Flight from the Dark (11 page)

The Key fits and the lock opens. You pull back the door to find yourself face to face with a strange old man. In his right hand is a staff. Suddenly a bolt of lightning shoots from the staff and hits you square in the chest. You lose 6
ENDURANCE
points. Gasping with pain, you knock the old man aside and run up the steep staircase towards daylight. You are halfway up the stairs when he fires another bolt at you.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.

If the number is 0–5, the bolt misses you and shatters part of the wall.

If the number is 6–9, then you have been hit in the back and lose a further 4
ENDURANCE
points.

If you survive, you stagger out into the daylight and curse your bad luck. It was only by an unlucky chance you discovered the secret temple of a sect of evil druids. You are very lucky to have escaped with your life. You quickly rejoin the path which now disappears over the hill.

Turn to 106
.

Your ploy does not work, for the merchant will not allow you to enter his caravan. Suddenly he clicks his fingers and the bodyguard grasps the hilt of his scimitar.

You must fight him by
turning to 191
.

Or you must jump clear of the speeding caravan.
Turn to 234
.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.

If it is 0–4, you have been seen.
Turn to 286
.

If it is 5–9, they do not spot you and they slowly file away along the far side of the ridge.
Turn to 10
.

As you sit down, the stone serpent slowly moves forward on its plinth. You suddenly break out in a cold sweat and grasp your weapon with trembling fingers in case it should attack. A red forked tongue appears from the head of this strange statue and dips into the bowl of green light above your head. Slowly the tongue re-emerges holding a Golden Key which, to your surprise, it drops into your lap. A panel in the east wall clicks open to reveal an exit.

You take the Key and leave as quickly as possible.

Turn to 209
.

As you get nearer to the men, you call to them. As they turn to face you, your skin turns cold and your heart pounds, for they are Drakkarim in disguise. Suddenly they charge at you. Forced to the ground, you are tied up with ropes and dragged behind them along a track. They take your Backpack and Weapons, but do not search your cloak or find your Gold Crowns. They cackle menacingly to themselves, and talk at great length of the tortures that await you at their camp.

If you have the Kai Discipline of Mind Over Matter,
turn to 258
.

If you do not have this skill,
turn to 127
.

After nearly half an hour you feel the current getting stronger. Looking out across the surface you can see that you are approaching a whirlpool in the middle of a large river bend. You will surely drown if caught in its current, so you quickly swim towards the right hand river bank and continue your mission on foot, carrying all your equipment.

Turn to 321
.

Carefully opening the seals on each of the bottles, you sniff at the contents. They all seem to be different types of wine. Suddenly a smaller bottle tucked behind the others catches your eye. Pulling out the glass stopper, you recognize the smell to be that of Alether, a Potion of Strength, which is orange in colour.

You may keep this Potion and swallow it before you fight. It will increase your
COMBAT SKILL
by 2 points for the duration of your fight. Be sure to mark it down on your
Action Chart
and to strike it off once you have used it.

You now decide to investigate the stable by
turning to 308
.

You awake in a fever. Images swim before your eyes and then fade completely. The pain in your back is intense and you cry out for relief. You feel a cool, damp cloth placed on your forehead and glimpse the worried face of a young woman. An old man whispers in her ear and then he disappears from view. The girl kneels at your side and comforts you with words of kindness and reassurance, but the light quickly fades and darkness engulfs you once more.

Turn to 212
.

You are in the presence of a great evil. Your mind is being probed by a powerful and timeless being and you must shield yourself. The struggle has begun and your sanity is at stake. It is a long and torturous ordeal, during which you experience many fantastic and terrible apparitions that tempt and appal you. After this you must lose 4
ENDURANCE
points and stagger towards the tunnel.

Turn to 104
.

You have been travelling for about a mile when you notice two legs sticking out from behind a large boulder.

If you possess and wish to use the Kai Discipline of Sixth Sense,
turn to 178
.

If you wish to take a closer look,
turn to 88
.

If you would rather avoid meeting their owner and press on into the forest,
turn to 264
.

