The Prisoners of Time Read online

  The Prisoners of Time

  You are Lone Wolf — the last Kai Master of Sommerlund. Tricked by your arch-enemy Darklord Gnaag, you have fallen into a portal of total darkness, a Shadow Gate, that leads to the twilight world of the Daziarn.

  Somewhere in the supernatural void are the two remaining Lorestones you must find in order to restore the Kai to their former glory. Will you find them, or will you remain forever a prisoner of the void? Your doom or your destiny awaits you in this exciting penultimate episode of the Magnakai quest.

  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: 28 October 2012

  Text copyright © 1987 Joe Dever.

  Illustrations copyright © 1987 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 RulesMagnakai Disciplines

  Equipment

  Rules for Combat

  Levels of Magnakai Training

  Lore-circles of the Magnakai

  Improved Disciplines

  Magnakai Wisdom

  Numbered Sections

  Northern Magnamund

  Action Chart

  Combat Rules Summary

  Combat Results Table

  Random Number Table

  Errata

  Footnotes

  Table of Illustrations

  Project Aon License

  Dedication

  To Ron and Clarice

  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

  Matthew Reynolds

  Illustration Transcription

  Jonathan Blake

  XML

  Jonathan Blake

  Jeff Dougan

  Simon Osborne

  Alternate Illustrations

  JC Alvarez (Action Charts)

  Jonathan Blake (Extramatter Charts and Tables)

  Proofreading

  Andrew Gable (Sections 36–70)

  Simon Osborne (Frontmatter and Sections 1–35, 141–210, and 246–350)

  Matthew Reynolds (Sections 106–140 and 211–245)

  Tony Wrigley (Sections 71–105)

  Editing

  Jeff Dougan

  Ingo Klöcker

  LeRoy McSwain

  Simon Osborne

  Thomas Wolmer

  PDF Layout

  Jonathan Blake

  Ingo Klöcker

  Coordination

  Jonathan Blake

  Special Thanks

  Jan Charvát, David Davis, Benjamin Krefetz, Christopher Lundgren, Dewi Morgan, Sam Seaver, Peter Smyth

  The Story So Far …

  You are the warrior, Lone Wolf, last of the Kai masters of Sommerlund and sole survivor of the massacre that destroyed your kinsmen during a bitter war with your age-old enemies — the Darklords of Helgedad.

  Many centuries have passed since Sun Eagle, the first of your kind, established the Order of the Kai. Aided by the magicians of Dessi, he completed a perilous quest to find seven crystals of power known as the Lorestones of Nyxator, and upon their discovery he unlocked a wisdom and strength that lay within both the Lorestones and himself. He recorded the nature of his discoveries and his experiences in a great tome entitled The Book of the Magnakai. You have discovered this lost Kai treasure and have given a solemn pledge to restore the Kai to their former glory, thereby ensuring the security of your land in the years to come. However, your diligent study of this ancient book has enabled you to master only three of the ten Magnakai Disciplines. To fulfil your pledge, you must complete the quest first undertaken by Sun Eagle over a thousand years ago. By doing so successfully, you, too, will acquire the power and wisdom of the Magnakai, which is held within the Lorestones' crystal forms.

  Already your quest has taken you far from your northern homeland. Following in the footsteps of the first Kai Grand Master, you journeyed to Dessi and sought the help of the Elder Magi, the magicians who aided Sun Eagle on his quest long ago. There you learned that for centuries the Elder Magi h
ad awaited your coming. An ancient Dessi legend tells of the birth and rise to greatness of two koura-tas-kai, which means ‘sons of the sun’. One was named Ikar, which means ‘eagle’, and the other was named Skarn, which means ‘wolf’. A prophecy foretold that the koura-tas-kai would each come from the north to seek the counsel of the Elder Magi in order that they might fulfil a great quest. Although separated by several centuries, they would share one spirit, one purpose, and one destiny — to triumph over the champions of darkness in an age of great peril. The Elder Magi knew that you were Skarn — the wolf of Dessi legend — and in keeping with their ancient vows they promised to help you complete the Magnakai quest.

