Wolf's Bane (15 page)
With stunning grace and swiftness, you unshoulder your Bow and let loose two hastily aimed Arrows at the reptilians. Yet, despite the haste of your shots, both shafts find their mark. They skewer the horny skulls of these cold-blooded ambushers, killing them both in an instant.
(Remember to reduce your total number of Arrows by 2.)
Free now from the immediate threat of attack, you shoulder your Bow and turn to examine the sealed portal for a lever or some other means to make it rise.
This passage ascends by a slope to a chamber that is lined with sheets of a glassy, jet-black mineral. A flight of iron steps ascends from here to a landing where a circular stair continues the ascent to the levels above. On a shelf beside the opening to the circular stairway there is a steel cage containing a small primate. It reminds you of the Kakarmi, the wild primates who inhabit the forests around the Kai Monastery. This creature seems to recognize you, and as you approach the stairs, it begins to shriek with fear. Rather than risk drawing unwanted attention to yourself, you use your innate skills of Animal Control to calm and subdue the frightened creature.
If you wish to release this creature from its cage,
turn to 46
.
If you choose to ignore it and continue on your way up the circular stairs,
turn to 287
.
You detect that the fluid which the creatures are drinking from the fountain is highly flammable. Armed with this knowledge, you place an Arrow to your Bow and take aim at the stone trough. Moments before you release your bowstring, you utter the words of the Old Kingdom Battle-spell
Flameshaft
and the tip of your missile flares brightly with a crackling magical flame. You launch the Arrow and watch as it arcs into the trough. With a deafening
wumph!
the liquid ignites to form a blazing fireball which greedily consumes the creatures gathered around the lip of the trough.
Hurriedly you focus your Discipline at the attacking bird and command it to stop.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. For every level of Kai rank that you have attained above the rank of Kai Grand Guardian, add 1 to the number you have chosen.
If your total is now 7 or less,
turn to 241
.
If it is 8 or higher,
turn to 307
.
The moment you pass into the mouth of the skull-rock you are engulfed by a dense fog that is icy cold and impenetrable to your sight and senses. You strain your Kai skills to aid your pursuit of Wolf's Bane, but all to no avail; this ivory-white fog hides everything, swamping and distorting all sense of time and direction.
You keep moving, forcing yourself onwards even though the surface beneath your feet has become viscous and uncertain. After what seems like an eternity spent wandering through this cloudy limbo, you gradually feel the ground hardening and sense that the impenetrable fog is beginning to dissipate. Patches of grey appear in the creamy whiteness. Then the fog dissolves completely and you find yourself standing in the middle of a rubble-strewn street, surrounded by the bleak and derelict dwellings of a decaying, alien city.
It is the dead of night and a fine drizzle falls from a storm-laden sky, dampening this dreary landscape. Everywhere you look you see the hollow shells of buildings. They are heaped with mounds of broken stone, twisted rusty iron, and shattered glass. There are no trees, no blades of grass, no animals here. Everything is cold, grey, and dead.
Suddenly you sense a blur of movement beside a mountain of rubble which blocks the end of the street. You focus upon it, magnifying your vision to penetrate the damp gloom, and you are rewarded with a fleeting glimpse of Wolf's Bane. He is running away. You hurry after him and, as you crest the mound, you see him entering the shattered entrance to a three-storey dwelling close by.
You draw your weapon and climb the rickety shelves in order to be able to reach this elusive acid-spitter. Despite its ungainly shape, it proves to be adept at evading your first few blows until you manage to corner it at the far end of the top shelf.
Caq:
COMBAT SKILL
32
ENDURANCE
20
This creature is immune to all psychic attacks.
If you win the combat,
turn to 328
.
Your killing blow decapitates the Bangrol and the two sundered halves of its body fall limply to the debris-strewn floor. Hurriedly you wipe clean your weapon and re-sheathe it; then you motion your companions to follow as you leave this chamber by a tunnel in its south wall.
Unable to open this portal, you turn around and retrace your steps back to the junction and then explore the other passageway.
Hurriedly you retreat back along the stamen until you are out of harm's way. Blindly the angry Solyx stabs with its proboscis, splintering stamen tips and drenching you with showers of sticky pollen. Fortunately, the span of its gigantic wings and the narrowness of the plant's corolla conspire to prevent it from reaching deeper into the plant, and you are able to escape without sustaining further injury.
When you reach the bowl of the corolla once more, you lower yourself into the hollow stem and soon discover that it drops away very steeply. It is a vertical tube for most of its length, yet you are able to slow your rate of descent by grabbing hold of tiny tendrils which protrude from the lining of the stem wall. As you get nearer to its base, the stem wall becomes semi-transparent and slick with moisture. You press your face to this warm surface and you are able to discern other stems beyond. They look like the trunks of trees in a dense green forest. Then you look down to see that the stem of this plant is descending into darkness. The darkness begins at the point where the stem passes below ground level. You decide to stop at this point for you have no desire to explore the roots of this huge flower.
Carefully you examine the fabric of the semi-transparent stem. If you can force your way through this tough plant wall, you will be able to escape from your prison-like tube.
