Vampirium (20 page)
You retreat before the advancing Imperial Guardsmen until your backs are pressed against the base of the crimson tower. Gildas calls for you to look behind, and when you glance over your shoulder, you see that there is a red door set flush into the tower wall. Forcefully you push the door but it will not open. Then you notice a dial set in the middle of its surface, and in the centre of the dial is a small keyhole. The rangers load their bows and fire repeatedly at the advancing guardsmen as you attempt to unlock the door to the crimson tower.
The dial is surrounded by numerals numbering from 0 to 100. Using your Magnakai Discipline of Nexus, you determine that by turning the dial to one of these numbers, you will cause the lock to disengage and the door will open.
While examining the dial, you recall the wall safe in the barracks at Yua Tzhan. That lock required 3 digits to open it. This requires only one. The number that will open this lock is equal to the total you get when you add together the three digits that opened the wall safe.
When you think you know the answer,
turn to the section of this book
which is the same as your answer.
17
If you are unable to determine the correct solution,
turn instead to 244
.
[17] The section corresponding to the correct answer will have a footnote confirming that it is indeed correct.
Thinking that you are provisioners from one of the other wagons, the driver is glad to accept your offer to help gather up the vegetables that lie strewn across the paved street. The raised hoods of your robes help keep your faces in shadow, and he fails to recognize that you are not native Bhanarians. Then one of the iron doors in the northern wall creaks open, and a barracks guard barks an order to the waiting drivers to begin delivering their loads by hand. A collective groan arises from the line of parked wagons, but for you and your companions it proves to be a perfect opportunity to enter the barracks undetected.
Each of you takes a box of provisions from the rear of the wagon and joins in the line of drivers as they file through the iron door. You follow this line to a kitchen store room, located near the middle of the barracks complex, where you deposit your delivery and then return to the street to collect another box. As you are making your way back, you pass a door that your Kai senses tell you is unlocked. Quickly you slip inside and then signal to your companions to follow. When all of you are safely inside, you close the door and draw its bolt.
You are dismayed that your attempt to destroy the Claw has failed, yet you refuse to abandon all hope of ridding your world of this evil artefact. You resolve to deliver it to the Elder Magi, for you know that it is within their power to obliterate this weapon of darkness.
Captain Gildas consoles you, and from a pocket of his tunic he produces a small crimson gemstone which he cups in his palm, inviting your inspection. Without saying a word, he fixes this gem into one of the hollows in the shaft of the Claw, and then he hands you a seemingly ordinary compass.
‘Look at the compass needle, Sir Kai,’ he says, and he picks up the Claw and begins to walk. As he circles around you, the point of the needle follows his every move.
‘It's a Siyenese tracker-gem,’ he says. ‘The needle of the compass is tuned to its vibrations. It's just a precaution, in case you should be parted from the Claw before you deliver it to the Elder Magi. So long as the gem remains embedded in its shaft, you'll be able to track it using the compass.’ Gildas hands you the Claw and you compliment him for his prudence.
‘A very wise precaution, Captain,’ you say, as you slip the compass into your tunic pocket. ‘Somehow I feel sure that we have not yet seen the last of the Autarch's squad.’
(You can record the Siyenese Compass on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item. You should also record the Claw of Naar as a Special Item. You must discard two items in their favour if you already have the maximum number of Special Items permissible.)
You sheathe your Kai Weapon and follow Gildas as he returns to the horses. As you walk towards them, Ranger Yalin beckons you over to look at a strange shrub that is growing near the ruins.
If you possess Herbmastery,
turn to 305
.
If you do not possess this Discipline,
turn to 255
.
You use your improved Grand Mastery to cause the overhanging boughs of the trees to lash out at the Bhanarian guards. Startled by this unexpected attack, they drop their spears and raise their hands to protect their faces. The rangers seize this chance to attack and overpower them, leaving the guards lying unconscious beneath the leafy trees.
You tug your Kai Weapon from its scabbard and attempt to strike the falling rock as it plummets towards your torso.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add l to the number you have picked.
If your total score is now 3 or lower,
turn to 191
.
If it is 4–7,
turn to 93
.
If it is 8 or higher,
turn to 7
.
The corporal orders you to wait while he returns to his shack for a few moments to check his records. You sense that something is wrong, and you communicate this to Captain Gildas with a subtle shake of your head.
When the corporal disappears, you circle your horse around and then make a sudden charge at the barrier. The guards scatter as you bear down on them. Your horse sails across the barrier, with the rangers following closely behind. Without looking back, you gallop across the bridge and along the road that winds into the hills beyond.
Your journey south is favoured by a cooling breeze which sweeps down across the plain from the Hyunsei Mountains. Shortly before noon, you see a tented encampment in the far distance. Small crimson pennants flutter from its striped awnings, and groups of women and children can be seen walking along the banks of a nearby stream.
‘Plains-herder families,’ says Gildas. ‘Their menfolk are out on the grasslands rounding up groups of wild stallion. They train the horses and sell them at auction in Yua Tzhan.’
If you wish to visit the herder encampment,
turn to 156
.
If you choose to avoid the encampment and continue your ride south,
turn instead to 2
.
You intone the words of the Old Kingdom Spell
Power Word
and shape your mouth in readiness to utter it:
Gloar!
