The Curse of Naar (16 page)
The very instant you touch the ring it transforms into the mouth of a huge scaly worm. Your whole hand and forearm disappear into its fang-filled maw and, before you can save yourself, it snaps shut its powerful jaws. Red-hot agony engulfs your arm and sears your senses. Instinctively you pull away and, to your horror, you fall backwards with blood spilling freely from your severed limb. Cadak's malicious laughter fills your ears as, in a swirl of pain and confusion, you feel the numbing chill of shock begin to fill you with a deadly lethargy.
Seated upon the two throne-like seats which adorn the great carcass appear the ghastly forms of the Künae, the Lords of Decay. Their braying laughter echoes Cadak's vicious howl; they are clearly delighted by his use of base trickery to defeat you. Tragically, this awful sound is the last that you will ever hear. You have allowed yourself to be deceived by the spirit of the Arch Druid and you have paid the ultimate price. In a moment of sheer terror, the Künae focus their terrible powers of disease and decay and turn them upon you, consigning you swiftly to oblivion.
Sadly, your life and your quest end here in the dreaded Hall of the Künae.
As the last of the ghoulish horde falls to your deadly blows, you leap over its shattered body and break into a run. Unfortunately you do not get very far; a heavy weight hits you squarely in the back and knocks you to your knees. You struggle to regain your footing in the thick mud but your efforts are soon thwarted when you are suddenly engulfed by a coarse rope net dropped from above. Frantically you scrabble to untangle yourself, but a second net smothers the first and delays you just long enough for a pair of winged flyers to land on your back and force you down. Then another two of these demonic fliers come to assist them. While you are being subdued they hurriedly thread ropes through the edges of the nets and hurl the loose ends to others hovering above. Then, as one, the flock utters a chilling shriek of triumph. Your stomach churns and your heart pounds as you feel the net close in and hoist you off the ground.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If the number you have picked is 0–4, you lose 1 Backpack Item of your choice as you are lifted into the air. If the number you have picked is 5–9, your money pouch spills open and you lose all of your Gold Crowns.
After making the necessary adjustments to your
Action Chart
, you may continue by
turning to 63
.
You throw yourself to the ground and, as you fall, you feel the searing heat of the approaching fire-column singe your face and hair.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 1 to the number you have picked.
If your total score is now 4 or less,
turn to 15
.
If it is 5 or more,
turn to 328
.
The howling fires of this supernatural storm lash you with a violent fury. Your Platinum Amulet and your Grand Master skills protect you from being incinerated the instant you emerge into the crater, yet even so, the exposed parts of your body suffer searing burns before you are able to leap back into the shimmering light and escape the wrath of the fire-storm. Lose 2
ENDURANCE
points.
To continue,
turn to 17
.
Rapidly the creature's apprehension turns to rage. Growling maniacally, it scrapes its claws repeatedly on the stone ramp to sharpen their curved tips; then it hurls itself towards you with its fang-filled jaw opened wide in readiness to bite.
If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use it,
turn to 11
.
If you possess Magi-magic and wish to use it,
turn to 349
.
If you do not possess these skills, or if you choose not to use them,
turn to 234
.
Hastily you retreat into the forest of flames and pray that your Kai psychic and camouflage skills will keep you safe from Tzor's dread gaze.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If your current
ENDURANCE
score is 16 or higher, add 1 to the number you have picked. If your current
ENDURANCE
score is 10 or lower, deduct 1.
If your total is now 2 or lower,
turn to 262
.
If it is 3 or higher,
turn to 338
.
You leave the causeway and advance through the knee-deep mire towards the shattered heap of grey stone slabs. Only moments before you reach the pile, you hear a buzzing sound which makes you freeze in your tracks. Through a gap in the stones you see a host of winged insects swarming around a large, pear-shaped hive. Glinting scarlet-tipped stingers protrude like small knives from their tails, leaving you in no doubt that these insects could prove deadly if provoked. You are about to turn back when they detect you and become enraged. Moments later this host of angry insects comes pouring from out of every gap in the rocks.
If you possess the Discipline of Assimilance and have reached the rank of Kai Grand Guardian or higher,
turn to 238
.
If you do not possess this skill, or if you have yet to attain this level of Kai Mastery,
turn to 156
.
You raise your right hand and utter the words of the Brotherhood Spell
Lightning Hand
. Moments later a bolt of crackling energy leaps from your palm and hits the towering warrior squarely in the chest. He shudders momentarily, but the power and impact of the spell prove insufficient to topple him from this narrow beam of rock and he quickly recovers.
The warrior retaliates by raising his black sword and releasing a crackling surge of electrical energy from its tip. It passes over your head and earths itself to the end of the stone beam, at the place where it joins the chasm wall. You feel a jolt beneath your feet as the beam cracks and breaks away from the wall and, to your amazement, you watch as this solid spar of rock curls up and slowly rolls in towards you, like a snake's tongue returning to its mouth.
The coiled beam retracts towards the mouth of the dragon-gate, forcing you nearer and nearer to the fearsome black warrior. As he watches your reluctant approach he swings his mighty sword above his head, slicing and stabbing at the air with it in eager anticipation of the coming fight. When you are pushed to within ten yards of the gate itself, you reach for your own weapon and brace yourself for a fight that seems unavoidable.
