The Masters of Darkness (26 page)

Your Arrow strikes the Drakkarim horseman but wounds him only superficially, merely grazing the side of his neck. However, the sudden pain makes him cry out and snatch the reins to his chest. His startled horse rears up on its hind legs, throwing its rider to the ground. You drop your Bow and draw a hand weapon before leaping upon the prone Drakkar, determined to finish him before he has a chance to recover.

Turn to 175
.

Your first blow shatters the skull of one bird, sending it cartwheeling wildly across the surface of the sea before finally death stills it. The remaining bird shrieks in alarm, but rather than take fright and fly away, it hovers above you as if waiting for the right moment to strike. With a chilling caw, it darts towards you, determined to exact its revenge for the death of its mate.

Illustration XIX
—The sea-scavenger darts towards you.

Sea-scavenger:
COMBAT SKILL
 22   
ENDURANCE
 10

This creature is immune to Mindblast (but not Psi-surge).

If you win the combat,
turn to 14
.

The creature smiles, bows, and then shuffles away along the corridor, a quiet sniggering sound issuing from his thin mouth as he makes his way towards an iron-runged staircase. You watch him disappear up the stairs, and then you close and lock your cabin door. Tired and hungry, you must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points before you can settle down to sleep.

After several hours, you awake to the sound of a loud
click
, barely audible above the increased din of the Lajakeka's engine, and at once you sense that your cabin door has just closed. Swiftly you rise from the bunk and rush to the door, hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever, or whatever, gained access to your room while you were asleep.

If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Animal Control and have reached the Kai rank of Mentora or higher,
turn to 273
.

If you do not possess this skill or have yet to reach this level of Magnakai training,
turn to 98
.

Your quarters turn out to be cramped and smelly, sandwiched between the ship's galley and the bilge. Despite the lack of space, and a stomach-churning smell redolent of dead fish, you manage to snatch a few hours' sleep before you are awoken by a grey dawn haze filtering through the grimy glass of the cabin's solitary porthole.

Up on deck the captain stands alone at the forecastle rail, scanning the empty horizon through his telescope. You join him and take the opportunity to deliver the envelope you are carrying.

‘ 'Tis a brave and risky venture you've committed yourself to, comrade,’ he says, his grey eyes devouring the words of the parchment, bearing the seal of the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star, which he finds folded inside. ‘Yet these be risky times. I can only surmise what lies beyond your journey to Dejkaata, but of one thing you can be sure — I will do all in my power to see you safely there.’

Immediately he issues orders to turn the ship about and steer a new course — north by northwest. The crew react to the sudden change of plan with great speculation, yet, despite the dangers they know they may face, none challenge their captain's decision or voice dissent.

Turn to 241
.

You spring forward and strike a blow that would have decapitated a mortal creature. But the moment your weapon hits Taktaal's flesh, it disintegrates in a flash of sparks. The Darklord laughs as he closes his clawed hands around your throat and squeezes the life from your body.

Tragically, your life and your mission end here in the Tower of the Damned.

You try to dodge the spinning blade, but you trip over the body of the dead Drakkarim gunner and the sword hits you squarely in the chest. White-hot pain engulfs you like a raging fire, burning your body and numbing your limbs. It reaches its zenith, and then disappears as, reluctantly, you surrender to death.

Your life and your mission end here.

You turn to run but your exit is blocked by a squat, horny-skinned creature with baleful, milky-coloured eyes. These eyes roll like balls of mist inside its head as it advances on you slowly, an axe of black steel held in its clawed hands, poised to strike you down.

Illustration XX
—The Xaghash advances towards you, its axe poised to strike you down.

Xaghash:
COMBAT SKILL
 32   
ENDURANCE
 42

If you possess the sword Helshezag and wish to use it, remember to add the appropriate bonuses to your
COMBAT SKILL
.

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

If you win the combat,
turn to 106
.

Your killing blow sends the Ictakko spiralling towards the ceiling, twisting and weaving like a punctured balloon. It crashes into a cluster of stalactites, impaling itself on the spear-like formations and dislodging them with the impact of its vast weight. For a fleeting second, you glimpse the creature's ghastly features — its pear-shaped horny head and bulb-tipped antennae; its spider-like abdomen and transparent wings — before it plummets into the cold, inky darkness of the crevasse.

Turn to 87
.

The creature strikes and you dive aside, inches from a gruesome death in its powerful jaws. Snapping repeatedly it twists its supple neck to follow your escape across the shattered, body-strewn planks, and lunges again when you reach the stairs that lead to the stern deck. This time you save your skin by pulling yourself into the rigging, and, as you are climbing aloft, you see the Xargath crash through the stairs and into the hull. It tries to withdraw its head but it cannot: it is held firm, trapped among the splintered timbers. This may be your only opportunity to defeat this terror before it breaks free and drags the ship to the bottom of the sea.