You pull yourself to the top of the opulent caravan and nestle among the travelling cases and bags. Night will soon engulf the highway. A chill wind blows from the west and you pull your cloak around yourself to keep warm. You listen to the voices below and you can smell the mouthwatering aroma of spiced meat. It reminds you that you are very hungry and must now take a Meal.

The fatigue of your ordeal finally catches up with you and you drift off into a restless sleep.

Turn to 64
.

As you pass each skull, it slowly turns, as if watching your every move. You are halfway across the room when you hear the sharp crack of bone splitting. Suddenly you see hideous shapes hatching inside the skulls, and stretching their wings.

Ten slimy winged creatures attack you, and you must fight them as one enemy.

Crypt Spawn:
COMBAT SKILL
 16   
ENDURANCE
 16

You may evade more fighting after the first round of combat and run for the archway by
turning to 23
.

If you win the combat,
turn to 137
.

The tunnel is dark and the air is much cooler than outside. You carefully advance with one hand on the tunnel wall to aid your sense of direction. You have been in total darkness for three minutes when you detect the foul smell of decay ahead, similar to rotting meat. If you have a Torch and Tinderbox in your Pack, you may light the Torch to see your way ahead.

Suddenly, something heavy drops from the tunnel ceiling onto your back and you fall to your knees. It is a Burrowcrawler and you must fight it, for it is trying to strangle you with its long slimy tentacles.

Illustration XI
—It is a Burrowcrawler and it is trying to strangle you.

Burrowcrawler:
COMBAT SKILL
 17   
ENDURANCE
 7

If you do not have a torch, deduct 3 points from your
COMBAT SKILL
during this fight. The Burrowcrawler is immune to Mindblast and Animal Kinship.

If you win,
turn to 319
.

You are at the very edge of the wood when your horse rears up in agony. The Kraan has sunk its claws deep into the horse's hind legs and is trying to knock you to the ground with its wings. The ghoulish Giak rider squeals with delight as he stabs at you with his spear. You jump to the ground and dash for the trees, leaving the poor dying horse in the clutches of the Kraan.

Turn to 303
.

Night falls and you are soon engulfed in darkness. To press on any further would be futile, for you would be sure to lose your way. Tethering your horse to a tree, you pull your green Kai cloak about you and fall into a restless sleep.

You are awoken by the sound of troops in the distance. Across the lake you see the black shapes of Drakkarim and a pack of Doomwolves. A Kraan appears from above the trees and lands on the roof of the small wooden shack. It is being ridden by a creature dressed in red robes. The Kraan takes off and begins to fly across the lake to where you are hidden.

If you wish to use the Kai Discipline of Camouflage to hide yourself and your horse,
turn to 114
.

If you wish to ride deeper into the forest to escape the Kraan,
turn to 239
.

If you wish to prepare to fight the creature,
turn to 29
.

As you reach the door you hear the crash of a giant stone slab as it falls from the ceiling. Turning around, you see that your exit is now blocked.

If you have a Silver Key, you may try to open the door by
turning to 158
.

If you do not possess a Silver Key,
turn to 259
.

After nearly an hour of drifting downstream, the water current becomes quite strong and you can see that you are being drawn towards a whirlpool near the centre as the river curves round. You know that if you are caught in the swirling water, you stand very little chance of escaping a watery death. You dive into the muddy river and as you begin to swim towards the shore you unfortunately lose your Backpack and Weapons. Without your equipment, you reach the wooded bank.

Turn to 190
.

Waving your arms at the approaching cavalry, you recognize them to be Border Rangers of the King's army, tough woodsmen who police the troubled western frontier of the kingdom. Your relief at seeing them soon fades when you realize that they are fleeing from a pack of Doomwolves with snarling Giak riders. Black arrows are dropping all around the rangers, as the vicious Doomwolves get nearer and nearer.

If you possess the Kai Discipline of Camouflage,
turn to 182
.

If you wish to take cover and hide,
turn to 41
.

If you wish to make for the other bank,
turn to 116
.

You hide behind some thick bushes so that the Doomwolf and its rider will not see your white horse. Luckily it works — the beast lopes past and vanishes down the track that you have just come along.

If you wish to attack the remaining Doomwolves and their riders,
turn to 253
.

If you wish to press on deeper into the forest,
turn to 126
.