The concussive energy of your spell-word slams against the Autarch's helm, and the force of the impact makes him shudder. He releases his grip and the rangers fall limply to the floor. Then he turns to face you.
‘Give me the Claw!’ he demands, his voice booming around the chamber. ‘Give me the Claw and I shall spare all your worthless lives!’
If you choose to obey his command,
turn to 35
.
If you choose to refuse his command,
turn to 338
.
You pull away from the stallion's scrabbling hooves, but your reflexes are too slow to save you from being struck twice on the head and knocked down: lose 4
ENDURANCE
points.
Dazed but still determined, you stagger to your feet and draw upon your Kai powers of Animal Control to subdue the frightened horse. Your efforts are soon rewarded. As the lead stallion nestles his head against your shoulder, you call to the rangers to come out from under the bridge and take a look at their fine new mounts.
You launch a Mindblast at the angry sergeant and he reels back, clutching his head in pain. Your sudden psychic attack soon renders him unconscious, but you catch him before his limp body crumples to the ground.
You call out to the gate guards to come and help you. You say their sergeant has been taken ill, and quickly they respond. As they lift him out of your arms, you motion to your companions to follow as you slip away into the barracks.
Beyond the main gate is a courtyard where several wagons, filled with provisions, are being unloaded. You and your companions each take a box from the rear of the nearest wagon and join a line of men who are delivering their goods to a kitchen store room located near the middle of the barracks complex. You leave your boxes here and then return to the courtyard to collect some more. As you are making your way back, you pass a door that your Kai senses tell you is unlocked. You quickly step inside and then signal to the rangers to follow. When all of you are safely in, you shut the door and draw its bolt.
When the woman senses that her psychic attack has failed, she collapses upon the track, bent over on all fours like a dying beast. She twitches and wriggles uncontrollably, and, before your disbelieving eyes, her body begins to change. Her marble-smooth skin becomes criss-crossed with a net of a thousand wrinkles and her abdomen swells like an over-inflated balloon. Then there is a terrible sound, like the rending of bone and flesh, and suddenly the illusion of her beauty is dispelled forever when this fell vampiric shape-changer reverts to its true form.
Confronting you now is a leprous horror with a huge, fang-filled maw. It roars with anger and a gust of its putrid breath wafts over you, turning your stomach with its vile stench. The rangers and their horses are snapped out of their hypnotic trance by the sound of its fearsome cry and, gripped by a sudden panic, they turn and flee into the trees. Hurriedly you follow them, forcing your mount to battle its way through a tangle of barb-toothed briar in your desperation to escape from the wrath of this demonic creature.
You tell Gildas and his men to keep a lookout; then you kneel in front of the doors and attempt to pick the lock.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If your current
ENDURANCE
score is 25 or higher, add 1 to the number you have picked. If it is 15 or lower, deduct 1.
If your total score is now 3 or lower,
turn to 252
.
If it is 4–6,
turn to 26
.
If it is 7 or higher,
turn to 129
.
The avalanche of rocks has blocked the mountain pass. Two of the enemy warriors have been crushed by the deluge, and three others can be seen staggering away wounded. However, most of the squad appear to have survived the rockfall and you cannot help but begrudgingly admire the swiftness of their reactions. You magnify your vision and scan their scattered ranks, but you are unable to locate the squad leader.
If you possess Assimilance,
turn to 119
.
If you do not,
turn to 251
.
You inch open the door to witness a fight taking place on the far side of the mess hall. The Bhanarians have abandoned their feasting and are now attempting to storm the archway. Four of their number lie dead or wounded on the ground, hit by ranger arrows. Your companions are putting up a brave fight, but they face the danger of being surrounded on both sides and trapped in the corridor.
Then a new threat to their survival arrives. Three Bhanarian guards enter the hall pushing a strange, cannon-like contraption towards the distant archway. Fixed above its barrel is a large iron cylinder. It is studded with heavy rivets and fitted with a springed valve that bubbles and hisses like an angry serpent. You surmise this device is a steam-powered cannon, and you fear that if it is fired along the corridor it could slay your companions with one blast. As the Bhanarian gunners begin loading their weapon with handfuls of rusty nails and lead shot, you know you must find some way to stop them from firing this devilish device.
Illustration XV—They load the steam-cannon with rusty nails and lead shot.
If you possess a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 115
.
If you possess Magi-magic and wish to use it,
turn to 92
.
If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use it,
turn to 69
.
If you possess Elementalism and wish to use it,
turn to 267
.
If you possess none of the above, or if you choose not to use any of them,
turn to 282
.
You mount your horse and lead the rangers away from the ruins, heading south. Soon you come upon a track and you steer your horse onto it so that he can travel at a faster pace. Your Kai Sixth Sense and your Pathsmanship skills warn you that the Autarch's squad have recovered their stallions and are now in hot pursuit.
You follow the track into a shallow valley where a corridor of weather-worn pillars lines the trail. These man-sized pinnacles of rock are engraved with the likenesses of ancient Bhanarian rulers dating back to a time long before Autarch Sejanoz seized control of this land. As you pass between them, you notice that each one has been defaced by axe and hammer blows.
If you possess Elementalism and have attained the rank of Kai Grand Sentinel or higher,
turn to 183
.
If you do not possess this skill, or if you have yet to attain this level of Kai Mastery,
turn to 78
.