If you wish to attack the Xargath while its head is trapped in the wreckage,
turn to 35
.

If you wish to avoid combat by hiding in the crow's nest,
turn to 277
.

The tube proves difficult to remove from its mounting, but you manage to prise it loose with a strip of steel which you find lying at your feet. You invert it and reconnect its copper cables, but the moment that the last cable is brought into contact, there is a blinding flash of white light and you are engulfed by a blast of flame and twisted metal. Your act of sabotage has set off an explosion which has completely destroyed the ironclad juggernaut and half of Argazad harbour, but it has cost you your life and sealed the doom of Magnamund.

Your life and your quest end here.

A curved steel door slides shut, sealing the entrance, and plunging the gloomy chamber into total darkness. Then a narrow column of yellowy light pours onto your head, and a man's voice, loud and full of arrogance, shatters the silence.

‘What brings you here, Drakkar?’ he booms, filling the chamber with resounding echoes. He speaks a curious dialect of Giak that sounds vaguely familiar. It is a dialect common in Magador, a border territory now occupied by Darkland armies. ‘I seek the Slavemaster,’ you answer. ‘I have come from Argazad to report that Sommerlund is burning!’

‘That is welcome news indeed,’ comes the reply, in a tone far less severe.

The steel door slides open and your Giak escort are dismissed. As it clangs shut behind them, the light grows brighter until you can see clearly the man to whom you have just spoken.

Turn to 81
.

You draw a hand weapon just in time to meet your enemies' attack. They swarm around you, howling with primal fury, their teeth bared and their faces contorted by hatred, as they raise their swords to cut you down.

Drakkarim Marines:
COMBAT SKILL
 29   
ENDURANCE
 40

If you win the combat,
turn to 28
.

The Ligan draws level with your hiding place and then halts. Suddenly a tingling sensation ripples your scalp, as a wave of psychic energy washes over your mind. The Ligan turns his head and holds you with his cruel gaze, probing your thoughts. He finds what he is looking for: you are an impostor. He gives a high-pitched shriek and snatches a dagger from his belt as he hurls himself maniacally upon you.

Ligan:
COMBAT SKILL
 25   
ENDURANCE
 26

Unless you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Psi-screen, deduct 1
ENDURANCE
point at the beginning of every round of combat, owing to the creature's persistent psychic attacks.

If you win the combat,
turn to 246
.

Your speedy dispatch of the guards buys you precious time in which to escape from the outpost and disappear among the rocks and crags that line the roadway through the pass. Loudly the alarm bell echoes between the walls of solid rock, its dreadful
clang
reverberating in your head. You run for more than an hour before the sound fades completely.

Turn to 137
.

Only a circle of fire-scorched steel marks the spot where Darklord Gnaag finally met his doom. You look upon this patch of twisted metal and your spirits soar with the realization that you have defeated your arch-enemy in mortal combat. But your mission is yet to be completed. Quickly you remove the Crystal Explosive from your Backpack and approach the Transfusor. You place it in position, next to a shaft connected to the Lake of Blood from which the device draws its power. Once the crystal is primed, you hurry out of the chamber through the archway by which Gnaag entered. Guided by your instincts, you find your way around the tower to the oval landing platform, and to the means of escape from the Black City which awaits you there — Gnaag's Imperial Zlanbeast.

You are high above the city, steering the reluctant Zlanbeast eastwards to Aarnak, when the crystal detonates. Within moments it starts a chain reaction, which destroys the Transfusor, reduces Helgedad to a fiery holocaust of shattered granite and twisted steel, and brings about the rapid demise of the Darklords and their armies scattered throughout Magnamund.

Your victory is total. At last you have fulfilled your destiny to avenge the Kai and rid your land of the evil that has threatened her for thousands of years. You return to Sommerlund a conquering hero, and, as Kai Grand Master, you begin the task of restoring the Kai to their former glory. The chronicle of your struggle against the Darklords will pass into legend, inspiring future generations of Kai warriors to keep alive your ideals of bravery, skill, and selfless courage. Yet the saga that is the story of your life does not end here. In future times the chronicle will tell of the adventures you undertook during your Kai Grand Mastership. Until the time comes for their telling, may the Gods Ishir and Kai watch over you, Grand Master Lone Wolf, hero and saviour of Sommerlund.

The next book in the
Lone Wolf
series is entitled
The Plague Lords of Ruel
.

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