Castle Death (12 page)

The first thing that you notice is the warrior's lack of wounds: no sword cuts or arrow shafts pierce his armour. If it were not for the unmistakable smell of death, you could be forgiven for thinking that he was asleep. You turn the body over to take a look at his face and recoil in shock at the sight before you. The eyes are missing, leaving two ghastly black holes; the tongue hangs out, dark and swollen, and from the corners of the twisted mouth oozes a thick, greenish fluid. Filled with revulsion, you leave the body and step into the secret passage.

Turn to 11
.

A heap of molten ash is now all that remains of the Flame-man. Then, as suddenly as they began, the jets of flame shut off, leaving the passage ahead shimmering with a heat haze. A laugh, cold and distant, echoes above the ceiling of mist, stirring you to curse Lord Zahda and his deadly maze.

Turn to 240
.

The eggs are warm, and you can feel tiny movements through the leathery shells. Carefully you roll them aside and sift through the debris of the nest; you discover several items of interest:

• Mace (Weapons)
  
• Padded Leather Waistcoat (Special Items) Adds 2 points to your
  ENDURANCE
  total when worn.
  
• Sword (Weapons)
  
• Helmet (Special Items) Adds 2 points to your
  ENDURANCE
  total when worn
  
• Blanket (Backpack Items)
  
• Bottle of Wine (Backpack Items)
  
• Dagger (Weapons)
  
• Potion of Laumspur (Backpack Items) Restores 4
  ENDURANCE
  points when swallowed; enough for one dose.
  

If you take any of these items, remember to adjust your
Action Chart
accordingly.
⁸

The sound of a bolt and the creak of a dry hinge echoes from the chamber behind you, causing your pulse to race anew. Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.

If the number you have picked is 0–4,
turn to 63
.

If it is 5–9,
turn to 346
.

Lord Zahda shrieks an unearthly howl as your killing blow rips open his black heart. He thrusts a pleading, claw-like hand towards the roof and drops heavily to his knees, his dying curse lost as blood fills his throat. His left eye gleams brightly for a second then suddenly dies, like a candle flaring in a storm before it is extinguished by the rain. He sways and falls from the pinnacle to be devoured by the hungry flames of the pit.

Hurrying over to the throne, you draw back your weapon and strike the black crystal with a mighty blow. It splits clean in two, releasing its dark power and showering you with hot sparks in the wake of its destruction. The riven fragments hurtle into the fiery abyss, and the flames grow deadly quiet.

From the depths of the pit, a terrible roar begins to grow. The pinnacle shakes and a column of flame lights the entire throne-hall as molten lava spews high into the air.

If you wish to take the Lorestone and escape into the steel tube,
turn to 250
.

If you wish to take the Lorestone and search for some other way of escape from the throne-hall,
turn to 267
.

To begin with, the shattered steps and hollows pose no problems that your agility and skill cannot overcome. However, as you are nearing the top of the stairs, you suddenly find yourself staring into a yawning void: the steps have been sheared away, leaving a gap over twenty feet wide.

If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Nexus and wish to use it,
turn to 255
.

If you have a Rope,
turn to 310
.

If you have neither mastery of Nexus nor a Rope,
turn to 211
.

You cleave a path through the bubbles as easily as if you were scything cobwebs. As your sword punctures their jelly-like skins, they implode and plop to the floor in tatters.

You move on, your eyes peeled for the slightest hint of danger. A shadow on the floor in the distance makes you wary. Your fear soon turns to dismay, for, as you grow closer, you can see that it is a deep, dark pit that stretches across the entire corridor. There appears to be no way across. Staring at the opposite side, over thirty feet away, you ponder the impossible task confronting you. A sudden glow in the misty ceiling heralds the return of the skull:

‘The path across defies your sight;
Find the path or stay and fight.’

If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Psi-screen or Divination,
turn to 39
.

If you do not possess either of these skills,
turn to 261
.

Your Arrow strikes home, sinking into the side of another creature. The creature jerks backwards and freezes in a ghastly contortion of pain. The thrashing legs of its wounded companion knock it from the walkway, and it topples stiffly into the chasm.

Only one creature remains uninjured. It turns on you, its grisly mouth stained green with the blood of its companion.

If you wish to fire another Arrow at this enemy,
turn to 253
.

If you wish to turn and flee into the archway opposite,
turn to 277
.

The rising water lifts you, floating you nearer to the swirling mist that is the ceiling of the chamber.

If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Divination,
turn to 307
.

If you wish to try to escape through the mist,
turn to 60
.

If you wish to dive down and examine the statue,
turn to 168
.

Flattening yourself against the wall, you watch with growing fear as the trunk crosses the gap and smashes into the steps close to where you stand. A ragged branch cuts open your cheek and another scrapes your ribs, causing you to cry out at the sudden pain (lose 3
ENDURANCE
points).

As the tree hits the beach below, it quivers in the black sand like a huge javelin. You wipe away the blood from your face and look once more at the shattered staircase above.

If you have a Rope,
turn to 310
.

If you do not possess a Rope,
turn to 211
.

A flash of intense white light blinds you momentarily as jets of fire spurt from the floor and walls. They are so bright and numerous that you cannot see where they end. A searing wave of heat scorches your face (lose 2
ENDURANCE
points), forcing you back towards the ravening black wolf.

If you wish to stand and fight the wolf,
turn to 120
.

If you choose to run into the blazing inferno,
turn to 204
.

Tavig has stopped screaming long before you force the hand to give up its prize and withdraw, gashed and bleeding, into the gloom of the tunnel. Tavig's body lies motionless at your feet. You stoop to close his sightless eyes and lay his sword upon his bloodstained chest, as is the custom in the land of Slovia when a warrior falls in battle.

If you decide to leave the body and continue,
turn to 323
.

