The Masters of Darkness (18 page)

Using your advanced Kai skill you focus on a large, weed-draped boulder away to your left. The Giaks, led by their scout, rush towards it, their spears held at the ready. They cackle with glee at the thought of murdering another helpless Sommlending, but, of course, when they descend on the boulder, they discover that it conceals no one. The sound of their vile curses gradually fades as stealthily you escape along the beach.

Turn to 157
.

On a throne of hewn granite, ringed by seven pillars of fire, sits a being whose form radiates pure evil. A loose grey robe shrouds his skeletal frame. It is drawn closely about a stringy throat that swells and shrinks repulsively as he sucks the sulphurous air. With a claw-like finger, he scrapes nervously at the blistered flesh that is stretched tightly across the swollen left side of his face, attempting in vain to hook the head of a snake-like parasite that has burrowed into his jaw. His eyes, deep-sunken and red-rimmed with the unbearable pain of his affliction, burn with sick fanaticism as he listens impatiently to the pleas and excuses being offered by two who stand before him — the man in red and one other, both humbly bowed.

The luckless mortals plead their case, speaking in the Vassagonian tongue — a language that you mastered long ago. They speak of delays in the construction of a mighty battleship, of shortages of material and of too little time in which to finish their work. Their words anger the seated one. He curses them, and the floor shudders beneath the weight of his unnatural voice. ‘You would dare defy me?’ he roars. ‘You would court the anger of Kraagenskûl, Lord of Argazad? Fools! Know you this. If your work is not completed before the next moon, you shall wish yourselves truly dead. A thousand years of agony shall be the reward for your failure, a thousand years of undeath in the dungeons of Helgedad!’

Illustration XII
—Darklord Kraagenskûl draws his sword.

Fired by his own rage, the corpse-like Darklord Kraagenskûl rises from his throne and draws the sword that hangs sheathed at his side. The blade is unlike any that you have seen. It is wholly black, a black so dense that it appears entirely separate from the hilt, like a tear through which you glimpse the nightmare depths of space. He levels the sword at the cowering men to reinforce his threat, but the blade rebels. It twists in his hand and points accusingly at the place where you are hiding. The Darklord narrows his feral eyes and a wave of psychic shock buffets your mind.

If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Psi-screen,
turn to 21
.

If you do not possess this skill,
turn to 267
.

The Xargath sinks swiftly beneath the icy waters. Its tail breaks the surface and slaps the swirling foam, and then it too is gone, trailing the creature's lifeless body as it spirals a hundred fathoms to its final resting place at the bottom of the Kaltersee.

An eerie silence descends upon the shattered decks of the
Intrepid
as the few who have survived the attack stare in horror at the swirling, bloodstained sea. Then begin the cries of the injured, and those who are still able to stand begin the grim task of recovering bodies and staunching wounds. You help with the search and find Captain Borse lying near the ship's longboat. He is unconscious and badly injured: both his legs have been broken at the thigh by one swipe of the monster's tail. You attempt to revive him with your basic Kai healing skills, but he is in deep shock and does not respond.

If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Curing,
turn to 159
.

If you do not possess this skill,
turn to 41
.

The creature falls limply to the floor as your killing blow slices it almost in two. Curious as to what manner of beast it was you lift back its sundered folds of rubbery grey flesh with the tip of your weapon and notice two sets of snake-like fangs, both still oozing a sticky yellow fluid. Your senses tell you that this fluid is deadly venom, capable of killing a victim in seconds. Whoever placed this Plaak in your cabin was attempting to assassinate you.

Disgusted by the smell of the creature, you flick its remains under your bunk. As you are rising to your feet, you hear a loud, intermittent whistle sounding on the deck above: it is the signal that Helgedad has been sighted by the lookout. With your heart pounding at the thought of seeing the Darklord's most infamous stronghold for the first time, you leave your cabin and ascend to the deck above.

Turn to 326
.

You understand enough of the Giak language to know that the enemy captain is preparing to hasten the
Intrepid
to the bottom of the sea. The metallic tube is the means by which the ironclads launch their fire-missiles, one of which you have already encountered when running the blockade out of Toran. This one is loaded and is being aimed directly at the waterline of the
Intrepid
. At first it strikes you as a wasteful attack: the
Intrepid
is sinking so fast that to fire upon it now seems to serve no practical purpose. Then you realize what the enemy commander is planning, and the thought of it makes your blood boil.

Turn to 113
.

Despite the loss of your protective amulet, your highly advanced Kai skills prevent the burning temperature and poisonous atmosphere of Helgedad from causing you permanent harm. You do, however, suffer in the short term, while your body adjusts to the new environment: lose 2
ENDURANCE
points.
⁶

Turn to 280
.

