War of the Wizards (22 page)

The figure is approaching from the south. There is no available cover on the open plain, so you can only evade by choosing to travel in a different direction from the figure.

If you wish to head north, back the way you came,
turn to 77
.

If you wish to head west,
turn to 95
.

If you wish to head east, towards the mountains that stand between you and the fortress city of the Shadakine,
turn to 127
.

You brace yourself for another attack but, instead of attacking you, the Winged Demon that plunges through the air assails the stallion, gouging bloody weals across its haunches. The stallion cries frantically and you realize the flaw in your strategy. The speed of your horse is an invaluable asset: you cannot risk leaving it unprotected. You mount, ready to fly. The Simar steed canters forward, and then races into a full gallop.

Turn to 265
.

At the cost of 2
WILLPOWER
points you release a bolt of magical fire from your Staff. It rips into the leading demon, killing it instantly. The remainder of the pack continue to charge on. Two of their number already confront you. Tanith and Kuna stand at your side. Kuna is unarmed and Tanith has only a dagger with which to defend herself. You cannot evade combat as evading would mean leaving them to face the pack alone.

Two Demons of the Plains:
COMBAT SKILL
 18   
ENDURANCE
 20

If you win the combat,
turn to 163
.

You close your eyes, sinking into the trance state required for the summoning of the elementals. Chanting in their secret tongue, you send the essence of your need into the Elemental Plane, reaching out for the brute strength of an earth elemental. A long pause ensues after completion of the chant: Earth spirits are notorious for their slow wits. Then there is a faint tremor in the ground beneath your feet. With an explosion of rocks and soil, a huge figure rears up before you. Its body is shaped like that of a muscular human, but it is angular, sharp, and hard like rock. It is a Stoneghast. A thing of granite rather than flesh, it clambers out of the chasm it has made to reach you and stands above you, a towering fifteen feet in height. Taking great pains to make your command as simple as possible, you point at the stone door of the ziggurat. ‘Smash!’ you shout clearly.

Illustration XVI
—With an explosion of rocks and soil, a huge figure rears up before you.

Wordlessly, the Stoneghast turns and walks towards the door with large, thunderous strides. In accord with the simplicity of its nature, the elemental walks straight into the door, shattering it as if it were glass. The task completed, it dives headlong back into the chasm. The earth moves to cover the Stoneghast's passing and, with a ripple, settles back into place. The use of this Power has cost you 1
WILLPOWER
point.

Turn to 156
.

You step back and duck down in the undergrowth. The officer charges after you but does not see you hidden behind a bush. As he stops and looks around, you leap up and hurl him to the ground with a colossal killing blow. You hear Sado shouting in the distant darkness. You follow the sound of his voice.

Turn to 242
.

At the cost of 2
WILLPOWER
points, you raise a
Shield of Sorcery
, forged from the energy of your will. The toad-like demon careers into it, forced to a halt with an astonished cry. When it has climbed back to its feet, it stands before the magical shield, tentatively touching the barrier with its hands. Suddenly all four of the demons vanish but almost immediately they reappear behind you, grinning maliciously. The sorcerous shield before you has been rendered useless. With an animal shriek the demons pounce.

Turn to 264
.

Quickly you don the uniform. You cast an appraising eye over the riderless Shadakine mount that stands nearby.

Turn to 250
.

With a fearsome battle-cry you hurtle down the stairs and the pack scatters in all directions before you are able to inflict a single blow. The light from the Moonstone begins to fade as the power of the incantation wears off but it hardly matters now that you have cowed the hellish beasts into submission. Suddenly the horde begins to gloat unpleasantly and you halt. At the far end of the hall looms a tall shadow.

Turn to 270
.

You prepare to do battle with the demon host and decide to take advantage of the protection your Theurgic Potion offers. You swallow the dark, bitter liquid and slowly your body begins to glow with a strange blue light. Remember that the effects of the Potion will fade in a few hours. Delete the Potion of Invulnerability from your
Action Chart
. You may keep the empty Vial in your Herb Pouch or your Backpack. Mark your
Action Chart
accordingly.

Turn to 134
.

Tentatively at first you probe the strength of the doors with a field of mental energy, seeking out the weakest spot. Then, with a tremendous effort of will, you hurl a charge of mental energy into the stone itself. There is a rumbling as the doors vibrate with magical energy, and then a resounding
crack
as one of the doors fractures and falls to the ground in a cloud of dust and rubble.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. Subtract 1 from the number you have picked. If the result is zero, pick again; otherwise, this number is the total number of
WILLPOWER
points you have used in your assault upon the door.

Turn to 156
.

As though the demon can read your mind, he throws himself at you before you are able to unleash an attack at him. Your own hatred of what he represents has betrayed you; now you must fight him to the death.

Ipagé Demon:
COMBAT SKILL
 20   
ENDURANCE
 20

If you win the combat, you may pass through Shasarak's door and
turn to 39
.

As you approach the building, its huge size becomes apparent. It is a magnificent structure, a towering ziggurat. As you stand before it, you realize that it is very old. The stone is weathered and overgrown with weeds and the cornerstones have been worn to ragged curves by the wind. It looks deserted — an ideal place to shelter for the night if only you could find some water. Tanith walks up and examines a section of the wall. It is inscribed with symbols.

