Shadow on the Sand (18 page)
Suddenly, the pain subsides, but a new horror is taking shape before your eyes. Out of the darkness, a green whorl of vapour is forming slowly into the shape of a glistening, serpent-like monster. A grey mist issues forth from the Darklord's mouth, floating towards the core of this horror, infusing it with the power of death. The serpent writhes and convulses as the grey mist fills its body, changing it from a dream-like illusion into a living nightmare. Two pinpoints of crimson glow from its eyes, as it slithers towards you.
Dhorgaan:
COMBAT SKILL
20
ENDURANCE
40
If you possess a Jewelled Mace, you may add 5 to your
COMBAT SKILL
for the duration of the combat, for it is an enchanted weapon, especially effective against such a creature.
Illustration XV—A green whorl of vapour is forming slowly into the shape of a glistening, serpent-like monster.
If you win the combat,
turn to 335
.
The chill air whips past your face as you tumble towards Lake Inrahim. The Kraan-riders, the skyship, and the distant horizon all melt into a kaleidoscope of shapes and images. You fear these will be the last things you will ever see.
You have prepared yourself for death and feel calm and relaxed. Suddenly, you feel your body engulfed by a mass of sticky fibres. There is a terrific jolt, which leaves you breathless and stunned. (Lose 2
ENDURANCE
points.) The impossible is happening — you are no longer falling but rising!
You have been caught by a net of sticky strands like a fly in a web. You rise into the sky towards the flying ship as quickly as you fell. Three bearded dwarves clad in bright, padded battle-jerkins pull you aboard an outrigger that runs the length of the hull. There's no time to express your gratitude, for the small skyship is under attack from the Kraan-riders.
At the end of the outrigger, a dwarf is in hand-to-hand combat with a snarling Drakkar. He is losing the battle. As you rush to help him, another of the evil warriors lands in the centre of the craft, on top of the fortified platform.
If you wish to help the dwarf,
turn to 280
.
If you wish to leap from the outrigger onto the fortified platform,
turn to 361
.
As the Drakkar collapses to the ground, a Black Crystal Cube falls from his pocket. If you wish to take this item, place it in your own pocket and mark it on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item. The shriek of the Vordak drives you away from the dead body — his hideous cry is loud and very near.
‘Here you are,’ says Banedon, flicking a Gold Crown into her empty bowl. ‘Now will you help us in return?’ She snatches the coin to her mouth and bites into the gold. Satisfied that the coin is real, she nods her head.
If you wish to ask her if she is Soushilla (only if you have heard that name before),
turn to 307
.
If you wish to ask her if she knows were Tipasa the Wanderer can be found,
turn to 314
.
The creature's curved beak gores your back, impaling you upon its razor-sharp tip. You are lifted into the air and dashed against the wall with one flick of the great bird's powerful neck. Mercifully, death is instantaneous as your skull is shattered against the hard, unyielding marble.
Your life and the hopes of Sommerlund end here.
The sun-sword tingles with power as you point it at the flame which hurtles nearer and nearer, its hiss becoming so loud that it drowns the noise of battle. You brace yourself for the moment of impact. The flame hits the Sommerswerd with a thunderous noise and is held there in a ball of liquid purple fire that burns at the very tip of the magical blade. Instinctively, you whirl the Sommerswerd around your head and cast the fireball back into the sky.
The Vordak shrieks with terror, but it is too late — its fate is sealed. The fireball consumes the Zlanbeast and its rider in a massive explosion of sun-like brilliance.
Two bolts whistle through the air and slam into your back. As the pain tears through your body, you faint and fall onto the poison-tipped spikes. As your life's blood drains away, the last sound you hear is the hideous gloating laughter of Darklord Haakon rising above the ghoulish howl of his evil Drakkarim warriors.
Your life and the hopes of Sommerlund end here.
Using the cover of the excavation equipment scattered around the crater, you creep up on the sentry and empty the Tincture into the water flask resting by his feet.
A few minutes later, he reaches down and drinks from the flask. It is not long before he begins to feel very ill. As he staggers away to be violently sick, you slip into the Tomb unnoticed.
You tumble earthwards, blurred colours flashing before your eyes. The Kraan-riders, the skyship, and the distant horizon all melt into a kaleidoscope of shapes, the last images you see before smashing into the hard and barren salt-plain of Lake Inrahim.
Your life and the hopes of Sommerlund end here.
You have been detected; the Vordak shrieks a hideous high-pitched scream and points a bony finger towards your hiding place. Drakkarim crash through the undergrowth, cleaving a path with their black swords.
If you wish to draw your weapon and prepare for combat,
turn to 212
.
If you wish to try to escape from them,
turn to 393
.
