The Fall of Blood Mountain Read online

  The Fall of Blood Mountain

  For centuries the Shom'zaa has lain incarcerated and forgotten in a granite prison located deep below the mountains of Bor. Now this terrifying beast has accidentally been set free, and its hunger for vengeance knows no bounds. With a horde of vile minions at its command, swiftly the Shom'zaa enacts its sinister plan to destroy King Ryvin and the wondrous realm of the Drodarin dwarves.

  In The Fall of Blood Mountain, you must journey to the fabulous subterranean kingdom of the dwarves and attempt to save your ancient allies from the wrath of the Shom'zaa. Will you succeed in your mission or will you succumb to the terrible powers of this ancient champion of Evil?

  Joe Dever, the creator of the bestselling Lone Wolf adventure books and novels, has achieved world-wide recognition in three creative fields — as an award-winning author of international renown, as an acclaimed musician and composer, and as a games designer specialising in role-playing games.

  On graduating from college in 1974, Joe Dever became a professional musician, and for several years, he worked in the music industry in Europe and the United States.

  While working in Los Angeles in 1977 he discovered a then little-known game called ‘Dungeons & Dragons’. Although the game was in its infancy, Joe at once realised its huge potential and began designing his own role-playing games along similar conceptual lines. These first games were to form the basis of a fantasy world called Magnamund, which later became the setting for the Lone Wolf books.

  Five years later, in 1982 at the Origins Game Fair, Joe won the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons World Championships in Baltimore, an event held before 16,000 people. Inspired and encouraged by his success at Origins, Joe decided to quit the music business and devote his time to writing and games design.

  In 1983, after a brief spell at Games Workshop in London, he wrote Flight from the Dark — the first Lone Wolf interactive gamebook. His manuscript immediately attracted a frenzy of interest from three major London publishing companies, all of whom bid for world rights. Joe accepted an offer of publication from Hutchinson's (later to become Century Hutchinson Ltd; now Random House UK) and Flight from the Dark was first published in 1984.

  This first book sold more than 100,000 copies within its first month of publication, and overseas rights were snapped up by twelve countries (including the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Sweden). The success of Joe's first book laid the foundations for the future of the Lone Wolf series, which has sold millions of copies around the world.

  The Lone Wolf series ended after 28 books and 14 years. Joe has continued to work in the games industry as script writer and games design consultant.

  Brian Williams was first noticed by Joe Dever for his work in White Dwarf magazine (circa issue 50) and the Real Life Gamebooks series by Jon Sutherland and Simon Farrell. Brian Williams was Joe's first choice of illustrators to replace Gary Chalk. Jon, being an old friend of Joe's, introduced the two. Brian was excited to work with Joe on the Lone Wolf series. He illustrated The Cauldron of Fear and almost every book about Magnamund since that time.

  * * *

  Internet Edition published by Project Aon. This edition is intended to reflect the complete text of the original version. Where we have made minor corrections, they will be noted in the Errata.

  Publication Date: 22 February 2013

  Text copyright © 1997 Joe Dever.

  Illustrations copyright © 1997 Brian Williams.

  Distribution of this Internet Edition is restricted under the terms of the Project Aon License.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  The Story So Far …

  The Game RulesYour Kai Name

  New Order Kai Grand Master Disciplines

  Equipment

  Rules for Combat

  Levels of New Order Kai Grand Mastership

  Improved Grand Master Disciplines

  New Order Wisdom

  Numbered Sections

  The Kingdom of Bor and Surrounding Territories

  Action Chart

  Combat Rules Summary

  Combat Results Table

  Random Number Table

  Errata

  Footnotes

  Table of Illustrations

  Project Aon License

  Dedication

  For Martin Alltimes

  Acknowledgements

  ‘I would be especially pleased if my granting of the rights to distribute my books in this way was seen as my “millennium gift” to all those devoted readers who have kept the Kai flag flying high, through all the good times, and the not-so-good. It would make me very proud indeed if this enterprise laid the foundations of a lasting legacy, securing the longevity of Lone Wolf by making my creation freely and readily accessible to current and future online generations. For them, for us, for Sommerlund and the Kai. … ’ Joe Dever

