stone in the Darklord's hand and hurtles towards you. The Drakkar lunges and wounds your forearm (you lose 1
ENDURANCE
point), but he is now standing in the path of the bolt. In a flash of light, the Drakkar is gone; only cinders and the rotten odour of scorched flesh remain.
At the end of the balcony you see another arch and a staircase.
If you wish to escape through the arch,
turn to 381
.
If you wish to escape by the stairs,
turn to 317
.
If you are to get inside the tomb, you must either distract or silence the Drakkarim sentry.
If you possess a Tincture of Graveweed,
turn to 260
.
7
If you do not possess this item, you will have to creep up and overpower him as quickly and silently as you can. Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess the Kai Disciplines of Hunting, Tracking, and Camouflage, add 2 to the number you have picked. If you have reached the Kai rank of Guardian or higher, add 3 to the number.
If your total is now 0–4,
turn to 324
.
If it is 5 or more,
turn to 303
.
[7] You may only use Graveweed in its Tincture form in this case (you may not use a concentrated potion if you have one).
Itikar are wild and malicious creatures. It can take several years for a rider to tame and train one, but once trained, the giant black birds are fiercely loyal. As you approach, the Itikar senses that you are not his master and furiously attacks you with its deadly beak and talons.
Itikar:
COMBAT SKILL
17
ENDURANCE
30
Fight the combat as normal, but double all
ENDURANCE
points lost by the giant bird. When its score falls to zero or below, you will have subdued it enough to be able to climb into the saddle and take control. All the
ENDURANCE
points you lose in the combat count as wounds and must be deducted from your current
ENDURANCE
points total.
If you successfully reduce the Itikar's
ENDURANCE
points to zero or below,
turn to 217
.
Once outside the cave, you and Banedon waste no time in pressing on towards Ikaresh. As you near the outskirts of the town, you pass a small, round hut where a goat is eating from a manger near the door. A man appears in the darkened doorway and bids you welcome; he touches his forehead in a salute of friendship and invites you to enter his humble home.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Sixth Sense,
turn to 365
.
If you wish to accept his invitation,
turn to 225
.
If you decide to decline his offer and continue on your way towards Ikaresh,
turn to 272
.
You recognize the creature dressed in red: it is a Vordak, a servant of the Darklords, one of the powerful undead. Vordaks possess great psychic power, and you feel it scanning for you with its Mindforce. You know that if you are to avoid these evil troops, you will not only have to hide, but also shield your mind.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you have the Kai Discipline of Camouflage, add 2 to the number you have picked. If you have the Kai Discipline of Mindshield, add 3.
If your total score is now 0–6,
turn to 262
.
If it is 7 or over,
turn to 378
.
Your deadly stroke hurls the Drakkar over the armoured parapet. He tumbles from view and plummets into the valley thousands of feet below.
You can clearly see the main highway that links Chula to the capital. It crosses the desolate salt plain of Lake Inrahim by means of a causeway thirty feet high and is a useful landmark by which you can steer. Little stone houses with beaten earth roofs are grouped in small clusters along the highway, their numbers increasing as you draw nearer to the town.
You are five miles from Chula, when you notice a dark cloud hovering several hundred feet above one of the small villages. It is a cloud of Kraan; they are moving to intercept you.
Suddenly the Itikar squeals in pain, and a splash of feathers billows out from its wing. A Kraan has closed in from behind; it is less than a hundred yards distant. The Drakkarim rider holsters an empty bronze crossbow and draws his black sword. His bolt has passed through the wing of your mount, and he prepares to strike as the Itikar loses height and speed.
Drakkarim Kraan-rider:
COMBAT SKILL
20
ENDURANCE
28
The Kraan and its rider are swooping on you from behind. You will only be able to fight for one round of combat before they are carried past by the momentum of their attack.
If you lose more
ENDURANCE
points than the enemy in this one round combat,
turn to 347
.
If the enemy loses more
ENDURANCE
points than you,
turn to 327
.
If you both lose exactly the same number of
ENDURANCE
points,
turn to 271
.
You remove your Blue Stone Triangle from around your neck and press it into the indentation in the wall. It is a perfect fit. You hear the sound of stone grating on stone, and the door slowly opens to reveal a chamber. It is dimly lit, but you see that the thick dust on its marble floor is covered with innumerable footprints. As you enter, you catch sight of a rough stone throne, facing the wall on the far side of the chamber.
Behind you the stone door slides shut with unnerving speed.
Using the Copper Key, you unlock the door and hurry into the garden, not a moment too soon; as the heavy door swings shut you hear crossbow bolts ricocheting from the bands of studded iron.
