Vampirium (12 page)
You strike the falling rock and it explodes, showering you with razor-sharp shards of stone. One sliver cuts your cheek and another tears open the shoulder of your tunic: lose 1
ENDURANCE
point.
To continue,
turn to 339
.
The contents of your Backpack are scattered across the floor, including the Claw of Naar which skitters towards the fire. The tip of its haft hits the grate and spears a burning log. The Autarch moves towards the fire, but you are too dazed from your collision with the wall to attempt to stop him. Painfully, you drag yourself to your feet.
To continue,
turn to 344
.
You tell the rangers to raise their hoods; then you lead them across the crowded street towards the barracks entrance.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Assimilance, add 3 to the number you have picked.
If your total score is now 4 or lower,
turn to 207
.
If it is 5 or higher,
turn to 331
.
You press home your attack and lash out at the woman with your Kai Weapon to prevent her from launching another psychic assault. Your blow misses her by inches, yet she collapses upon the ground like a dying beast. You bring your horse around in readiness to make a second strike, but you do not follow it through. Before your disbelieving eyes the woman's body begins to change. Her marble-smooth skin becomes criss-crossed with a net of a thousand wrinkles and her abdomen swells like an over-inflated balloon. Then there is a terrible sound, like the rending of bone and flesh, and suddenly the illusion of her beauty is dispelled forever when this fell vampiric shape-changer reverts to its true form.
Confronting you now is a leprous horror with a huge, fang-filled maw. It roars with anger and a gust of its putrid breath wafts over you, turning your stomach with its vile stench. The rangers and their horses are snapped out of their hypnotic trance by the sound of its fearsome cry and, gripped by a sudden panic, they turn and flee into the trees. Hurriedly you follow them, forcing your mount to battle its way through a tangle of barb-toothed briar in your desperation to evade the wrath of the demonic forest creature.
The creature sinks beneath the surface. Then you see a trail of bubbles come speeding towards you. Fearing an imminent attack, you tug your Kai Weapon from its scabbard and stab blindly about you. Suddenly the water surrounding you seethes and boils. You feel your blade cut through the creature's jelly-like flesh, and in the next instant it erupts through the surface and launches itself upon you.
Illustration VI—The creature erupts through the surface and launches itself towards you.
Sligza:
COMBAT SKILL
49
ENDURANCE
20
This enemy is immune to Mindblast (but not Kai-surge).
If you win the combat,
turn to 328
.
You use your Grand Mastery to camouflage yourself before you enter the mess hall, and once inside you take cover behind the nearest stand of armour. Moving from one suit to the next, you make your way quickly towards the far door.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 1 to the number you have picked.
If your total score is 1 or lower,
turn to 8
.
If it is 2 or higher,
turn to 211
.
You pull away from the stallion's scrabbling hooves just in time to avoid being struck on the head. But as you back off, you trip and fall and graze your shoulder on a rock at the water's edge: lose 1
ENDURANCE
point.
Determinedly, you rise to your feet and draw upon your Magnakai powers of Animal Control to subdue the frightened horse. Your efforts are quickly rewarded; the lead stallion walks towards you and nestles his head apologetically against your shoulder. When you sense that all of the horses are calm, you call to the rangers to come out from under the bridge and take a look at their fine new mounts.
Shortly after dark, you and your companions make your approach to the river bank a mile upstream from the stone bridge. The rangers have tied their ropes together to provide a length that will reach to the opposite bank. The plan is for you to swim across and secure the rope on the far side. The rangers will then follow you across, using the rope to prevent themselves from being swept away by the strong currents.
You tie the rope about your waist and wade into the cold dark river. Then you strike out for the opposite bank, swimming diagonally upstream to counter its swift flow. You are halfway across when your rope snags on something below the surface. Furiously you tug at it but to no avail. Then you see a glistening mound begin to rise up from the water. Two slits open, revealing the pupils of two monstrous eyes. Then a wider slit appears below them, filled with jagged fangs. Your rope disappears into the corner of this ghastly maw, and as the mouth opens and closes, so you are pulled ever closer to these deadly fangs.
If you possess Animal Mastery,
turn to 224
.
If you do not,
turn to 97
.
The woman launches a bolt of psychic energy that strikes at the core of your mind (lose 1
ENDURANCE
point), yet your mental defences are strong enough to save you from sustaining any lasting damage from this opportunistic assault.
To continue,
turn to 236
.
Ranger Yalin lets out a yelp of pain as the musket ball strikes his left arm. He clutches as the wound with his right hand and you see blood oozing through his fingers. Fortunately, the lead ball has passed cleanly through his limb without striking bone, and you are able to staunch the flow of blood and seal the punctured skin by the use of your Kai healing skills alone. (The hurried use of your healing skills costs you 1
ENDURANCE
point.)