If you possess the Sommerswerd or Skarn-Ska,
turn to 254
.
If you possess neither of these Special Items,
turn to 147
.
Unfortunately, the swooping Lavas see you attempting to take cover and they spiral down to the ground and surround your hiding place. In less than a minute their cries of alarm attract more than two dozen of their kin to this area of derelict ground. At a given signal they close in and attack you mercilessly with spears and tridents. You fight back bravely, dispatching more than ten Lavas before you succumb to their blows and are overwhelmed by their sheer weight of numbers.
Sadly, your life and your quest end here.
Using your Kai skill, you command the hesitant creature to abandon its thoughts of attacking you and run away. The beast's evil eyes widen with uncertainty and then, in a moment of sheer terror, its nerve breaks and it scrambles back up the ramp. You watch it disappear through the archway before you turn your attention to the portal and examine its surface in an attempt to find a way to open it. Using your advanced Kai skills you are able to decipher enough of the runic text to discover the secret code which keeps it secure. Confidently you press a section of the surface and it moves inwards with an audible
clunk!
Moments later, the portal creaks open and you hurry through before it slams shut with a resounding boom.
Out of a sense of duty and respect for the memories of these three brave men, you pray to the God Kai to release them from their torment (reduce your
ENDURANCE
score by 4). As you intone the hallowed words of your prayer, you feel an aura of peace and tranquillity descend upon their tortured souls. The twisted and pained faces which adorn the surface of the fiery comets gradually soften and fade until, with an overwhelming sense of release, you detect that they are no more. Through your presence here, and the power of your prayer, the God Kai has been able to penetrate the darkness of this domain and retrieve their souls. It is with a great sense of satisfaction you detect that they have at last found eternal peace upon the Plane of Light.
The comets, now devoid of soul-energy, are drawn back into the orbit of the distant star cluster. You, too, are drawn towards these glowing stars, and as you pass through them at an incredible speed, you glimpse a wondrous sight in the void beyond. A vast rainbow bridge of colour arcs across the immeasurable darkness to a titanic plateau of fire. Your spirits soar when you detect that this is the Bridge of the Damned, the exit that you seek from this astral domain. Yet as you approach the magnificent bridge, you detect a less-welcoming presence. The shadowy riders are returning, and this time they are escorting a creature that sets your pulse racing with fear.
You hook a link of the chain upon the tip of your weapon and wrench the amulet free from Nza'pok's frozen lip. The amulet ceases to glow the moment it is cut free, and you sense that it is now safe to touch. When you pick it up, you notice that on the facing side is engraved Nza'pok's name and on the reverse side you discover a runic number.
Record this Nza'pok Amulet on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item, which you keep in your pocket. The runic number on the reverse side is a six. Make a note of this number in the margin of your
Action Chart
for future reference.
To continue,
turn to 314
.
You notice an open archway at the base of the squat tower. When you focus on this opening, you detect a flight of steps leading down. It occurs to you that with a little luck, helped along by your Kai hunting and camouflage skills, it may be possible for you to slip past the Lavas and escape down these stairs unseen.
If you decide to try to reach the tower stairs,
turn to 308
.
If you decide that it is too risky, you can stay where you are by
turning to 278
.
With mounting unease you watch as the distant shadow rumbles nearer and nearer. You magnify your vision and note that the approaching shape looks similar to the front of a gigantic beetle, but one with hundreds of stubby legs that are moving in waves like those of a millipede. You sense that it is a living creature and that it is travelling too fast to be able to stop before it reaches you. Unless you take immediate steps to avoid it, you could be run down and flattened when it passes through this section of the tunnel.
Desperate for a place to hide, you scour the tunnel walls but detect no cracks nor crevices large enough to accommodate your body. Then you notice the supporting beams which criss-cross the ceiling. They protrude no more than a foot or two from the roof of the tunnel, but they could just provide you with a way of escaping out of the path of the approaching juggernaut.
If you possess Kai-alchemy and have attained the Kai rank of Grand Crown or higher,
turn to 73
.
If you possess Kai-alchemy but have yet to attain this rank,
turn to 251
.
If you do not possess Kai-alchemy,
turn to 166
.
You notice that there is a reptilian guard standing on the wide parapet of the bridge. It is leaning on its trident as it stares idly at the river of bubbling lava which flows through the base of the chasm a mile below. As you observe this creature it occurs to you that if it were to fall into the chasm, this unfortunate mishap would be sure to catch the attention of the handful of creatures who are crossing the bridge at this time. Such a distraction would certainly increase your chances of crossing the bridge unseen.
If you possess a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 317
.
If you do not,
turn to 9
.
You drag yourself to your feet and use your Kai healing skills to massage the life back into your numbed arm. As the feeling returns, you take another Gold Crown (remember to erase the one you have just lost) from your pouch and approach the portal once more. This time you are grimly determined to make the door open.
If you wish to insert your second Gold Crown into the circular slot,
turn to 195
.
If you decide to insert the coin into the square slot,
turn to 103
.