The Masters of Darkness (24 page)

As you strike the blow that seals the creature's doom, it disappears, leaving no trace whatsoever. Gnaag roars his anger and lopes awkwardly towards the Transfusor, desperate to recall his fellow Darklords to the Black City. You block his path and feel an eerie force — a tingling electric coldness — pass between you. With an unholy scream, Darklord Gnaag unsheathes his sword, Nadazgada, and prepares to engage you in a battle that will determine the destiny of Magnamund.

If you possess the Sommerswerd,
turn to 214
.

If you possess the Dagger of Vashna or Helshezag (the sword of Darklord Kraagenskûl) and wish to use either of them,
turn to 88
.

If you possess none of these Special Items,
turn to 3
.

The fatigue of your ordeal is dulling your senses and making it increasingly difficult to keep your eyes open; so, using your Backpack for a pillow, you settle down and slip readily into a deep sleep. However, it seems as though you have only just closed your eyes when a strange snickering sound stirs you to wakefulness.

Crouching at the entrance to the cave, and silhouetted by the flashes of storm lightning, is a hulking creature with yellow, cat-like eyes. It emits a hungry growl and leaps at your prone body, hoping to crush you beneath its huge bulk. But your reflexes thwart its aim — you roll aside and jump to your feet as it hits the ground, which shudders beneath the vast stone weight. Quickly the creature recovers and leaps once more, its hairy, lipless mouth opening in anticipation.

Egorgh:
COMBAT SKILL
 25   
ENDURANCE
 34

Owing to the speed of its attack you are unable to make use of a Bow. This creature is particularly susceptible to psychic attack; double all bonuses you would normally receive if using Mindblast or Psi-surge during the combat.

If you win the combat,
turn to 153
.

You stoop over the body of the dead guard and search quickly through the pockets of his robe. They contain two items: a Black Key and a Black Cube.

If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Divination,
turn to 179
.

If you do not possess this skill, you may take either or both of the Backpack Items, or leave them undisturbed,
turn to 263
.

You spin the ship's wheel to starboard and pray for the wind to fill her sails and carry her clear of the first enemy vessel. Anxiously, you glance at the second ironclad steaming directly towards the stern with unnerving speed, its deck crammed with more troops poised to leap aboard. At first, the
Intrepid
responds to the rudder and you feel her swing about. But the escape is short-lived: the Drakkarim have secured her with hooks and ropes and she cannot break free.

With a shuddering crash, the ironclad rams the side, knocking everyone off their feet. You are sent reeling across the deck as the enemy craft ploughs deep into the hull, demolishing the steerage and carrying away a large section of the stern. Icy water thunders into the hold and immediately the ship begins to founder.

‘Darg ash ruzzar!’
bellow the enemy as they climb towards the deck, jostling and bullying each other in their eagerness to begin the battle. Their leader, a bull-necked brute armed with dirk and scimitar, is the first to appear at the rail. He pulls himself onto the deck and comes rushing forward, his eyes wide with blood-frenzy as he prepares to strike you down.

If you have a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 77
.

If you possess the Sommerswerd and wish to use it,
turn to 128
.

If you choose to draw a hand weapon and ready yourself to receive his attack,
turn to 213
.

The Death Knight, silhouetted by the glow of the harbour lights, presents you with an easy target. Silently, you draw an Arrow to your lips and send it burrowing deep between the plates of black steel that protect his spine. He stiffens, and then collapses in a heap by the parapet wall. A quick search of his body uncovers the following items:

• Spear
  
• Axe
  
• Dagger
  
• 60 Kika (equivalent to 6 Gold Crowns)
  
• Bottle of Wine
  
• Pouch of Tobacco
  
• Pipe
  
• Iron Key
  
• Enough food for 1 Meal
  

If you wish to keep any of the above items, remember to record them on your
Action Chart
.

To continue,
turn to 257
.

Three times you struck a blow and three times a Giak heart beat its last. Now, without pausing even to catch your breath, you take off along the trail and begin the steep climb towards the cliff-top. Angry shouts and curses echo in your wake, alerting another party of Giaks on the cliffs above to your presence. They race to the end of the trail and await your appearance, determined to catch you and then kill you at their leisure. You sense the danger and leave the steep trail at the first opportunity. You wait for your pursuers to pass, and then double back to the beach. By the time the Giaks realize that you are no longer climbing the trail, it is too late for them to catch up; you are on the beach, more than a mile away to the north.

Turn to 157
.

Still shaking from the shock of this encounter, you examine the ghastly creature carefully, using the tip of your weapon to lift back its many folds of rubbery grey flesh. It is equipped with two sets of snake-like fangs, both of which ooze a sticky yellow fluid. Your senses tell you that this fluid is a deadly venom, capable of killing a victim in a matter of seconds. Whoever placed this Plaak in your cabin was attempting to assassinate you.

You flick the remains of the creature under your bunk. As you rise 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 level above.

Turn to 326
.

Your Arrow strikes the creature's ear but it fails to penetrate the ear canal. Instead it is spun away by a ridge of horny scales and arcs harmlessly into the sea. Cursing your misfortune, you reach for a hand weapon as the Xargath advances unceasingly, its jaws widening as it prepares to swallow you whole.

Turn to 344
.

The Death Knight sergeant has a reputation for cruelty that is matched only by his wanton greed. He is used to total obedience from his troops, and when you fail to answer his command he becomes suspicious. Arrogantly, he swaggers towards you and repeats his command, his hand reaching casually for a barbed whip which he carries holstered on his hip. It is too late to attempt an escape, but the fear of what may happen serves to sharpen your survival instincts. As you stare into his cruel eyes, you sense that all is not lost: he may let you pass if you offer him a large bribe.