  Project Aon would first like to thank Joe Dever for making this generous offering of the books that we have all loved from the beginning. We are also grateful for the generosity of Rob Adams, Paul Bonner, Gary Chalk, Melvyn Grant, Richard Hook, Peter Andrew Jones, Cyril Julien, Peter Lyon, Ian Page, Graham Round, and Brian Williams for contributing their portions of the world of Magnamund to Project Aon. We would also like to acknowledge the following members of Project Aon for their diligent work:

  Credits

  Transcription

  Paul Haager

  Illustration Transcription

  Jonathan Blake

  XML

  Jonathan Blake

  Simon Osborne

  Action Charts

  JC Alvarez

  Jonathan Blake

  Proofreading

  Simon Osborne

  Editing

  Jan Charvát

  Ingo Klöcker

  Benjamin Krefetz

  LeRoy McSwain

  Simon Osborne

  Timothy Pederick

  Paulius Stepanas

  Coordination

  Jonathan Blake

  Special Thanks

  James Durrant, Paul Haskell, Robert Wellock

  The Story So Far …

  You are a Grand Master of the New Order of the Kai — the warrior élite of Sommerlund.

  It is early winter in the year MS 5084, thirty-four years since the First Order of the Kai was massacred by the Darklords of Helgedad. These champions of evil, who were sent by the Dark God Naar to destroy your fertile world of Magnamund, have since been destroyed. Lone Wolf, the supreme leader of your illustrious fighting order, was the only survivor of the Darklord attack upon the Kai. As a young initiate he stood amidst the burning wreckage of the old Kai Monastery and vowed to avenge the slaughter of his comrades. Twenty-five years later he kept his pledge when alone he infiltrated the foul domain of the Darklords and destroyed the infernal city of Helgedad, the base of their evil power.

  With the destruction of Helgedad, chaos befell the Darkland armies who had, until then, been poised to conquer all Magnamund. Quickly their disorder escalated into a mutinous civil war which allowed the Freeland Alliance armies of Magnamund time enough to recover and launch a successful counter-offensive. Against all odds, a swift and total victory was secured over the feuding armies of evil.

  Following the demise of the Darklords, peace has reigned in your homeland of Sommerlund. Under the direction of Lone Wolf the ruined Monastery of the Kai has been thoroughly rebuilt and restored to its former glory, and a New Order has been firmly established. You are one of this new generation of Kai recruits. You were born in Sommerlund in the year MS 5063, during the time of the war against the Darklords. When you were seven years old you were sent by your fathe
r to the Kai Monastery. There, under the tutelage of Lone Wolf, you developed your martial skills and honed the special Kai abilities which lay dormant within you. Over the years that followed, your skills were nurtured and sharpened to perfection by long hours of study and rigorous training. Your exceptional talents have helped you to master all of the Kai and Magnakai Disciplines, and you have risen swiftly through the ranks of the New Order to become one of only five who now hold the high rank of Kai Grand Master. It is an achievement that has brought great honour upon you and your family.

  In the year MS 5077 your skill and courage were put to the test when an attack was launched upon the Kai Monastery during Lone Wolf's absence. By means of a Shadow Gate (an astral corridor between the physical world of Sommerlund and the many ethereal domains which lie beyond it), Naar sent forth a host of dragon-creatures to besiege the monastery and lay waste to all Sommerlund. He had chosen his time well, yet his evil plan was thwarted by the tenacious defence that you and your brethren maintained until the siege was raised by Lone Wolf and the King's Army of Sommerlund.1

  During the seven years that have elapsed since the defeat of his minions, Naar has sought vengeance upon the Kai. He commands many agents of evil upon Magnamund, and quietly they wait in the shadows for the day when they may serve their fell master. One such agent was Lord Vandyan of Eldenora. Guided by Naar, Vandyan sought and found three ancient runes of evil. Empowered by his discoveries, Vandyan summoned a vast army of reptilian warriors — the Vorka — which he used to conquer and occupy the lands of his peaceful neighbours. Emboldened by his martial successes, Vandyan overran much of central Magnamund, including the realm of Lyris — one of Sommerlund's oldest allies. In response to a plea for help from Lyris, Lone Wolf mounted a Kai crusade to raise the Vorka siege of Varetta, its capital city.

