The Masters of Darkness (15 page)

The tunnel grows darker and dirtier the further down it you venture. You are beginning to suspect that you have entered an abandoned passage when the unmistakable stench of decaying meat wafts past you on a sulphurous breeze. Then two misshapen creatures loom out of the darkness, and your stomach churns at the sight of their hideously swollen faces. Their eyes are slits, the lids sewn down against the putrid flesh of their cheeks by lengths of coarse, black thread. They stagger towards you, their hooked claws scrabbling the air and their long, snake-like tongues flickering from their lipless mouths as hungrily they savour the scent of your flesh.

Illustration X
—Two misshapen Helgedad Ghouls loom out of the darkness.

Helgedad Ghouls:
COMBAT SKILL
 23   
ENDURANCE
 32

These creatures are immune to Mindblast and Psi-surge.

If you possess the Sommerswerd and wish to use it,
turn to 208
.

If you win the combat,
turn to 280
.

The moment you draw the dagger from your belt, a blue flame courses the length of its twisted blade and the squealing flood of Crypt Spawn soar upward towards the roof in order to avoid you. They and their creator, Darklord Kraagenskûl, recognize the power you wield and both are in awe and terror of it. Freed from the threat of his loathsome summonations, you now advance upon Kraagenskûl with the dagger before you. He screams in anger and lunges at your head, his sword ablaze with tongues of black fire. You catch the blow on the tip of the dagger and both blades spark furiously as their terrible powers collide.

Darklord Kraagenskûl:
COMBAT SKILL
 45   
ENDURANCE
 48

This supernatural being is immune to Mindblast (but not Psi-surge). You may add 7 points to your
COMBAT SKILL
for the duration of the fight, owing to the power of the Dagger of Vashna when used against a Darklord of Helgedad.

If you win the combat,
turn to 240
.

Suddenly, with an ear-splitting crack, the timbers of the main deck collapse and you feel yourself falling headlong into the bowels of the ship. The bulkheads, severely weakened during the Xargath's attack, have finally given way beneath the weight of fighting men and dropped you all into the cargo hold below.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
(0 equals 10). If you have completed the Lore-circle of Solaris, deduct 2 from the number you have picked. The final number represents the number of
ENDURANCE
points you have lost due to injuries sustained in the fall. Make the necessary adjustment to your
Action Chart
.

Turn to 222
.

Your Kai skill enables you to escape without leaving any tracks upon the slime-covered streets for your pursuers to follow. When they reach the junction, they cannot be sure in which direction you ran. The minutes lost in indecision give you time to escape from their clutches.

Turn to 48
.

Night has fallen swiftly, but there is a full moon by which to see. It pierces the darkness and bathes the landscape in its ghostly, ashen light. The tide bears you swiftly towards a shingle beach that is littered with huge, sea-smoothed boulders. The crashing surf and the screech of predatory seabirds echo all along this barren coastline. It is an unwelcoming sound, cold and hostile, a fitting reflection of the land itself.

Ten yards from the stony beach, you slip into the thigh-deep foam and wade ashore. Although you can see no sign of enemy patrols, you keep your head low as you scurry up the beach towards the base of a sheer cliff wall. By chance you happen upon a narrow path that clings precariously to the side of the cliff-face as it zigzags its way to the top. The climb is long and arduous, and by the time you reach the summit the weather has taken a turn for the worse. An icy, rain-laden wind whips inland from the sea. Its chilling bite is accompanied by sheet lightning that illuminates the landscape before you. The blue-white flashes reveal a vast, dead world of pitted spurs and crags, where every tree is petrified and every rock looks like a dead man's skull. You pull your cape close about your shoulders and set off towards a ridge that is peppered with dark hollows, hoping that one of them will offer some shelter from the coming storm.

Upon reaching the ridge, you discover that most of the hollows are merely patches of dark earth sandwiched between the honeycombed rock. The rain has become torrential, and you are beginning to abandon all hope of finding dry shelter, when suddenly your tracking instincts alert you to a cave-like opening at the far end of the ridge. You investigate and discover that it is indeed the entrance to a cave, one that is both wind- and watertight and, to your relief, quite empty. You are now very hungry and must eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.

If you have the Magnakai Disciplines of Animal Control and Divination,
turn to 234
.

If you do not possess both these skills,
turn to 307
.

With unexpected speed, the Drakkar jumps to his feet and draws his saw-edged sword. He spits the dust from his mouth and growls a curse as he makes ready to strike a blow at your head.

Drakkar:
COMBAT SKILL
 19   
ENDURANCE
 26

If you win the combat,
turn to 79
.

You know that if you are to destroy this powerful enemy, you must strike quickly and effectively, before he has a chance to retaliate.

If you have the Sommerswerd and wish to unsheathe it,
turn to 208
.

If you possess either the Dagger of Vashna or the sword Helshezag and wish to use either of them,
turn to 230
.

If you have a Bow and a Zejar-dulaga Arrow, and wish to use them,
turn to 238
.

If you have none of the above Special Items (or choose not to use them), you can draw a hand weapon:
turn to 340
.

