Castle Death (4 page)
Your eye is drawn to a panel on the hexagonal wall. The central part of the stonework is much newer than the surrounding edges, a detail which your Magnakai Discipline enabled you to recognize at a glance. After closer examination, you are sure that there was once a door in this wall. The stone does not sound as if it is solid when you tap it, and you suspect it would not withstand several well-placed blows.
If you wish to try to break through the wall,
turn to 228
.
If you do not wish to break through the wall, you can still enter the ruby corridor
turn to 349
.
Or, you can enter the jadin corridor;
turn to 163
.
The rumble of a massive counterweight descending behind the wall sends a shudder through the flagstones. The portcullis rises and you hear the lever click back to its original position as you duck under the pointed bars.
Your lungs are close to the bursting point when your persistence finally pays off. The lock clicks and the door is forced wide open by the sheer weight of the water pressing upon it.
The shadow flares red before dissolving into a dense grey mist that is carried away swiftly on the stormy air. A sudden chill makes you shiver. You pull your cloak around you, taking comfort from its warmth, but it is as if the cold comes not from the damp wind but from somewhere deep inside you.
You feel hungry and you must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points. When you have finished, you make a quick check of your equipment before taking your first cautious steps inside the Great Hall.
‘Good!’ booms the voice of Zahda, as you land on the opposite side of the pit. ‘You are brave! But have you brains as well as battle-brawn, I wonder? Ha! Soon we shall see.’
The voice conjures an image of Lord Zahda in your mind. He is seated on a golden throne with the object of your quest, the Lorestone of Herdos, suspended in the air above him. You resolve to survive this accursed maze and escape. If you can then only find your way back to Zahda's throne hall, the success of your quest will be within your grasp.
You walk along the passage that leads away from the pit, your mind filled with dismay as you contemplate the problems and perils that lie before you. One such problem looms into view as the passage takes a sharp turn.
To your horror, you discover that the Quiver is completely empty. Your Arrows have fallen out and lie buried in the nest of vegetation upon which you awoke (erase these Arrows from your
Action Chart
).
With a cry of frustration, you shoulder your Bow and unsheathe a hand weapon as the snake draws itself back in preparation to strike.
As it springs out of the gloom, you hack at the beast, carving a slice from its great hairy shoulder. But the shock of its attack sends you reeling to the floor, and you scream out in pained surprise. Claws rake your arm; burning saliva stings your face. Desperately, you stab at the snarling beast as it dips its head and closes its massive jaws around your legs. The creature is immune to Mindblast but
not
Psi-surge.
Hound of Death:
COMBAT SKILL
22
ENDURANCE
40
If you win the combat,
turn to 194
.
A faint rumble grows louder. There is a clatter of chains and the squeal of metal on metal as the portcullis rises jerkily into the roof. Wasting no time, you duck under the spiked bars and hurry into the tunnel beyond.
Grabbing a Fireseed from the pocket of your tunic, you hurl it at the monster's gaping mouth. It disappears from view, and for a brief moment, you feel the tendril tremble and slacken its crushing grip. Erase one Fireseed from your
Action Chart
.
Descending the narrow staircase, you arrive at a tunnel-like corridor, sandwiched between two walls of mouldering masonry. Foul, oily water gurgles along a channel in the slippery floor towards a distant archway, which is blocked by a black iron portcullis. Bolted to the criss-crossed bars is a plaque which bears a curious design:
2
On the wall to your left is a large, rusty dial with a brass pointer. Set around it, like the numerals of a clock, are the numbers 1 to 40, and below the dial is a lever. Your basic Kai instincts tell you that by selecting the correct number, or numbers, and pulling the lever, you will open the portcullis.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Pathsmanship,
turn to 306
.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Divination,
turn to 167
.
If you have neither of these skills,
turn to 329
.
[2] For those who cannot use the illustration of the plaque or those who don't have access to it, we offer the following description.