  During this crusade, you undertook a vital mission behind enemy lines that turned the tide of the whole campaign. Alone, you infiltrated Vandyan's daunting fortress of Skull-Tor and destroyed the three runes, thereby extinguishing the source of the power by which the Vorka horde were permitted to exist. Vandyan's army dissolved on the battlefield and the Kai were able to raise the siege of Varetta.2

  During your mission in Skull-Tor, you discovered that the Vorka were not the only creatures that Vandyan had summoned by the power of the runes. A demonic entity called Zorkaan the Soultaker had also been brought to Magnamund from its lair upon the Plane of Darkness — the ethereal domain of Naar. Having fought and defeated this creature, you believed that it had perished forever when subsequently you smashed the runes. Sadly, this was not so. After celebrating the battlefield victory at Varetta, Lone Wolf ordered you to return in triumph to the Kai Monastery aboard the flying ship Cloud-dancer. He chose to ride with his New Order crusaders and they were expected to arrive home a week later.

  After five days, a Kai scout arrived unexpectedly at the monastery with shocking news to impart. Lone Wolf had disappeared. Those who witnessed the abduction said that he was engulfed by a whirling black shadow that fell upon him from out of a stormy sky. So swift was the attack that your fellow Grand Masters were unable to prevent him from being carried away. The scout's description of the whirling black shadow was identical to the form adopted by Zorkaan the Soultaker. The destruction of the rune used by Vandyan to summon Zorkaan had not brought about the creature's demise after all: it had trapped the creature upon Magnamund.

  You had achieved a great victory at Skull-Tor, but the shocking news of Lone Wolf's abduction cast a shadow over your triumph there. Hurriedly you summoned Guildmaster Banedon, the leader of Sommerlund's Guild of Magicians, to an emergency council at the Kai Monastery. He responded swiftly to your summons and arrived within hours aboard his flying craft Cloud-dancer. He was accompanied by Lord Rimoah of Dessi, an Elder Magi magician who is also Lone Wolf's oldest friend and advisor.

  Rimoah informed you that Zorkaan's arrival upon Magnamund had not gone unnoticed by the Elder Magi. From afar they had sensed the creature's presence and, through the use of their Old Kingdom magic, Rimoah and his fellow elders had charted its movements. Rimoah told you of an evil sorcerer called Xaol who was in hiding in Gazad Helkona, a former Darklord city-fortress located in the desolate wastes of northern Skaror. This vile necromancer was a known agent of Naar. During the days before Lone Wolf's abduction, Rimoah and the Elder Magi had detected streams of psychic communication coursing between Gazad Helkona and the Plane of Darkness.

  ‘Naar was transmitting to Xaol the secrets of a Ritual of Binding by which the freed spirit of Zorkaan could be enslaved,’ said Rimoah. ‘This ritual was enacted successfully in the stronghold of Gazad Helkona. Through Xaol, Naar has gained control over Zorkaan. He sent this creature to assassinate Lone Wolf, yet the attempt was unsuccessful. Zorkaan failed to kill Lone Wolf … but he was able to subdue and kidnap him.’

  Rimoah informed you that your leader was being held prisoner in Gazad Helkona. By the use of his Supreme Master Disciplines and the power of the Sommerswerd, his magical blade, Lone Wolf had survived death at the hand of Naar's foul creation. ‘Your leader is brave and resourceful,’ he said, ‘but I fear that Zorkaan's frequent attacks will weaken and eventually destroy him unless he is rescued quickly.’

  Selflessly you volunteered to attempt the rescue. Rimoah and Banedon, impressed by your courage and your confidence, readily agreed to help you achieve your difficult mission and together you formulated a plan of action. Banedon transported you aboard Cloud-dancer to a remote valley south of Gazad Helkona, from where you approached the fortress on foot. Despite great adversity you were able to gain entry to Xaol's fortress and save your leader from the clutches of Naar's agent.3 During your daring mission, you fought and defeated both Xaol and Zorkaan before Banedon arrived to snatch both you and Lone Wolf from the clutches of Xaol's angry minions.