  In Elzian, the capital of Dessi, you were tutored in the histories of Magnamund and received lessons in lore that you would have learned from the Kai masters if only they, like you, had survived the murderous Darklord attack on the Kai Monastery twelve years ago. You were eager to learn all that your tutor, Lord Rimoah, could teach you in preparation for the next stage of your quest, but grim news from the Darklands cut short your tuition. In the Darklord city of Helgedad a civil war had erupted, following your defeat of Haakon, Archlord of the Black City. After five years, the battle for the throne of Helgedad had finally been won by a Darklord called Gnaag. The other Darklords, now united behind this new leader, were ordered to amass huge armies in preparation for the conquest of Magnamund. Swiftly their Giak legions grew in number, enabling Gnaag to launch a sweeping invasion that was to catch the freelands unprepared. Many countries were completely overrun by Darkland armies; others surrendered without fighting, and sadly there were those who chose to betray former friends and allies by joining the Darklord cause, in the misguided hope that they would share in the spoils of victory, following the triumph of Darklord Gnaag. One such land was Vassagonia, a powerful desert realm to the north of Dessi. It mobilized its formidable army and marched west to join Gnaag's horde as it steamrollered across central Magnamund. They were destined to meet at the city of Tahou where, beneath the ancient streets, lay hidden one of the seven Lorestones of Nyxator. You set off in haste for Tahou and arrived barely hours ahead of the enemy. Successfully you made your descent and discovered the object of your quest, but on returning to the surface you found Tahou transformed into a blazing inferno. Darklord Gnaag and Zakhan Kimah, the cruel ruler of Vassagonia, had learnt of your presence and were determined to destroy you at all costs. For days their engines of war had hurled fire and rock across the walls of Tahou with devastating effect. Then a massive assault, led by the Zakhan himself, breached the city gate and gained entry to the burning capital. Armed with a weapon of awesome power, the evil Zakhan sought you out and challenged you to a fight to the death. The struggle was desperate but you emerged victorious and led the Anarians in a counterattack that cleared the city of the invading foe. The allies of Anari arrived to raise the siege and in the ensuing battle the demoralized armies of Gnaag and Kimah were smashed and routed.

  Your defeat of Zakhan Kimah turned the tide of war decisively against the Darkland armies and paved the way for the liberation of the lands they had taken by force. But the sweet taste of victory turned sour when you discovered that Darklord Gnaag had captured the last three remaining Lorestones of Nyxator, and had vowed to avenge his defeat by destroying them and killing you. Alarmed by this, the High Council of the Elder Magi joined you in Tahou to help formulate a plan of action. They had already received word from Prince Graygor, the ruler of Eru, that three radiant gems filled with golden light had been transported to the fortress of Torgar from the Darklord city of Mozgôar. Unable to tolerate the goodly power of the Lorestones within his own domain, Gnaag had been forced to move them to Torgar where his sorcerers — the Nadziranim — set about searching for a means to destroy them. Fearing that they might achieve their task, the Elder Magi made preparations for your secret journey to Eru and, in order to safeguard your true identity, you adopted the guise of a Pathfinder — one of Prince Graygor's élite woodland scouts.

  After a long and perilous journey you arrived at Torgar to find it besieged by the armies of Talestria and Palmyrion. During the early months of the Darklord invasion, hundreds of Talestrians were enslaved and sent to labour in the dungeons and sulphur mines deep within the bowels of this grim city-fortress. Their plight seemed hopeless until the allied armies, under the command of Lord Adamas of Garthen, finally arrived to liberate them. Due in part to your bravery and skill during the assault, Lord Adamas' troops were able to breach the great Torgar gate and storm its citadel. During this fierce battle you gained entry to the chamber at the heart of the citadel where the Nadziranim were attempting to destroy the Lorestones. They were hung above a circular black pit and suspended in a fireball of negative energy, the focal point of several beams of power emanating from crystals set around the edge of the pit. By means of a gantry you were able to climb above these energy beams and retrieve one of the Lorestones. But, as you reached out for the remaining two, a terrible voice filled the chamber.

  ‘Vengeance is mine, Lone Wolf!’ Terror struck deep in your heart as you turned and saw the ghastly form of Darklord Gnaag. A rasping laugh echoed from his fly-like head as he raised a black crystal and pointed it at the gantry. ‘The vow I gave at Tahou shall be fulfilled. Now I shall destroy you and the Lorestones!’ he gloated.