If you possess some Kika and wish to offer them as a bribe,
turn to 202
.

If you possess some Gold Crowns and wish to offer them as a bribe,
turn to 126
.

If you possess a Medal and wish to offer that as a bribe,
turn to 269
.

Your highly developed senses detect that something is rising from the depths of the crevasse, something huge, hungry, and hostile.

If you have a Bow and wish to take aim at the crevasse,
turn to 103
.

If you wish to unsheathe a hand weapon and get ready to defend yourself,
turn to 226
.

If you decide to escape from the cavern while you can,
turn to 206
.

The passage services a staircase that ascends to the surface. You climb the stairs and emerge in a gloomy square flanked by four tall towers.

If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Divination and have reached the rank of Archmaster,
turn to 124
.

If you do not possess this skill or have yet to attain this level of Magnakai training,
turn to 283

Quickly you search the bodies of the Drakkarim. You discover the following items which could be of use to you during your mission:

• 3 Swords (Weapons)
  
• 2 Axes (Weapons)
  
• 2 Daggers (Weapons)
  
• Bow (Weapons)
  
• 4 Arrows (Weapons list)
  
• Rope (Backpack Items)
  
• Pouch of Herbs (Backpack Items)
  

While searching the officer's body, you discover that he is wearing a vest of chainmail beneath his leather battle-jacket. It is forged from links of a strange, blue-black metal that gives off a strong aura of magic.

If you wish to take this magical chainmail vest,
turn to 63
.

If you choose not to take the vest,
turn to 188

The instant you strike the killing blow, Kraagenskûl emits a howl so loud that it shakes the very foundations of the building, a howl that conveys his total despair and eternal damnation. He falls, yet as he does so, his withered frame vanishes before your eyes. A tattered grey robe and a flickering black sword are all that mark the place where his doom was sealed.

Quickly you leave the chamber by a stair that leads to the roof. The Zlanbeast, Kraagenskûl's personal winged mount, sniffs the air and shuffles along its perch with a nervous, rolling gait. It senses that you are its natural enemy and it is determined to resist your attempts to subdue it. More than an hour elapses before you have control over the creature, and can climb into the saddle without it trying frantically to hook and gouge you with its great curved claws. You pull on the reins and urge the beast skywards, eager to leave this port of evil, but no sooner has it cleared the roof than you are engulfed by a squadron of screeching Kraan swooping down from the night sky. They have flown all the way from Kaag, a Darkland fortress to the south, after being alerted to your presence here by Darklord Gnaag. Valiantly you fight to defend your life, but the odds are overwhelmingly against you. The Kraan drag you from your saddle and you meet your doom upon the hard, unyielding cobblestones of Argazad harbour.

Your life and your mission end here.

Your sharp Kai reflexes save you from the spinning blade. It arcs over your head and scrapes the side of the cannon, drawing a line of sparks along the barrel before splashing harmlessly into the sea.

Acting on instinct, you grab the rear of the cannon and swing it around to face the onrushing Drakkarim marines. Their faces freeze in terror when they find themselves staring into the muzzle of their own formidable, doom-dealing machine. ‘Death to the Darklords!’ you cry, and pull the firing lever.

Turn to 285
.

You walk through the armoury, and past an arsenal of fiendish devices that have yet to be unleashed on the allied armies of the Freelands, but are destined soon to be shipped to the battle front to speed Gnaag's conquest of Magnamund. A passage at the far end of the hall takes you past a barracks-like room where Nadziranim sorcerers are busily engaged in the testing of new psychic weapons upon a group of grey-skinned slaves, mindless Grolth from the swamps of the Tadatizaga. Their pitiful screams of agony make your blood run cold, yet you dare not intervene to prevent their torture for fear of jeopardizing your mission. Hurriedly you climb a staircase that emerges at the foot of a monstrous tower, as black as death itself. Two fireballs split open the rolling black clouds and in the brilliance of their explosions you see a huge metallic flag flying from the tower's crystal spire. It is emblazoned with the emblem of Darklord Gnaag, and at once you know that you have found what you are looking for: the Tower of the Damned.

Illustration XVIII
—You have found what you have been looking for: The Tower of the Damned.

As your eyes move down the tower, you notice a large oval platform jutting out from the black steel wall. Perched on this platform is an Imperial Zlanbeast, similar to the one that bore you to Aarnak. It, too, bears Gnaag's sign, branded deep in its leathery hide. Its presence suggests that its master is in residence, and as you cross the courtyard and walk towards the tower door, your senses tingle in anticipation of the confrontation that awaits you within.

As you climb the steps that lead to the door, it slides open to reveal the outline of a guard silhouetted against a background of scarlet fire. In a claw-tipped hand he holds several slivers of crystal, each a different colour, and, as you reach the top of the steps, he draws a silvery-grey one and points it at your face. ‘State your name, minion of Ghanesh!’ he commands, ‘or begone from the Tower of the Damned.’

You sense that the guard does not suspect you of being an impostor, he is merely performing a routine check on all who visit the tower. To have come this far into the Imperial Sector means that you have passed through several checkpoints already, and so the guard does not regard you as a threat to his master's safety. In order to be allowed to pass, you must state the name of the Ligan whose identity and robe you are using as a disguise.

If you wish to say your name is Cagath,
turn to 138
.

If you wish to say your name is Morgath,
turn to 19
.