‘This was once a building belonging to the Masbaté tribe,’ she says. ‘They built it long ago.’

You listen with interest. The Masbaté were the original inhabitants of the Lissan Plain. The present-day king of the Masbaté, Samu, a noble and fearless warrior, accompanied you when you sought the Moonstone. But he was a king without a kingdom, for Shasarak slew all the Masbaté, unleashing the peril of a demon plague to roam the Lissan Plain. It is said that those demons roam the plain still. You find the existence of the building curious, for the Masbaté were a nomadic tribe, crossing the plain according to the seasons and the needs of their cattle. Why should they build anything so permanent?

If you wish to explore the ziggurat of the Masbaté,
turn to 225
.

If you prefer to continue to search for Lake Dolani,
turn to 234
.

The following morning you talk with Samu in his private chamber. You enquire after the fates of the old Kundi man, Urik the Wise, and Hugi the Thief, who also accompanied you on your quest for the Shadow Gate. You learn that Urik returned south to rejoin his people in the forests of the Azanam. Hugi, much to your surprise, returned to fight alongside Sado of the Long Knife with the Army of the Freedom Guild. Samu journeyed north from Desolation Valley to revisit his old country, the Lissan Plain. By chance he stumbled upon the surviving members of his people, who lived within the small belt of land around Lake Dolani and Lake Iss. It seems that the demons of the Lissan Plain are reluctant to cross water and so the lands beyond the rivers of the plain remained unstained by their presence. Only one pass leads out of the plain to the country that surrounds it beyond the mountains and the Masbaté held this pass against the demons. Under Samu's newfound kingship, the last survivors of the Masbaté were reunited and formed a new, though smaller, realm around the southern lakes of Lissan. They created for themselves a home within the mountains, using it as a place to hide from the malevolent eye of Shasarak. They have fought unceasingly with the demons of the Lissan Plain, which Shasarak left to roam at will after the last of the Masbaté were thought to be slain, for the Masbaté still hope to regain the whole of the plain.

‘Their numbers are much reduced, compared to the great host that defeated us of old, though many hundreds still remain, especially the more powerful and cunning of their kind,’ explains Samu. ‘And there is a power that eludes us yet, the power that allows them to remain in the world. There is a magical gate within the hills near Lake Tilos, the gate that allowed them into the world. It was Shasarak who opened this portal for them and they are able to travel through it to their demon plane as they wish. Whenever they are attacked by a Masbaté force likely to defeat them, they can transport themselves to this portal instantly. While such an escape route remains open to them, we can never hope to defeat them entirely.’

While Samu speaks, a plan begins to form in your mind, a plan that would rid the Masbaté of the demon plague forever and provide an answer to the problem of delaying the Shadakine Army long enough for you to warn the Freedom Guild of the overwhelming force that marches against them. You remember how the Moonstone opened a corridor from the Daziarn plane to the real world. Surely it must be able to reverse the process and close the portal in the hills east of Lake Tilos.

‘If it were not for the demon plague,’ Samu continues, ‘and the threat it offers, we of the Masbaté would have joined forces with the Freedom Guild long ago but our wives and children must be protected. We could not leave them to the mercies of the demon plague. It is our belief that when the demons cross water they lose their ability to transport themselves to their portal. But if we warriors were not here to withstand them, they would have no need to use that power.’

‘Worry no longer King Samu,’ you say, as a plan crystallizes in your mind. ‘I will close the demon portal and, with the help of your brave warriors, I will lure the evil demon host to the Shadakine themselves.’ You explain the plan. You will journey to the Hills of Tilos and, using the Moonstone, attempt to close the portal. Such an action is sure to attract every demon of Lissan against you. Then you will flee to the pass in the Kashima Mountains with the demon horde in pursuit. You will time this action so that you are able to lead the demons into the rear of the Shadakine column as it approaches the bridge that crosses the River Dosar at Lanzi.

‘But how can you be sure that the Shadakine Army will not have crossed the bridge at Lanzi before you reach them?’ Samu asks.

‘The Masbaté must hold the bridge against the Shadakine until I can lure the demons against them,’ you reply.

Samu nods in understanding. ‘And who will go with you to the portal?’

‘I will go alone. All of the Masbaté will be needed to hold the bridge. My Magical Powers and the Moonstone will protect me. They must.’

Suddenly the door of the king's chamber is thrown open. Tanith stands there, white-faced and trembling. ‘She has found me, Grey Star,’ she says in a quavering voice. ‘She has searched and she has found me!’ Tanith looks weak; she can barely stand. Her eyes have a terrible haunted look.

‘Who … who has found you?’ you ask, fearing the answer.

‘Mother Magri, my old mistress, the Shadakine Wytch of Suhn. She has searched for me with the Kazim Stone and she has found me. Long I resisted her as she tried to probe my mind. She beckons, Grey Star, she calls, I cannot resist her much longer.’

While Tanith remains, she is of great danger to you, for in seeking Tanith Mother Magri will discover that you have returned to the world. As a servant of the Wytch-king, Shasarak, Mother Magri and her power over Tanith imperils your life and your entire quest. Tanith, it seems, has realized this already.

Turn to 10
.