If you wish to search the body before you go,
turn to 227
.

Snatching the seed from your tunic pocket, you hurl it at the plinth as hard as possible. There is a loud crack as the shell shatters, and a splash of bright flame engulfs the plinth. Soon the hand catches fire; it wriggles and squirms as the flames feed on its loathsome flesh and is soon obscured by a pall of acrid black smoke.

If you wish to stand back and wait for the flames to die down,
turn to 128
.

If you decide to pass around the fire and enter the passage beyond,
turn to 284
.

Gasping for air, you claw your way to the surface and swim for the rocky shore. Heaving yourself from the cold water, you crouch down, breathless and exhausted, beside a line of huge boulders, half-buried in the coal-black sand, and take stock of your belongings. You have lost two items from your Backpack, and all the food has been ruined by the tainted water (erase all Meals and two Backpack Items of your choice from your
Action Chart
).

No sooner have you managed to control your breathing than you hear the sound of scraping, as if some heavy weight were being dragged across the rocks to your left. A vertical crack appears in the surface of the nearest boulder, and a sickly yellow light washes over you. It is not a boulder — you are staring at a huge eye.

If you wish to draw your weapon and attack the eye,
turn to 265
.

If you wish to leap to your feet and escape towards the sheer rock base of Kazan-Oud,
turn to 41
.

You walk upon the glittering marble flagstone of Zahda's throne-hall, your footsteps echoing among the circular tiers as you approach the central pit. The chamber is deserted, and only the flickering flames that curl around the pinnacle of black iron shed any light upon the vastness.

‘You dare to challenge the power of Zahda?’ booms a voice in the darkness above, a voice made thunderous in the cavernous expanse of the throne-hall. A blinding white light holds you in its beam, blazing down from the throne with unnatural intensity. ‘You dare to pit yourself against the Lord of Kazan-Oud?’

Desperately you try to escape from the beam, but you cannot move. Your muscles are numb and nerveless, paralysed by Zahda's beam.

‘I know your purpose — your identity was revealed to me in the maze. You are the Kai Lord — the one they call Lone Wolf.’ The voice is now filled with anger and indignation. ‘You have come here to steal that which belongs to me. For such a crime there can be only one penalty — death!’

A pulse of raw energy hurtles down from the throne, speeding towards you like a burning sun. It consumes you in a searing ball of flame, destroying you completely and forever.

Your life and your quest end here.

As the last enemy falls dead at your feet, a section of the wall slides back to reveal an ugly, bearded dwarf, wearing a grimy black velvet jerkin. His pig-like eyes twinkle malevolently as he raises a hollow brass tube and points it at your face.

‘Sweet dreams,’ he chortles, and a blast of icy cold vapour shoots from the tip, catching you squarely in the face. You reel back, coughing and choking, as the bitter vapour fills your lungs. By the time you realize that you have inhaled a powerful sleep gas, you are already succumbing to its irresistible power.

Turn to 165
.

As the few remaining survivors whirl away into the darkness, you sheathe your weapon and kick aside the torn bodies of those who fell to your deadly blows. A stone room awaits you at the bottom of the stairs, featureless and bare except for a weapons' rack hanging on the wall in the far corner. It holds a Spear and a Broadsword, both in remarkably fine condition. The torchlit tunnels offer an exit from this chamber: one descends to the north, the other to the east.

If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Pathsmanship,
turn to 139
.

If you wish to enter the north tunnel,
turn to 187
.

If you wish to enter the east tunnel,
turn to 101
.

Your shot is fast and deadly accurate: the Arrow pierces the warrior's armoured back just above the waist, pitching him forward onto his face. He writhes for a brief moment on the rubbish-strewn floor before surrendering to death.

Swiftly you race along the corridor, leaving the dead guard and the chamber far behind. You pass through an archway that opens out to a landing at the top of a spiral staircase and you descend the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs a tunnel leads off to the west and the east.

If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Pathsmanship or Divination,
turn to 171
.

If you wish to go west,
turn to 29
.

If you wish to go east,
turn to 272
.

You step through the green jadin arch and immediately a blistering wave of heat rises up through your body, burning you with agonizing pain. You have stepped into a portal of annihilation, and the last sound that you hear is the faint mocking laughter of Lord Zahda as he watches you walk to your doom from a platform high above the misty ceiling.

Your life and your quest end here.

You regain consciousness with a start, reaching instinctively for your weapon lest danger be waiting to greet you. A dull throbbing fills your head as you sit up to take stock of your surroundings.

You find yourself on top of a mound of rotting vegetation, stacked high in the corner of a shadowy chamber. A harsh reptilian odour fills your nostrils: the unmistakable smell of snakes. As your vision clears, you notice, amid the slime that covers the floor, what appear to be undigested human bones. A rib cage, two skulls, and several vertebrae are illuminated by a shaft of light that descends from a grate in the ceiling. It flickers and, for a second, you catch a glimpse of a skull-like face through the iron bars. Fear wells up inside you as a chilling laugh pierces the silence. But it is not the sound of the cruel, inhuman laughter that freezes your blood, it is the sight of the colossal, wedge-shaped head that is rearing up through the mound on which you sit; it is the head of a gigantic snake.

Illustration IX
—The colossal, wedge-shaped head of a gigantic snake rears up before you.

You leap to your feet and run to the far corner of the chamber, your heart pounding loudly in your ears. The snake rises up almost to the ceiling, its forked tongue flickering angrily below a single yellow eye which is set deep in the centre of its green scaly head. Once more the chamber echoes to cruel laughter as the monster shakes off its rotting nest and slithers forward.

If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Animal Control and have reached the Kai rank of Primate,
turn to 137
.

If you have a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 7
.

If you have neither a Bow nor mastery of Animal Control,
turn to 301
.