With surprising grace, the Zlanbeast glides smoothly to a halt atop the building. The air wafting from the estuary reeks of iron and soot, and, as you jump down from the saddle, you discover that the roof is covered with a layer of grey dust several inches thick.

The screech of a rusty hinge alerts you to an opening trapdoor. The grey and ugly face of an angry Giak soldier appears. He clambers onto the roof and begins shouting at you, demanding that you explain how you came to be in possession of a Zlanbeast, a creature used only by the Darklords and their undead lieutenants.

If you have any Kika (Gold Crowns or Lune may not be used in lieu of Kika in this instance) and wish to offer them to the Giak as a bribe, in return for his help in finding the Slavemaster,
turn to 108
.

If you wish to ignore his threats and demand that he take you to the Slavemaster,
turn to 281
.

Half-blinded by dust and darkness, you drag yourself out from beneath a tangled mass of bodies and broken timbers, and stagger drunkenly towards an opening in the wall of the ship's hold. Beyond it a narrow corridor leads to a stair, where one of the crew lies dead, sprawled face-upwards, his hands locked around the blade of the Drakkarim dagger that claimed his life. Still dazed by the fall, your senses fail to alert you to an enemy who is lurking in the shadows. You are about to set foot on the stairs when he attacks, seizing you from behind and holding you in a powerful neck lock.

If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Invisibility and have reached the Kai rank of Scion-kai or higher,
turn to 32
.

If you do not possess this skill or have yet to reach this level of Magnakai training,
turn to 198
.

A group of Drakkarim, led by a figure dressed in a hooded red robe, is making its way towards the ironclad. Suddenly it halts and one of the Drakkarim warriors points at the platform on which you are standing. Rather than stay and confront them, you slide down the ladder quickly and slip away under cover of the piles of steel plates and girders.

By the time the group reaches the platform, you are back on your horse and heading along the street that leads away from the dock.

Turn to 97
.

Your Kai Sixth Sense screams a warning that you are about to be attacked. You spin on your heel to see a Drakkarim marine lunging towards you with a stiletto-bladed dagger gripped tightly in his blistered hand.

Drakkarim Marine:
COMBAT SKILL
 19   
ENDURANCE
 23

This adversary is immune to Mindblast (but not Psi-surge). Owing to the speed of his attack, you are unable to evade combat or draw a weapon until the beginning of the third round.

If you wish to evade combat at the third round, you can do so by leaping overboard into the sea:
turn to 58
.

If you win the combat,
turn to 91
.

Once the bets have been collected, all eyes turn to the pit-master who will strike the gong that begins the combat. But the combat is over before it begins officially. The orange-skinned creature suddenly springs at his opponent and slams his spiked club down on his unprotected skull, killing him instantly. The crowd hoots with glee at the beast's display of low cunning, and despite some loud protests by those who, like you, bet on the humanoid, the pit-master reluctantly declares the reptilian the winner.

Erase all the Kika you staked and
turn to 134
.

With bated breath, you wait for the creature to appear, fearful yet confident that your skill will put paid to the hostile intentions of this malodorous cave-dweller.

The tip of a thin, snaky limb rises from the abyss and glides slowly across the ground towards your legs. Its skin is smooth and dark, like black velvet, and it moves with alarming speed.

Suddenly the black tendril retreats — it is as if the creature can sense that you pose a threat to its safety — until it is hovering directly above the abyss. You step forward, intending to hasten it on its way, when suddenly a huge shape explodes from the crevasse, rising at such speed that its features are just a blur. The creature emits a deafening screech then dives straight towards your chest.

Illustration XIII
—The Ictakko's tendril skims your shoulder.

Instinctively you drop to the floor to avoid being hit by this howling horror, but, as it streaks past your body, its tendril skims your shoulder. There is a flash and a sharp pain runs down your arm; the creature has discharged a bolt of electrical energy that leaves your arms numb and nerveless — lose 3
ENDURANCE
points. Gritting your teeth against the pain, you get to your feet in time to see the creature swooping for a second time.

Ictakko:
COMBAT SKILL
 25   
ENDURANCE
 35

Unless you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Nexus and have reached the Kai rank of Archmaster, you must lose an extra 1
ENDURANCE
point every time this creature inflicts a wound during the combat, owing to the numbing effect of its electrical attack.

If you win the combat,
turn to 343
.

Your skill and dexterity make scaling the wall an easy task. You reach the parapet, climb over, and then slip stealthily down the other side without being seen by either the guards in the watchtower or the two on the wall. Then, hiding behind the rocks and crags that line the roadway, you escape through the pass, undetected.

Turn to 137
.