Castle Death (7 page)
Your Arrow strikes its mark, burying itself deep in the chest of the leader. He screams like an animal and falls forward, impaling himself on his sword as he crashes to the ground. Shouldering your Bow, you draw a hand weapon as the other guards press on with their attack, undaunted by the death of their leader.
Zahda Beastmen:
COMBAT SKILL
28
ENDURANCE
35
If you win the combat in three rounds or less,
turn to 248
.
If combat lasts longer than three rounds,
turn to 160
.
After several attempts, you finally manage to ignite a flame. It flares brightly but soon goes out as it quickly consumes what little oxygen remains in the bubble. Clawing at your throat and chest, you drop slowly to your knees as you suffocate in this transparent, airless tomb.
Your life and your quest end here.
Mustering your reserves of psychic strength, you focus your skill at the tumbling trunk. You manage to slow its fall and lock one end into a hollow in the last stair. For a moment it stands upright, wavering from side to side like a gigantic metronome, before falling across the gap with a tremendous crash. When the dust clears, you find yourself staring at a perfect bridge. You waste no time traversing the gap and quickly make your way up the stairs to the breached fortress wall.
The pain quickly becomes unbearable (lose 5
ENDURANCE
points). As you reel back in agony, the drumming increases speed: unless you act quickly it will destroy your mind.
If you wish to attack the hand,
turn to 136
.
If you have a Fireseed and wish to throw it at the plinth,
turn to 157
.
If you wish to run between the two green pillars and escape into the passage beyond,
turn to 103
.
Your basic Kai skills tell you that the lock that secures the door is magical, not mechanical, in nature. All attempts to discover its secret are blocked by the spell that shields the lock. Reluctantly, you abandon the door and leave the chamber by the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs is a deserted hallway that leads to two great doors of gleaming bronze. Sumptuous tapestries and statuettes of gold line the walls on either side, and an ornate fountain of silvered marble fills the hall with a melodious bubbling sound.
You have covered only a few yards when an armoured guard steps into view from behind the fountain. He is armed with a crossbow and is taking aim at your chest.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Huntmastery or Divination, add 3 to the number you have picked.
If your total is now 0–2,
turn to 189
.
If it is 3 or more,
turn to 62
.
Swiftly you search the bodies of the slain Beastmen, looking for anything that could shed some light on the mysteries of the fortress. After emptying their packs and pockets, you sift through the following items:
- 2 Axes (Weapons)
- 1 Bow (Weapons)
- 2 Spears (Weapons)
- 1 Quiver with 4 Arrows (Special Items)
- Enough food for 4 Meals (Meals)
- Pouch of Herbs (Backpack Items)
- Flask of Wine (Backpack Items)
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Curing and wish to identify the herbs,
turn to 129
.
If you wish to examine the sarcophagus,
turn to 83
.
If you wish to leave the hall by the tunnel to your left,
turn to 201
.
If you prefer to enter the tunnel from which the Beastmen appeared,
turn to 323
.
You sense that neither the rope nor the rocks are quite what they seem: a terrible aura of wickedness hangs over them both. Your try to delve deeper, but your concentration is broken when your boat lurches violently towards the jetty. A collision is only seconds away.
If you wish to dive overboard to avoid being dashed against the stone wall,
turn to 325
.
If you wish to grab one of the hanging ropes,
turn to 203
.
If you prefer to close your eyes and pray,
turn to 239
.
You sweep the yawning void but with no success. Suddenly the footsteps halt. You hear a piercing crack like that of a whip, and an angry red weal opens across the back of your hand (lose 2
ENDURANCE
points). You feel his presence, but you cannot see the enemy who dealt you this wound.
If you wish to continue to search for a crossing,
turn to 44
.
If you wish to stand and fight your unseen enemy,
turn to 257
.
The passage becomes hotter and noisier the deeper you explore it. Unless you have the Magnakai Discipline of Nexus and have reached the rank of Primate, you must now deduct 3
ENDURANCE
points from your total due to the suffocating heat and choking, sulphurous fumes. Another tunnel looms out of the yellowish mist to your right. With watery eyes, you peer down it; a red glow fills a crack in the distance. The ground vibrates to an incessant screeching of metallic objects scraping against stone and steel, and this noise, together with the stinking atmosphere, conspires to numb your senses.
If you wish to investigate the red glow,
turn to 144
.
If you decide to ignore it and press on along the tunnel,
turn to 71
.
As soon as your hand touches the mist, a terrific bolt of blue lightning arcs towards it from one corner of the ceiling. Pain shoots up your arm, and you are catapulted into the water by the shock (lose 4
ENDURANCE
points).
If you possess some Sabito,
turn to 230
.
If you do not possess this item,
turn to 263
.
Your light flares brightly in the moist gloom of the passage. A cavern lies immediately ahead, its high-arched roof a mass of dripping stalactites, hanging like thick spears of pearly white stone. Cautiously, you step across the cavern floor, your skin prickling, as peculiar sounds emanate from the shadows.