To continue,
turn to 290
.
You are dismayed that your attempt to destroy the Claw has failed, yet you refuse to abandon all hope of ridding your world of this evil artefact. You resolve to deliver it to the Elder Magi, for you know that it is within their power to obliterate this weapon of darkness.
Captain Gildas consoles you, and from a pocket of his tunic he produces a small crimson gemstone which he cups in his palm, inviting your inspection. Without saying a word, he fixes this gem into one of the hollows in the shaft of the Claw, and then he hands you a seemingly ordinary compass.
‘Look at the compass needle, Sir Kai,’ he says, and he picks up the Claw and begins to walk. As he circles around you, the point of the needle follows his every move.
‘It's a Siyenese tracker-gem,’ he says. ‘The needle of the compass is tuned to its vibrations. It's just a precaution, in case you should be parted from the Claw before you deliver it to the Elder Magi. So long as the gem remains embedded in its shaft, you'll be able to track it using the compass.’ Gildas hands you the Claw and you compliment him for his prudence.
‘A very wise precaution, Captain,’ you say, as you slip the compass into your tunic pocket. ‘Somehow I feel sure that we have not yet seen the last of the Autarch's squad.’
(You can record the Siyenese Compass on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item. You should also record the Claw of Naar as a Special Item. You must discard two items in their favour if you already have the maximum number of Special Items permissible.)
You sheathe your Kai Weapon and follow Gildas as he returns outside to the horses. As you walk towards them, Ranger Yalin beckons you over to look at a strange shrub that is growing around the base of the well.
If you possess Herbmastery,
turn to 205
.
If you do not possess this Discipline,
turn to 16
.
A second volley of projectiles comes streaking across the courtyard, forcing Gildas and his men to throw themselves to the ground to avoid being struck. One of these missiles hits the door's dial and completely destroys the lock. Moments later, the heavy door swings inwards without a sound. You thank Ishir for this momentous stroke of good fortune as you scramble to your feet. Quickly you step inside the tower, and then you turn and beckon the rangers to follow.
When all three are safely inside, you push the heavy door closed and slide its bolt across, locking it securely.
To continue,
turn to 136
.
The noise of the fighting has drawn a crowd of curious onlookers. Their cries of encouragement and outrage have in turn alerted the City Guard. As the last of your attackers falls to your blows, a patrol of the Guard comes rushing into the main square.
Their officer sees you attempting to escape into an adjacent alleyway, and he orders his men to open fire with their bows.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Assimilance, add 2 to the number you have picked. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 1.
If your total score is now 5 or lower,
turn to 189
.
If it is 6 or higher,
turn to 348
.
Your fall is brought to an abrupt halt when your boot becomes wedged firmly in the cleft of a boulder. Suddenly you find yourself suspended upside down, dangling by your left foot, with the dizzying sight of the gully floor slowly rotating below: lose 2
ENDURANCE
points.
If you possess the Kai Weapon ‘Magnara’,
turn to 325
.
If you do not,
turn to 154
.
You rush towards the man with your Kai Weapon poised to strike at his head, but before you can land your blow, you find yourself staring into the muzzle of a Bor pistol. The squad leader gives an evil grin as he squeezes the trigger.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 1 to the number you have picked.
If your total score is now 2 or lower,
turn to 279
.
If it is 3–8,
turn to 307
.
If it is 9 or higher,
turn to 190
.
The rangers quickly dismount and come running to your aid. Sergeant Paviz retrieves your horse, and you use your Magnakai Curing skills to repair his gashed forelegs. Then Ranger Yalin warns you that he can hear the bridge guards stirring from their sleep. Before they emerge from their shacks, you remount your horse and lead your companions away at the gallop.
You skirt around the ruins to the north and happen upon the remnants of an old track, overgrown with shorter vegetation. You are following this trail when you suddenly you hear a sound like thundering hooves. The noise is approaching from the north and you command your companions to halt. To get a better view, you stand upon your horse's back and magnify your vision. A tingle of shock runs down the length of your spine when you catch sight of a group of strange creatures speeding through the tall grassland at a terrific pace.
Illustration VII—Through the tall grass, a group of creatures speed towards you at a terrific pace.
They have black bull-like bodies, yet their heads are crocodilian in shape, and a spiky mane of hair runs the entire length of their muscular backs. They possess four legs and two forelimbs, tipped with claws, in which they cradle cumbersome lances crudely pared from the trunks of Vanchou pines.
You inform Gildas of what is approaching and he gasps with fear. ‘Xanon!’ he exclaims. ‘Ishir preserve us!’ Before you can stop them, the rangers turn their steeds about and take off at a gallop along the track that leads back towards the site of the ancient village.