The enclosed garden is filled with the fragrance of exotic shrubs and trees, which cluster around a sculptured pool of deep blue water. It is a beautiful sight, but you dare not stop to enjoy it. The Drakkarim and the palace guards know where you are, and you must keep moving if you are to escape them.
Beyond a tree-lined colonnade, a flight of steps ascends to a small portal in the wall of the upper palace. To your right, a leafy tunnel winds away into the trees and shrubs.
If you possess the Kai Discipline of Tracking,
turn to 220
.
If you decide to climb the stairs to the small portal,
turn to 352
.
If you would rather follow the winding path,
turn to 391
.
The voyage through the Koos is breathtaking. The
Skyrider
glides between the towers of rock that rise from the valley floor with fantastic and unearthly grandeur. Far below, sulphurous water bubbles from fissures in the orange ground and streams of hissing lava carve circular channels, which glow like moats of liquid fire. You watch the sky, but there are no signs of the enemy.
‘Ikaresh,’ says Banedon pensively. ‘ “The Eagle's Lair”. That is where we will find Tipasa the Wanderer. It is the place of his birth and the home of his family. He roams the Dry Main, but he always returns to Ikaresh.’
It is late afternoon when you reach the hills beyond the Koos that overlook the town of Ikaresh. Banedon moors the
Skyrider
to a pinnacle of stone, and a rope ladder is lowered to the ground. It has been decided that you and he will enter Ikaresh on foot and locate Tipasa, while Nolrim and the crew wait in hiding for you to return — the sight of the
Skyrider
hovering above the mountain town would be sure to arouse unwanted interest in your arrival.
You and Banedon prepare yourselves for your mission by staining your skins with brown copalla berries and dressing in the grey and white robes commonly worn by the mountain people of this region. You bid farewell to Nolrim and set off across the barren hills.
Pick in number from the
Random Number Table
.
If the number you have picked is 0–2,
turn to 337
.
If it is 3–9,
turn to 383
.
A small, heavy-set merchant is hawking his wares from a stall set close to the archway. His small, beady eyes twinkle from beneath a ridiculously outsized turban. As you approach, he launches himself at you, desperately trying, with a flood of wild claims, to persuade you to buy his obviously inferior goods. He looks surprised when you interrupt him with your question. ‘Tipasa?’ he answers. ‘Yes, I know where he lives.’
He holds up a gaudy waistcoat of pink and orange sackcloth and offers it to you. ‘It would make a worthy gift for your esteemed friend,’ he suggests, his eyes continually glancing at your Belt Pouch. ‘Only 5 Gold Crowns, master.’
You realize you will first have to purchase this ridiculous garment before the merchant will tell you where Tipasa lives.
If you wish to buy the waistcoat, pay the man 5 Gold Crowns and
turn to 328
.
If you do not want to buy the waistcoat or cannot afford to pay him 5 Gold Crowns,
turn to 274
.
As the Vordak dies, its body gradually dissolves into a bubbling green liquid, shrivelling the plants that lie beneath the crumbled red robe. The swish of a sword alerts you to the Drakkarim who are now closing in around their slain leader. Without hesitation, you sheathe your weapon and run for cover among the densely packed trees.
As you watch the Kraan-riders disappear into the darkening sky, a roll of thunder rumbles across the plain from Barrakeesh. The sound is threatening and full of brooding menace, as if the city itself were cursing your escape.
You turn away and focus your attention on Banedon, your unexpected rescuer. The makeshift bandage that binds his wound is soaked with blood, and he looks pale and weak.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Healing,
turn to 377
.
If you do not have this skill,
turn to 339
.
You are fortunate that you are not struck by the blast, but even so, the blue flame scorches your hand and arm and knocks you to the floor. Lose 6
ENDURANCE
points.
If you are still alive,
turn to 316
.
You whirl your feet away from the shining steel and narrowly escape being wounded as the axe bites inches deep into the polished stone floor. However, before the guard can strike another blow, you lash out and send the axe spinning from his hand. He screams, clutching broken fingers to his chest.
You turn and run towards an open door. The air is filled with the sound of pounding feet, for the palace guard are on full alert; together with the Drakkarim, they are now bent on finding and killing you as quickly as possible.
Beyond the door, a bridge rises at a slanted angle over an enclosed garden, joining this part of the palace to a needle-like tower of white marble. At the entrance to the bridge, a narrow stair disappears into the garden below.
If you wish to cross the bridge and enter the Tower,
turn to 396
.
If you decide to descend the stairs,
turn to 215
.