You wind your way through the labyrinth of tunnels, slipping on moss-covered rocks, grazing your head on low ceilings, and scrambling up and down steep ridges and rockfalls until you arrive at a smooth-walled chamber carved with precision from the hard black rock. A staircase ascends through an archway to your left, and directly ahead stands a massive stone door.
If you wish to examine the stone door,
turn to 274
.
If you wish to ascend the stairs,
turn to 193
.
The guard fires as you run at him, the sneer on his face boasting his confidence that you will soon be a dead man. You twist aside to avoid the lethal bolt, escaping with nothing more serious than a torn sleeve, and shattering his confidence. You attack and he attempts to parry your first blow with his empty crossbow; you knock it from his trembling fingers, leaving him without a weapon to hand.
Throne-hall Guard:
COMBAT SKILL
14
ENDURANCE
22
If you win the combat,
turn to 282
.
You crouch in total silence, every nerve and muscle tensed in readiness for combat. A new sound reaches your ears. It does not come from the chamber but from the tunnel in which you are hiding; it is the sound of a cracking shell.
Illustration IV—You turn to see a mass of slimy, twisting serpents hatching from the eggs.
You turn to see a mass of slimy, twisting serpents, each as long and as thick as your arm, hatching from one of the eggs. Instinctively, they slither towards you, attracted by your body heat and driven on by an insatiable desire for food.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Invisibility,
turn to 281
.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Animal Control,
turn to 210
.
If you have neither of these skills,
turn to 178
.
You have walked less than ten feet along the corridor when you are knocked off your feet by a terrible numbing blow to your chest. The ghostly outline of a skeletal warrior shimmers in the air above you, a bloodied spear gripped in its fleshless hands. The wound is fatally deep, and the image soon fades into darkness as your life's blood ebbs away.
Your life and your quest end here.
You have a strong feeling that the entrance is guarded by a trap. The sickening odour reminds you of your first hunting trip as a Kai Initiate to the foothills of the Durncrag Mountains of Sommerlund. By chance you discovered an old bear pit that housed a colony of marsh vipers. The awful smell that arose from that pit is identical to the stench seeping from the cave mouth.
If you wish to enter the cave,
turn to 258
.
If you decide to return to the beach below,
turn to 30
.
You study the plate that blocks the locking mechanism. If you could just turn it aside, you might be able to release the lock.
If you have a sword,
turn to 252
.
If you do not have a sword,
turn to 263
.
Your Arrow sings through the smoky air and pierces the dog-like skull of the leading creature. It halts, as if frozen to the spot, and a sizzling sound emanates from its open jaws. Then, with a flash, it bursts into flames. The fire consumes the creature completely in a matter of seconds and its body disintegrates, dropping to the floor in glowing, sticky lumps like molten lava. The other creatures appear undaunted by this and quicken their unnatural gait. With a rasping
click
, curved talons shoot from their webbed fingers in preparation for attack.
If you wish to fire another Arrow,
turn to 175
.
If you decide to shoulder your Bow and escape into the archway opposite,
turn to 241
.
The sword itself appears plain and unremarkable, but the block on which it rests gives off a strong aura of magic. Your Kai Mastery makes you wary of stepping any closer.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Nexus,
turn to 124
.
If you have a Rope and wish to try to lasso the sword,
turn to 182
.
If you decide to ignore the sword and leave the vault by the left tunnel,
turn to 298
.
If you prefer to leave by the right tunnel,
turn to 322
.
The purple-robed creatures rise, shrieking, from their table, their long fingers pointing accusingly at you. In an instant, the corridor beyond is filled with the harsh
clang
of an alarm bell. Black-clad armoured guards, like those you encountered earlier, appear at the archway, their weapons drawn and their visors closed for combat. They take one look at you and hurl themselves forward in a frenzied attack.
If you have a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 50
.
If you decide to defend yourself with a hand weapon,
turn to 316
.
The Zagothal is totally blind and completely deaf. By using your Kai Mastery to mask the scent and heat of your body, you manage to avoid the creature's attack and make your escape towards the distant rock wall. Here, you discover a fissure running vertically through the jet-black stone and are about to enter when the rustle and slither of unseen things echoing in the darkness makes you hesitate.
If you wish to enter the fissure,
turn to 16
.
If you prefer to continue your escape along the beach,
turn to 173
.
Half-blinded by the fumes, you fail to see a trip wire strung knee-high across the corridor, but, as soon as you feel it touch your leg, your lightning-fast survival instincts alert you to a trap. There is a rumble in the ceiling, and two walls of stone begin to fall simultaneously, threatening to seal off the tunnel on either side.
If you wish to try to dive through the shrinking gap ahead,
turn to 337
.
If you decide to dive under the descending wall behind you,
turn to 169
.
If you chose to stay where you are,
turn to 37
.
The creature's flaming fists scorch your tunic, but your Kai Mastery enables you to survive the worst of the searing heat. The attack is wild and haphazard and you have no difficulty avoiding the blows. Ducking beneath the creature's arm, you sprint away towards the jets of flame in the hope of evading the attack, but the sight of the inferno ahead makes you hesitate.
If you wish to enter the flame-jets,
turn to 204
.
If you choose to stand and fight the Flame-man,
turn to 126
.