The Captives of Kaag (22 page)

Like a shadow, you slip across the bridge and enter the alleyway unnoticed. At the far end of this narrow, foul-smelling passage you see the iron staircase which ascends to an arched portal, an opening which is framed by the coils of a black stone serpent. Cautiously you climb the stairs, taking care to avoid those steps eaten through by rust, your eyes fixed upon the portal above. Suddenly you freeze in your tracks when a splash of sparks illuminates the face of a Drakkarim warrior who is standing on guard in the shadows. He is striking a flint, trying desperately to ignite a braided cord with which to light the briar pipe clenched between his rot-blackened teeth. Beside him, propped against a heavy iron door, is a spear.

If you possess the Grand Master Discipline of Assimilance,
turn to 19
.

If you do not possess this skill,
turn to 163
.

Using your Magnakai Discipline of Telegnosis, you induce a trance that allows your conscious mind to leave your physical body and float across the fiery moat towards Banedon's prone form. Telepathically you call to him, trying to awaken him to consciousness, but you are unable to make contact. Then unexpectedly, your psychic calls are answered by a blood-chilling scream.

Horror floods your mind when you realize that the person before you is not your friend Banedon — it is a Helghast. As the creature rises and its features twist and distort before your gaze, you cast an anxious glance back across the moat to the place where your physical body stands. Through the great door come two Drakkarim guards behind a slavering boar-like creature which is straining on its leash. With relish they release the beast and it bounds towards your inanimate body, its jaws snapping wildly. Fear blazes scarlet as you will your spirit towards your body, desperate to reunite before the boar-thing tears your flesh to shreds.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If your current
ENDURANCE
points score is 20 or more, add 1 to the number you have picked. If your
ENDURANCE
is 19 or less, deduct 1.

If your total score is now 3 or less,
turn to 299
.

If it is 4 or more,
turn to 122
.

An arrow strikes your friend in the side and silently he falls to his knees, his hands still clinging to you for support. You stoop to lift him, but suddenly there is a flash of light and a blinding pain fills your head. The pain soon passes, but it is replaced by a blackness which fills your vision. You feel yourself falling forwards into an infinite void, as if you had, in the middle of a moonless night, just stepped over the edge of a towering cliff. Reluctantly you surrender to the sensation for it is the last sensation you will ever feel.

Sadly, your life and your quest end here.

You step back from the slain bodies of these two deadly foes, and lean against a table for support until your strength returns. By chance, you notice a strange key lying there. It has been carved from a green metallic substance which radiates a dim, phosphorescent light.

If you wish to keep this Green Key, mark it on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item which you carry in your tunic pocket.

As soon as your strength returns, you leave this chamber and press on with your search for Guildmaster Banedon.

Turn to 133
.

You sprint across the empty street and crouch at the base of the tower wall. The brick surface is plastered with mouldering grey cement and, as you look up at the roof twenty feet above, you steel yourself for what could prove to be a difficult climb.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess a Rope, add 1 to the number you have picked. If you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, add 2.

If your total score is now 3 or less,
turn to 253
.

If it is 4–6,
turn to 198
.

If it is 7 or more,
turn to 63
.

A few minutes later you see two Giaks coming down the corridor, both carrying wooden buckets filled with sand. Hesitantly they push open the door, tip the sand haphazardly over the smouldering remains of the fire, and then turn and scurry away.

For a while there is a hubbub of activity in the hallway as the guards and the Giaks speculate at length about the cause of the fire. While you are waiting for things to calm down, you must eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points (unless you possess Grand Huntmastery).

Your first plan having failed, you decide instead to exercise your Kai skills of persuasion, aided by the use of the discarded Drakkarim uniform.

Turn to 70
.

You draw back the bolt and push the rickety door. It opens out to a passageway which runs alongside the abattoir, deserted and empty save for a few piles of Giak bones freshly stripped of their flesh.

You follow this passage to its end, keeping to the shadows to minimize the risk of being seen by those who may be lurking in the ruins, yet, unfortunately, you neglect to notice the Kraan which are circling high above. As you reach the end of the passage and turn the corner, three of these flying spawn come swooping down out of the smoky sky to batter you with their claw-tipped wings. Twice you are knocked down before you manage to draw your weapon and fight back.

3 Kaag Kraan:
COMBAT SKILL
 45   
ENDURANCE
 60

If you possess the skill of Kai-surge and have reached the rank of Kai Grand Guardian, double any psychic combat bonuses you may be entitled to (for the duration of this combat only).

If you win this fight,
turn to 190
.

Defiantly you face the Helghast, your weapon at your side. The creature looks upon you and sneers, revealing two sharp fangs which protrude from its lower jaw. It emits a chilling cackle, full of hatred and contempt, and its eyes blaze like two hot coals as it confidently quickens its gait. You take a breath and utter the word of power that you learned from your mentor, Lord Rimoah:
Gloar!

