The Legacy of Vashna (20 page)

Your first attempt at deciphering the secret of the crystal dais was not successful and a new sequence of numbers materializes upon the surface of the upper tier.

This time the sequence appears to be harder. Now you will need to bring to bear all your Kai skill and intelligence if you are to break the code and close the Shadow Gate in time. Or will you be defeated by your old enemy, Arch Druid Cadak, even after his death?

Study the following grid of numbers carefully. When you think you know the missing number,
turn to the entry
which bears the same number as your answer.
¹⁵

If you cannot solve the problem,
turn to 141
.

A ball of lightning comes hurtling towards your head. Desperately, you pull your horse away to avoid being hit, but the fiery meteor changes course in mid-flight as if guided by an unseen hand. Instinctively, you draw your Weapon and raise it to defend yourself from the onrushing ball of energy, suspecting it to be a spectral enemy in disguise. Then, with a blinding flash, it impacts upon your weapon and you are hurled from the saddle amidst a shower of glowing sparks.

If the weapon you are wielding is a Bow or a Quarterstaff,
turn to 308
.

If you are wielding any other type of weapon,
turn to 131
.

Using your advanced Kai Mastery you can tell that, along with the heat, the token is giving off intense ultraviolet radiation. It is a cursed relic which has been activated by its proximity to the pool of stagnant water. The closer you get to the pool, the hotter and more reactive the relic becomes. Another few steps and it will explode. Knowing this, you fumble to retrieve it from the smoking pocket of your tunic, and hurl it away.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.

If the number you have picked is 0–1,
turn to 96
.

If it is 2–9,
turn to 316
.

‘Who found this amulet?’ you ask.

‘A rogue, one who goes by the name of Smudd,’ answers Kadharian. ‘A patrol found him in the mountains close by the River Storn a few days after the second troop went missing. When he couldn't give a good reason for being there, they arrested him and brought him back to Helgor for
questioning
.’

Kadharian's emphasis on the word ‘questioning’ leaves you in no doubt that Smudd's interrogation probably involved some degree of torture.

‘Where is he now?’ you ask. ‘I'd like to, er, question him myself.’

‘He's in Helgor. He stays at the Crooked Sage, an inn in the north quarter of the city. I'd willingly send a detachment of Palace Guards to fetch him here but that quarter of Helgor is rife with villains. Word would be sure to get out and he'd go to ground. My men would never find him. No, I'm afraid the only likely way you'll get to speak to Smudd is by going to the Crooked Sage in person.’

‘Very well, President,’ you reply, ‘then that is exactly what I shall do.’

Turn to 84
.

‘We have an intruder in our midst,’ screams Cadak. You fight the paralysing effect of the current and, for a moment, its effect weakens. Then the crimson current intensifies anew, numbing your limbs with its insidious effect.

‘Ha! I know you, intruder,’ yells Cadak, maniacally. ‘You are Lone Wolf, the doomed hero of a doomed realm. You are a fool to come here, Kai Lord. Your powers are no match for those of Naar, the King of the Darkness.’

With this he turns to the acolytes and throws up his hands triumphantly. ‘This night we shall celebrate a double victory, my brethren. The resurrection of Lord Vashna and the destruction of Grand Master Lone Wolf!’

The acolytes scream their approval, but their cheer is drowned by the ever-increasing noise of the storm. Then you see that the storm itself is changing. A huge vortex of whirling cloud is descending from the heavens, a tornado whose deadly funnel is reaching down towards you. Then the tip of the roaring plume touches the ground at your feet and, with a terrifying suddenness, you are torn from the energy curtain and sent hurtling through the air towards the dark centre of the towering arch.

Turn to 60
.

As the last automaton drops at your feet, you sheathe your weapon and race towards the dais. During your fight, the Demoness was putting on an armoured breastplate of varnished black steel and was otherwise distracted. But she saw you slay the last of her automatons and now she is aware of your plan. She has no intention of allowing you anywhere near the dais or the Deathstaff.

If you possess Kai-alchemy,
turn to 57
.

If you do not possess this Grand Master Discipline,
turn to 282
.

Hurriedly you leave the trail, steering Bracer through the undergrowth towards the cover of a dense pine copse. Here, you quickly dismount and tie his reins to a tree before going forward to see what you can find.

Illustration XIV
—You soon discover that a gang of brigands are lying in ambush.

You soon discover that a gang of brigands are lying in ambush, well hidden among the boulders that line both sides of the trail. Your Kai hunting skills enable you to circle around and get behind them without being seen and, from a high vantage point among the boulders, you observe their leader and three of his henchmen hiding behind the bough of a fallen tree.

