The Captives of Kaag (16 page)

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
.

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.

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
.

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
.

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
.

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
.

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
.

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
.

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
.

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.

If you win and the combat lasts three rounds or less,
turn to 295
.

If you win and the combat lasts four rounds or longer,
turn to 206
.

As the terrible pain in your shoulder subsides, you open your eyes to find yourself lying face down in the seething carpet of insects. You feel them creeping and slithering across your skin; then your psychic senses tingle with a sudden realization. These are no ordinary insects; in fact these are not insects at all. Your Sixth Sense tells you that they are merely a cunning illusion created to panic and deceive you. Confident in this knowledge, you get to your feet, ignoring the mass of creepy-crawlies that are attached in clumps to your body. Then, in a matter of seconds, the insect horde fades and vanishes, the illusion dispelled by your disbelief in its existence.

Turn to 281
.

Talons spring from the creature's forepaws and its sharp teeth glint like polished knives as it comes leaping through the air towards you.

Vodok:
COMBAT SKILL
 44   
ENDURANCE
 52

If you win this combat,
turn to 150
.

When you are less than five feet from the roof, a part of the surface cement crumbles beneath your fingers. Desperately you throw your arms wide, seeking new purchase, and only just manage to prevent yourself from falling backwards to the street below. This close call leaves your hands skinned and bleeding: lose 2
ENDURANCE
points.

Determinedly you haul yourself up the remaining few feet and take firm hold of the tower parapet.

Turn to 10
.

You draw your Arrow and let fire at the creature's head, aiming for its eyes, but it twists its powerful neck as the shaft approaches and it lodges harmlessly between its teeth. The great jaw chomps down, pulping the Arrow which it spits back at you with contempt. Hastily you drop your Bow and draw a hand weapon as the shadow of the beast falls upon you.

Turn to 128
.

The dark tunnel descends to a titanic circular hall which is lit by a lava-filled vent at its centre. Tunnels radiate from this hall in every direction, like the spokes of an infernal wheel, their destinations mere pinpoints of flame in the far distance. The air here is thick and cloying. It is choked by sulphur and other foul discharges of noisy engines located deep in the bowels of Kaag. The pressure of this tainted atmosphere is forever changing, causing you momentarily to lose your balance and stumble when first you enter the central hall.

Before you, astride the vent, a colossal idol looms up against the crimson light like some supernatural giant forged of steel and stone. Warily you pass beside one of its huge, taloned feet, half expecting it to animate suddenly and come crashing down upon you as if you were a lowly insect. Fortunately, the foot remains immobile and you are able to leave by a triangular-shaped tunnel, the largest of those which radiate from this hall.

Other passages branch off this tunnel, spaced at regular intervals of one hundred paces. You detect movement taking place in several of these sub-tunnels and, when at last your natural curiosity prompts you to stop and observe one (using your Magnakai skills to magnify your vision), you detect that it is occupied by Nadziranim. These mysterious sorcerers are gifted in the black arts of Right-handed magic and, before their demise, they slavishly assisted the Darklords of Helgedad. These particular Nadziranim are busy at slime-filled vats, engaged in the harvesting of Giak spawn, a process that at first fascinates then rapidly repulses you. Sickened by what you have seen, you hurry away towards a distant junction where a narrower tunnel crosses from left to right. As you approach the junction, you feel the skin on your arms and the nape of your neck tingle with a premonition of peril. The sensation soon passes, but you are left with an awareness that a greater danger lurks somewhere nearby.

If you wish to turn left at the junction and continue,
turn to 156
.

If you choose to turn right,
turn to 126
.