  There was a deafening crack and a bolt of blue lightning leapt from the stone towards the rusty iron gantry. As the shock wave hit the fireball the two remaining Lorestones were sent tumbling into the black abyss. A second bolt ripped the gantry in two and, with the ghastly laugh of Darklord Gnaag ringing in your ears, you fell headlong into a portal of total darkness, a Shadow Gate which leads to the twilight world of the Daziarn Plane.

  The Game Rules

  You keep a record of your adventure on the Action Chart.

  During your training as a Kai Master you have developed fighting prowess — COMBAT SKILL and physical stamina — ENDURANCE. Before you set off on your adventure you need to measure how effective your training has been. To do this take a pencil and, with your eyes closed, point with the blunt end of it onto the Random Number Table. If you pick 0 it counts as zero.

  The first number that you pick from the Random Number Table in this way represents your COMBAT SKILL. Add 10 to the number you picked and write the total in the COMBAT SKILL section of your Action Chart (i.e. if your pencil fell on the number 4 in the Random Number Table you would write in a COMBAT SKILL of 14). When you fight, your COMBAT SKILL will be pitted against that of your enemy. A high score in this section is therefore very desirable.

  The second number that you pick from the Random Number Table represents your powers of ENDURANCE. Add 20 to this number and write the total in the ENDURANCE section of your Action Chart (i.e. if your pencil fell on the number 6 on the Random Number Table you would have 26 ENDURANCE points).

  If you are wounded in combat you will lose ENDURANCE points. If at any time your ENDURANCE points fall to zero or below, you are dead and the adventure is over. Lost ENDURANCE points can be regained during the course of the adventure, but your number of ENDURANCE points can never rise above the number you started with.

  If you have successfully completed any of the previous adventures in the Lone Wolf series, you can carry your current scores of COMBAT SKILL and ENDURANCE points over to Book 11. You may also carry over any Weapons and Special Items you have in your possession at the end of your last adventure, and these should be entered on your new Action Chart. (You are still limited to two Weapons and eight Backpack Items.)

  You many choose one bonus Magnakai Discipline to add to your Action Chart for every Lone Wolf Magnakai adventure you successfully complete (Books 6–12).

  Magnakai Disciplines

  During your training as a Kai Lord, and in the course of the adventures that led to the discovery of The Book of the Magnakai, you have mastered all ten of the basic warrior skills known as the Kai Disciplines.

  After studying The Book of the Magnakai, y
ou have also reached the rank of Kai Master Superior, which means that you have learnt three of the Magnakai Disciplines listed below. It is up to you to choose which three skills these are. As all of the Magnakai Disciplines may be of use to you at some point on your adventure, pick your three with care. The correct use of a Magnakai Discipline at the right time can save your life.

  The Magnakai skills are divided into groups, each of which is governed by a separate school of training. These groups are called ‘Lore-circles’. By mastering all of the Magnakai Disciplines in a particular Lore-circle, you can gain an increase in your COMBAT SKILL and ENDURANCE points score. (See the section ‘Lore-circles of the Magnakai’ for details of these bonuses.)

  When you have chosen your three Magnakai Disciplines, enter them in the Magnakai Disciplines section of your Action Chart.

  Weaponmastery

  This Magnakai Discipline enables a Kai Master to become proficient in the use of all types of weapon. When you enter combat with a weapon you have mastered, you add 3 points to your COMBAT SKILL. If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Weaponmastery with Bow, you may add 3 to any number that you choose from the Random Number Table, when using the Bow. The rank of Kai Master Superior, with which you begin the Magnakai series, means you are skilled in three of the weapons in the list below.

  The fact that you are skilled with three Weapons does not mean that you begin the adventure carrying any of them. However, you will have opportunities to acquire Weapons during your adventure. For every Lone Wolf book that you complete in the Magnakai series, you may add an additional Weapon to your Weaponmastery Checklist.

  If you choose this skill, write ‘Weaponmastery: +3 COMBAT SKILL points’ on your Action Chart, and tick your chosen weapons on the Weapons List. You cannot carry more than two Weapons.