The word forms a ball of energy that speeds across the hall and slams into the approaching Helghast. The force of this power-word lifts the creature into the air and sends it tumbling, like some hideous rag doll, backwards into the flame-filled moat.

Open-mouthed, the two Drakkarim stumble to a halt and stare down into the all-consuming fire. Nervously they glance at each other, fearful of suffering a similar fate, but years of fierce battle discipline soon override their anxiety and, like two automatons, they raise their swords and continue to advance towards you.

Drakkarim Veterans:
COMBAT SKILL
 30   
ENDURANCE
 35

If you win this combat,
turn to 340
.

The hovering shadow is changing shape once more. It expands and thickens, its misty outline now becoming hard and clearly defined. Your heart quickens when the transformation is complete for now you see before you a scaly dragon, with frosty-white skin and eyes as black as deep space. It fixes you with a murderous gaze and opens a mouth that is packed with razor-sharp fangs. Then a chilling gust of super-cold breath blows over you, leaving you shivering. Your Magnakai skills save you from being instantly frozen to death by this icy blast, but they will not keep you safe from the creature's fangs, its horny tail, or its sword-like claws. With a hungry growl, the dragon comes stalking forwards. Its jaw hangs open in expectation of an easy feast.

Illustration XV
—A scaly dragon with frosty white skin and razor- sharp fangs fixes you with a murderous gaze.

Ice Dragon (polymorphed Nadziran):
COMBAT SKILL
 48   
ENDURANCE
 52

If you win this combat,
turn to 50
.

The Kraan glides towards the semi-ovoid platform and you swing one leg over its neck in readiness to leap from the saddle the moment it lands. With graceful agility, you jump the last few feet onto the platform and run through the open entrance. A Giak Kraan-handler suddenly appears before you, but your quick wits and Kai camouflage skills keep you from being seen. As he shuffles out onto the platform to tend to the screeching Kraan, you run towards the rear of the pen where there are two exits: one to the south, the other to the west.

If you wish to enter the south arch,
turn to 181
.

If you choose to enter the west arch,
turn to 55
.

An arrow clips your forearm, making you cry out in pained surprise: lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.

‘It's no good, Banedon,’ you shout, as you watch the Drakkarim rushing towards you, ‘we'll have to take our chances in the pen.’

Cursing your predicament you turn around and hurry back towards the waiting ambush. But you have taken less than five steps inside the pen when an unexpected sound makes you look up. To your horror, you see a weighted net falling from the ceiling directly onto your heads.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you have Grand Huntmastery and have reached the rank of Kai Grand Guardian, add 3 to the number you have picked.

If your total is now 0–4,
turn to 27
.

If it is 5 or more,
turn to 262
.

Before you land the killing blow which parts the head of this ghastly Vordak, it shrieks a cry of alarm that attracts a Zlanbeast circling in the smoky sky above. The winged reptilian answers its call by swooping down and raking you with its serrated beak.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
and add 1 to this number. The resulting total is equivalent to the number of
ENDURANCE
points you lose due to the Zlanbeast's attack.

Before you can retaliate, the winged creature soars into the air and disappears. Cursing its departure, you look down to see that the body of the slain Vordak is no longer there. It has transformed into a foul-smelling green gas.

Mindful that the Zlanbeast might summon others of its kind, you sheathe your weapon and escape from the area as quickly as you can. At the end of the street you see an avenue leading off to the south, and another, blocked by rubble, heading off to the west.

If you wish to follow the avenue southwards,
turn to 142
.

If you choose to clamber over the rubble which fills the entrance to the west avenue,
turn to 35
.

Carefully you step over the twitching remains of the three Plaak and continue along the tunnel without looking back. Several hundred yards later you arrive at an empty circular room. The only feature here is a rusty iron ladder fixed precariously to the wall, which ascends through a hole in the ceiling to a level above. There is no other exit from this chamber and so, with caution guiding your every move, you climb the rust-eaten rungs.

You rise through the hole to find yourself in a corridor which is strewn with human bones. Skeletons lie mixed in tangled heaps and many of the skulls and loose bones seem to have been gnawed. The psychic residues of pain and terror left by these luckless victims press in upon your senses, making you feel queasy and claustrophobic. With pounding heart you advance along the bone-choked passage, stepping carefully through the skeletons to avoid making a sound. But you have taken less than a dozen steps when something unexpected makes you freeze in your tracks.

Turn to 218
.

With a triumphant growl, the Akataz rips free of the curtain and comes leaping at your chest. Hurriedly you step back, unsheathing your weapon as you struggle to defend yourself from its slavering jaws.

Akataz:
COMBAT SKILL
 24   
ENDURANCE
 25

This war-dog is especially susceptible to psychic attack. If you can and wish to use a psychic attack during combat, double all bonuses to which you are entitled.

If you win this combat in four rounds or less,
turn to 13
.

If you win this combat in five rounds or longer,
turn to 264
.