Using your Magnakai skill, you cause the flames to flicker and die before you sustain any serious burns. Your advanced Discipline also protects you from the smoke and fumes given off by the smouldering canvas, and enables you to crawl from under the fallen sails uninjured.

Turn to 181
.

Like a shadow, you glide towards the Death Knight, your weapon poised to strike him down, but, just as you are closing for the kill, the Zlanbeast lets out a piercing caw of alarm.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you have completed the Lore-circle of Fire and the Lore-circle of Solaris, add 1 to this number. If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Animal Control and have reached the Kai rank of Archmaster, add 3 to the number.

If your total is now 0–7,
turn to 158
.

If it is 8 or more,
turn to 11
.

You recognize the Black Cube to be a Nadziranim power crystal, an explosive device that can only be activated by creatures of the Darklands. If you decide to take this item, it is possible that it could detonate and kill you at any time.

To continue,
turn to 263
.

The missile is directly above the
Intrepid
when it explodes with a deafening roar. The blast slams you to the deck and, as you struggle to your feet, white-hot fragments of metal rain down upon you. Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
(in this instance 0 equals 10). The number you have picked represents the number of
ENDURANCE
points you have lost due to shrapnel wounds.

Amid the noise and chaos, you hear Captain Borse's strident voice, issuing commands to his shell-shocked crew. Despite the fearful blast, there are miraculously few casualties and the ship is soon brought under control. The topsails, ignited by the flash, are quickly cut away and jettisoned as the enemy vessels begin to close in for the kill. They turn to bring their weapons to bear, but the heavy, iron ships are slow and cumbersome, and, by the time they have changed formation, the
Intrepid
is out of range and sailing at speed into the dark waters of the Kaltersee.

Turn to 71
.

The explosion has caused havoc aboard the
Intrepid
. Men run howling across the decks, their clothes and hair ablaze, as swiftly the fire spreads throughout the ship. ‘Save yourselves!’ cries Davan. ‘Abandon ship!’

You run to the deck rail, and, as you look along the beam, you see scores of men — Drakkarim and Sommlending alike — hurling themselves into the cold, dark waters of the Kaltersee rather than perish amid the roaring holocaust of flame.

If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Huntmastery, Pathsmanship, or Divination,
turn to 4
.

If you possess none of these skills,
turn to 224
.

The Giak wagon has drawn to a halt nearby, its driver and his companion eagerly awaiting the return of their escort. They are sniggering and discussing in detail all the hideous tortures they will inflict on you should the Drakkarim manage to capture you alive. So engrossed are they in their bloodthirsty talk that they fail to notice you creeping up on them until it is too late. Swiftly you silence the driver and turn in an instant to strike his companion. Miraculously, however, he manages to parry your blow on the shaft of his spear.

Giak Wagon-guard:
COMBAT SKILL
 16   
ENDURANCE
 19

If you win the combat,
turn to 335
.

The icy cold winds blowing inland off the Kaltersee grow fiercer with every passing hour. Billowing black storm clouds mask the moon and plunge the land into an inky darkness that makes your search for shelter increasingly difficult. Only the steady flash of sheet lightning affords you any assistance. After three hours of fruitless search you resign yourself to spending a cold, wet, and thoroughly miserable night crouching at the bottom of a shallow gully, with your cape pulled tent-like over your head to fend off the relentless rain. Owing to the cold, your fatigue, and lack of sleep, your night in the open costs you 4
ENDURANCE
points.

Turn to 300
.

As you follow the sycophantic creature along the corridor and up a flight of iron stairs to the deck level above, you ponder the name he called you — Cagath. No doubt it was the name of the Ligan whose identity you have taken on as a disguise. (Make a note of this name in the margin of your
Action Chart
. It could prove useful at a later stage of your adventure.)

A strange scene awaits you in the large, cylindrical chamber that is the gallery. At the centre of this steel hall, used by the Lajakeka's passengers as a meeting place and gambling den, there is a square pit some fifteen feet deep. On tiered seats that encircle the pit sit a motley group of creatures, some of whose features you recognize: Liganim, Nadziranim, Giak ore-masters, and a dozen or so whose origins are a mystery to you. They are all cheering or bawling obscenities at two bulky pit fighters, who are locked in hand-to-hand combat below. The fight ends abruptly with the beheading of one combatant, and the pit is cleared quickly whilst old bets are claimed and new ones are laid on the next bout. Into the gore-stained pit step two new fighters: an orange-skinned reptilian armed with a spiked club, and a blue-skinned humanoid wielding a ball and chain. Giak crew pass along the tiers collecting bets. One of them appears at your side and tugs your sleeve.
‘Stak nart gug?’
he growls, waving a wad of orange and blue slips of hide, as he tries to tempt you to place a bet.

Illustration XI
—An orange-skinned reptilian and a blue-skinned humanoid step into the gore-stained pit.

If you have any Kika (Gold Crowns or Lune may not be used in lieu of Kika in this instance) and wish to bet on one of the pit fighters,
turn to 61
.

If you do not possess any Kika or do not wish to bet on the outcome of the fight,
turn to 254
.