The crone hobbles away into the dark alley; you and Banedon retrace your steps to the eagle monolith, where an arrow sign points west to the main square. The evening shadows are lengthening as you set off from the eagle once more.
A terrible shriek rings out above the rush of the wind, filling your head with pain. You are being attacked by a powerful Mindblast. Unless you possess the Kai Discipline of Mindshield, deduct 2
ENDURANCE
points from your current total.
The Itikar shudders and frantically twists its head from side to side as the shriek rings out again. You sense that the great bird is in agony, racked by the Mindblast. As you glance over your shoulder, your stomach becomes knotted with fear — a Kraan is swooping down to attack. On its back is your adversary: a Vordak, one of the undead and a hideous lieutenant of the Darklords. As the Kraan streaks towards you, the Vordak spreads its red-robed arms and leaps from the saddle. It lands behind you, astride the Itikar's back, its skeletal fingers sunk deep into your mount's feathered flesh. The shock of the impact throws you forward, and the reins slip from your hands.
The giant bird screeches in horror and pain as the Vordak's grip paralyses its spine. You must act quickly, for the Itikar is now plummeting towards the salt-plain of Lake Inrahim.
Illustration XVI—The Vordak lands behind you, astride the Itikar's back, its skeletal fingers sunk deep into your mount's feathered flesh.
If you possess the Sommerswerd,
turn to 315
.
If you do not possess this Special Item,
turn to 299
.
She refuses to say anything until you have placed some money in her begging bowl.
If you wish to give her a Gold Crown, make the adjustment to your
Action Chart
and
turn to 397
.
If you do not wish, or cannot afford, to give her any gold,
turn to 256
.
Your Kai skill warns you that two palace guards are running up the spiral stairs from their guardroom in the base of the tower. Quickly, you ascend the stairs before the Drakkarim enter and see in which direction you have gone.
The Drakkarim falter, blinded by the flash. Nolrim seizes the opportunity and urges his brethren forward against the invaders, leading the attack with his mighty battle-axe. Its razor edge whines and strikes sparks against the enemies' black armour, cutting through their unsteady ranks like a scythe through blighted corn.
You climb back onto the platform and see a Drakkar about to strike Banedon. The wizard seems unconcerned about the screaming warrior who threatens to decapitate him with a black broadsword. Banedon points his finger at the Drakkar, who is poised to strike.
If you wish to attack the Drakkar before he lands his blow upon Banedon's head,
turn to 330
.
If you do not wish to attack,
turn to 394
.
With the leap of a tiger, you snatch the glowing gem barely a second before Haakon's spiked fist slams into the floor where the jewel lay. You turn to face your enemy, the gem held high in your hand, its blue beam glinting on the Darklord's black armour. He shrinks beneath its glare and falls to his knees, a repulsive sucking noise issuing from his helm as he slowly begins to fade.
A sudden crack makes you start with shock, but you are no longer in danger. The glowing gem has vanished from your hand; like its master it has left this dimension, never to return.
You stare at the bolt, willing it to move. The sound of running footsteps behind you sends a cold shiver down your spine as you realize that the Drakkarim are storming the stairs. Then, slowly, the bolt begins to move. As soon as it clears the bolt-hole, you pull open the stone portal and race through, unaware of what lies beyond.
You race along the rock-strewn cave, eager to escape from the infected old man. The horrific stories that you have heard about vaxelus make you careless in your haste, and you lose 2 Items from your Backpack. Choose which two items to erase from your
Action Chart
(if you have no Backpack Items, you lose a Weapon and a Special Item instead).
The Kraan-rider screams past to your left, spun off course by your swift counter-blow. He is now over a hundred feet below but is turning the Kraan for another attack. You wheel towards the south to avoid being caught between the two converging squadrons of Kraan-riders. Your change of direction increases the distance between you and your pursuers, but the Itikar is badly wounded and terrified by the shrieking Kraan.
You are close to despair; your feathered mount is losing a lot of blood and could lapse into unconsciousness at any moment and drop you like a stone from the darkening sky. Suddenly you spot something in the distance — a sight that renews your faith in miracles.
You follow a path along a dry gully, the bed of an ancient river that once flowed through the mountains. An arid breeze blows eddies of red dust along the banks of dead earth. The white-walled buildings of Ikaresh suddenly appear, and, as the dust settles, you find yourselves standing in a small square close to the open archway of the town's east gate.
Perched upon a tall basalt monolith in the centre of the square is an eagle — the emblem of this mountain town — cast in bronze. Three bronze arrows are held in its beak, each indicating an exit from the square.
If you wish to go north, towards the Dougga Market,
turn to 376
.
If you wish to go west, towards the main square,
turn to 216
.
If you wish to go south, along the Avenue of Eagles,
turn to 342
.