If you possess a bladed Weapon or a bladed Special Item,
turn to 332
.
If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use it,
turn to 279
.
If you possess Magi-magic and wish to use it,
turn to 57
.
If you possess none of the above or choose not to use them,
turn to 4
.
You lose your grip and slip back into the water. As you make a second attempt to climb out, you feel the creature grab your legs. Swiftly he pulls you beneath the surface and drags you down towards the cellar floor, twenty feet below the surface. You are left in no doubt that this beast wants to drown you before it feasts on your flesh!
If you possess Kai-alchemy and have attained the Kai rank of Sun Thane or higher,
turn to 194
.
If you do not possess this skill, or if you have yet to attain this level of Kai Mastery,
turn to 237
.
You step out from beneath the leaf under which you have been hiding and focus on the distant vent. Carefully you recite the words of the Brotherhood Spell
Levitation
that Guildmaster Banedon taught you many years ago, and moments later you feel yourself floating upwards through the air towards the apex of this gigantic cavern.
The spell frees you from the grip of gravity and enables you to soar towards the cavern's roof. However, you are unable to control the angle of your ascent and in order to steer yourself towards the vent, you must try to position yourself in one of the thermal currents which are rising from the canyon floor.
After some great effort you manage to locate a benign thermal which carries you slowly towards the distant vent. Unfortunately, you are not the only creature enjoying the hospitality of this rising current. You have soared close to a mile above the canyon when suddenly you attract the unwanted attention of a gigantic dragonfly. Anxious to defend yourself in case it should attack, you draw a weapon and wait with bated breath as it circles around your floating form.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Assimilance, add 1 to the number you have picked.
If your total is now 6 or less,
turn to 75
.
If it is 7 or higher,
turn to 244
.
Naar summons forth a shrieking horde of horrors from the smoky walls of his throne room. These hideous bat-winged creatures resemble deformed human brains that trail skeletal appendages. You retreat a few paces before them, in order to unsheathe your weapon, and then with your battle-cry on your lips — ‘For Sommerlund and the Kai!’ — you launch yourself into their midst and fight like a demon.
Crypt Spawn Horde:
COMBAT SKILL
50
ENDURANCE
36
If you win this combat,
turn to 111
.
The once-grand doors of this hall no longer hang upon their hinges. They have been torn down and now lie twisted and rusted together, partially blocking the entrance. After checking to make sure that your adversary has not left any unwelcome surprises, you clamber over these ruined doors and begin a cautious exploration of the hall's gloomy interior.
The cavernous ground floor was long ago gutted by fire. All that remains of its contents now lies buried beneath blackened timbers and twisted iron beams. Metal chains hang in festoons from the buckled roof girders, dripping icicles of rust. They sway and squeal eerily in the wind, sending shivers coursing down your spine.
You detect nothing of interest in the debris and are about to abandon your search when suddenly you hear something unexpected — a dull
thump
. The sound came from below the ground. Drawing upon your Magnakai hunting skills, you peer through a hole in the ruined floor and detect something large and warm-blooded. It is moving away, towards the rear of the hall's cellar level.
If you wish to investigate your discovery further,
turn to 168
.
If you choose to abandon your search and leave the hall,
turn to 71
.
Caldar instructs one of his guards to escort you to the castle armoury, where you are encouraged to take whatever you need. From among the many racks of fine weapons and equipment, the following items catch your eye:
- Broadsword
- Sword
- Axe
- Warhammer
- Short Sword
- Mace
- Spear
- Arrows (6)
- Quiver (counts as a Special Item if you choose this in addition to any Quiver you may already possess)
- Naphtha Bomb (small explosive incendiary — counts as a Backpack Item)
If you choose to take any of the above items, make the appropriate adjustments to your
Action Chart
. You may then leave the armoury by
turning to 260
.
Beyond the arch lies a steep ramp that descends to the floor of a circular chamber, the lowest level of the tower which soars into the stormy sky above. Runes of alien design run around the seamless glassy walls and the air is heavy with the sweet smell of decay. A large circular plinth stands in the centre of the chamber, its mirror-smooth surface a little under three feet from the floor. You take a step towards it and suddenly it is surrounded by a wall of fierce blue flames which shoot upwards from tiny vents in the floor around its base. As these flames gradually subside, you see four Kai Masters cowering upon the plinth. They are the four young Kai you thought had been left safely behind in the Old Necropolis of Tyso. They look petrified with fear, and when they see you they throw up their blistered, soot-blackened hands and plead for you to release them from their fiery prison.
Drawing upon your Magnakai Discipline of Psi-screen, you detect that the image of the four Kai Masters is nothing but a cruel illusion. Then, in the very next instant, the ramp on which you are standing suddenly drops away from under your feet. You throw yourself to one side and crash down upon the floor of the chamber, rolling over as you strike the hard surface to lessen the shock of impact. As you stagger to your feet, you see the image of the four Kai being consumed by fire. It is a frightful sight, and as they scream their last, a wave of hostile psychic energy crashes into your mind.
If you possess Kai-screen,
turn to 122
.
If you do not possess this Discipline,
turn to 45
.