  A year has elapsed since your triumph at Gazad Helkona. It has been a peaceful and rewarding time for you at the Kai Monastery, a period in which you have devoted yourself to the training of new recruits. Such has been the success of your tutelage that you have come to be greatly revered by your students and your peers. Yet, lately, you have felt a longing to venture abroad once more, to test your courage and your battle skills in the ineluctable war against Evil.

  Early one morning, you glimpsed a golden eagle leave its nest in the frost-covered timberland that stretches beyond the window of your private chamber. As you watched this majestic creature soar above the tree-line, you were reminded of the daring aerial escape that you had made from Gazad Helkona aboard Banedon's skycraft. Then you felt a tingle of premonition at the nape of your neck when you noticed a distant speck in the clear azure sky. This speck grew larger until you were able to discern the distinctive outline of Cloud-dancer approaching from the north. Hurriedly you left your chamber and went to the monastery training park where a small group of Kai Lords had gathered in expectation. As the sleek skyship was made to hover overhead, a boarding cage was lowered to the frost-hardened ground and out stepped an unexpected visitor — Lord Rimoah of Dessi. You exchanged greetings and he requested an immediate audience with Lone Wolf. From his sombre expression you could tell that he had grave and urgent news to impart.

  You escorted Lord Rimoah personally to Lone Wolf's chambers, located beneath the Tower of the Sun, the monastery's commanding citadel. Before you could excuse yourself and leave the vault, Lone Wolf asked you to stay to listen to what the venerable magician had come to say. Lord Rimoah nodded his benign approval.

  ‘Dwarf King Ryvin of Bor is in desperate need of our aid, my lords,’ began Rimoah, earnestly. ‘An ancient horror has been awoken in the depths of his subterranean kingdom, and now it threatens to destroy his realm. The Drodarin race may be doomed unless we are able to overcome this creature … and swiftly.’

  Lord Rimoah informed you that recent excavations in the lowest levels of the vast underground kingdom of Bor had disturbed the Shom'zaa. This powerful entity was entombed by the Elder Magi during t
heir 1,000-year war against Agarash the Damned — Naar's first champion of evil. Lone Wolf lowered his eyes and shook his head in disbelief upon hearing Rimoah's words.

  ‘I understood that dwarf lore expressly forbade such deep mining, for fear that the Shom'zaa and its minions might be released. How could such a thing have been allowed to occur?’ he said.

  ‘Greed is to blame, my lord,’ replied Rimoah, sadly, ‘… the greed of King Ryvin's elder son, the Crown Prince Leomin. He alone was responsible for the excavations that opened the way to this ancient horror.’

  Lord Rimoah informed you that only five days have elapsed since the Shom'zaa was released, yet already the creature and its Agarashi minions have taken control of the lower levels of the kingdom. ‘Bitter fighting rages in the tunnels and chambers of Bor as King Ryvin's army struggles to contain the Shom'zaa and its horde,’ he said. ‘They are being sorely pressed, for the enemy have captured their armouries and equipped themselves for the fight. Ryvin has lost control of the tunnels leading to his throne chamber, where Leomin and his younger brother, Prince Torfan, are now trapped and besieged, along with the remnants of their personal guard.’

  Lone Wolf was disturbed to hear that the Throne Chamber of Bor was under attack, for it houses the fabled Throne of Andarin. This grand seat contains a gem of power that was bestowed upon the Drodarin dwarves of Bor by the Goddess Ishir. Its divine radiance provides the dwarves with a unique energy that enables them to grow their crops deep underground, without the need for direct sunlight. If the Throne of Andarin is destroyed then the crops will surely fail and famine will beset Bor, with disastrous consequences.

  ‘Repeated attempts to break the siege of the throne chamber have failed, and the morale of Ryvin's army is now dangerously low,’ said Rimoah. ‘I've heard tell that even the Dwarf Lords and the War-thanes, the élite of Ryvin's army, hold that Prince Leomin's greed has sealed their fate. If such talk is true, and the Shom'zaa conquers Bor, then our hopes for a lasting peace in Magnamund will be ruined. The fall of Bor will give Naar a base of power at the very heart of Magnamund. There he will be able to muster his agents, spawn his vile abominations, and attempt once more to conquer our world.’