If you possess a Bow and wish to fire an Arrow at the brigand leader,
turn to 304
.

If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use the spell of
Mind Charm
,
turn to 212
.

If you decide to wait and observe the brigands a little longer,
turn to 98
.

Slowly the cavern begins to darken and the towering body of the Demoness shimmers and changes into a new and totally repugnant form: she has taken on the guise of a huge crawling worm. Her slimy flanks are studded with a multitude of tiny tendrils, and her head is equipped with a sphincter-like maw which drips loathsome green saliva. She slithers closer and, in the half-light, you catch sight of her ghastly face. It is like that of an infant, wholly black, save for the eyes which are aglow with a hellish red fire.

The worm-thing rears up and, as the head sweeps past your eyes a second time, you suddenly recognize the facial features and a paralysing blast of psychic shock rips through your mind. It has the face of your long-dead brother Jen.

If you possess Kai-screen,
turn to 68
.

If you do not possess mastery of this Discipline,
turn to 101
.

You turn your head slightly and see a pair of sandalled feet standing on the deck by your side. They belong to the Elder whom you almost collided with when you jumped aboard the longboat. He repeats his command and this time, aided by your Kai Mastery, you understand what he says. He is commanding you to get up and go forward to the bow and help with the carrying of some wounded acolytes to the stern.

You nod to signify you acknowledge his order yet you do not raise your head — to do so would risk him seeing your face. Unfortunately, as you rise from the bench, your robe gets snagged on a splinter and is pulled up to reveal your boots and scabbard. The Elder becomes suspicious and he demands to know how you came to be in possession of these items.

If you possess a Runic Disc,
turn to 55
.

If you wish to say that you took them from a dead Vakovarian during the battle at the quay,
turn to 82
.

If you choose to pretend that you did not hear him,
turn to 22
.

You have ridden less than twenty yards when a sudden gust of wind thins out the cloying fog, revealing the dark entrance to an alleyway off to your right.

If you wish to explore this alley,
turn to 33
.

If you decide to ignore it and continue on your way along this street,
turn to 147
.

As you hurry towards the end of the procession, an Elder steps out from behind a boulder and grabs you by the shoulder, commanding you to halt. Then you feel a tingling sensation, as if a horde of spiders were crawling in a line from your shoulder to the nape of your neck; the Elder has psychic abilities and he is attempting to probe your mind.

If you possess Kai-screen,
turn to 126
.

If you do not possess this Grand Master Discipline,
turn to 74
.

A shudder runs through the dais and fingers of green electrical fire shoot from the tip of the Deathstaff into the ground below. There is a moment of dreadful silence when even the storm and the rain abate; then the air shakes with a terrific implosion as the great shimmering arch collapses inwards and slowly disintegrates. Sparkling sheets of energy buckle and fuse as segments of the arch fall to the ground, crushing everything beneath, rock and man. For an instant you catch a glimpse of a huge booted foot stepping through a silvery sheet of energy and you tremble at the thought of what will happen next, for you recognize only too well to whom the foot belongs. But in the very next instant the keystone of the arch falls away and, with a grating cry of tortured rock, the whole edifice comes crashing to the ground.

Then, as if from nowhere, a raging whirlwind arises in mid-air, at the centre of where the arch stood. This whirling vortex quickly builds in power until it is sucking everything into its spinning black core. Screaming acolytes tumble past and disappear into its maw as you desperately hang on to the dais to stop yourself from being sucked to your doom.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.

If your current
ENDURANCE
points score is 14 or higher, add 2 to the number you picked.

If your current
ENDURANCE
points score is 13 or lower, deduct 1 from the number you picked.

If you possess Kai-alchemy and have attained the Kai rank of Sun Knight or higher, add 5 to the number you picked.

If your total score is now 4 or less,
turn to 313
.

If it is 5 or more,
turn to 350
.

When you sense it is safe to do so, you stop to catch your breath and examine the contents of the satchel, which you empty out onto the ground. It contains the following items:

• 80 Gold Crowns
  
• Enough food for 3 Meals
  
• Quiver (containing 3 Arrows)
  
• Bottle of Wine
  
• Spyglass
  
• Ruby Ring
  

If you wish to keep any of the above, remember to adjust your
Action Chart
accordingly.

The area is alive with bandits and you are forced to flee northwards, away from the place where you left Bracer tethered to a tree. You are anxious for his safety and mindful that there are still many miles to be covered before you reach Lake Vorndarol, but you dare not turn back for him. Then you hear something that makes you halt in your tracks: it is the sound of a horse whinnying.

Turn to 223
.