The plaque can be formed in the following way. A regular hexagon (i.e. a six-sided shape with all sides of equal length and all angles equal) is divided into six equal triangles by three lines which extend from each corner to its opposite (i.e. one line for each of three pairs of opposite corners). A larger triangle is formed from the hexagon by placing three triangles (of the same size and shape as the triangles in the hexagon) next to three alternating sides of the hexagon (i.e. if the sides of the hexagon are numbered 1–6, then the sides of the triangles should be attached to sides 2, 4, and 6).
Alternately, the plaque could be formed from equilateral triangles (i.e. triangles with three equal sides) in the following way. A single triangle is placed on the plaque with one of its corners pointing down. Three new triangles are attached to the sides of the first triangle. The result so far should resemble a large triangle with one corner pointing up. Two more small triangles (pointing down) are attached to the bottom of this large triangle. Finally, three new triangles (pointing up) are attached to the latest two so that, all together, the plaque forms one large triangle.
The final, triangular plaque has five interlocking rows of small triangles. Starting from the top, it has a row of one triangle pointing up, a row of one triangle pointing down, a row of two triangles pointing up, a row of two triangles pointing down, and a row of three triangles pointing up.
‘We're as good as dead if we stay here,’ says the warrior in a broad Stornlands accent. ‘Come, we best find ourselves a safe tunnel before they release a Trakka. We'll have a horde of Zahda's pets snappin' at our heels if it picks up our scent.’
You follow the man through a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers; descending by slope and staircase to deeper levels of this subterranean world. Not a word is spoken until, finally, you stop to rest in a small, musty chamber, its entrance partially hidden behind a rockfall of scarlet stone. ‘How long have you been tunnel-running?’ your companion asks. When you reply that you've been in Kazan-Oud no more than a few hours, his face registers a look of surprise followed by disappointment. ‘I'd have stood and fought the Dhax had I known I was so near to the surface,’ he says, shaking his head and staring dejectedly at the floor.
He tells you that his name is Tavig and that he comes from Suentina, a city in the western land of Slovia. Over a year ago his sister was captured by Sadzar, the slaver of Gzor, when a ship on which she was a passenger was attacked by his pirate fleet off the island of Lio. One thousand Crowns was the ransom Sadzar placed on her head, and Tavig vowed he would raise the gold and save his sister or die in the attempt. Undaunted by the rumours he had heard, he travelled to Herdos to offer his services to the Elder Magi, to attempt the destruction of the evil that haunts Kazan-Oud, in return for his sister's ransom. They agreed to his price, as they had agreed to scores of others' before him, and sent him through the power-shield with their hopes and prayers for success. That was one year ago.
‘One man alone could never hope to destroy Zahda, he who commands this fortress, for his power has grown greater than the Elders imagine. I tried and I failed. Twice I've been captured and twice I've escaped from his maze, and now my only wish is to escape from this fortress of nightmares. I'm a tunnel-runner, a survivor, a fugitive from Zahda's law, but I fear my time has nearly run out.’
Drawing his sword, Tavig walks to the entrance and peers into the corridor outside. ‘Luck be on your side, stranger,’ he says, and hurries away. You call out for him to wait, to tell you more of what he has learnt of Kazan-Oud, but your pleas go unanswered as he disappears into the tunnel.
If you wish to follow him,
turn to 119
.
If you decide to continue alone,
turn to 308
.
The shriek of metal on metal reverberates along the tunnel as great iron cogs grind into action.
3
Slowly, the portcullis rises into the roof. Wasting no time, you duck beneath the pointed bars and hurry into the passage beyond.
Rats flee, squeaking, as you stalk along the slippery flagstones. You wince as their claws rasp on the wet rock and their hairless tails furrow the stinking green slime that covers the surface of the tunnel floor. The passage widens as it approaches a staircase that leads down. Halfway down the stairs you disturb a colony of bats nesting in the ceiling. They squeal angrily and whirl around your head, battering you with their wings and nipping at your face with their sharp, needle-like teeth.
Illustration I—Halfway down the stairs you disturb a colony of bats nesting in the ceiling.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Animal Control or Psi-surge,
turn to 180
.
If you have neither of these skills,
turn to 285
.
[3] This section is the correct answer to the dial problem from
Section 306
.