Shadow on the Sand Read online

  If you wish to follow the man who left by the west door, turn to 146.

  If you wish to attack the armourer working at the anvil, turn to 190.

  If you wish to leave the chamber and retrace your steps along the corridor to take the other passage, turn to 30.

  196

  You notice that a large table dominates the room; it is set with wine and meat, and freshly-baked loaves of bread.

  If you wish to eat some of this mouth-watering food, turn to 61.

  If you wish to leave the room by the window, turn to 109.

  197

  Maouk pulls his hand from his robe, a dart held tightly in his sinewy fist. He hisses a curse and flings the missile at your chest. You gasp with shock as the missile strikes home — you are too close to avoid being hit.

  Turn to 25.

  198

  As the officer's body slumps lifelessly across the shattered cellar door, the Sharnazim back away and step aside. Maouk himself appears in the doorway, a dart held high in his hand. ‘I have you now!’ he hisses, and flings the missile at your chest.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you have the Kai Discipline of Hunting, add 3 to the number you have picked.

  If your total is now 0–6, turn to 25.

  If your total is now 7–12, turn to 141.

  199

  You grasp the frightened guard in a secure head-lock and threaten to break his neck if he does not answer your questions. He immediately promises to tell you everything he knows. He says that the new Zakhan fears that you are an assassin, sent by his enemies in the west. He claims to hate the new Zakhan himself. He is only a simple gaoler, he says, and knows nothing more.

  If you have the Kai Discipline of Sixth Sense, turn to 39.

  If you do not possess this skill, turn to 9.

  200

  Upon a raised platform, carpeted with scarlet fur, sits the Vassagonian Emperor, Zakhan Kimah. He is robed in gold but devoid of all ornamentation. In his hand is an orb of black metal, and in his eye an ice-cold cruelty that chills your spine. The Zakhan is a man of awesome countenance, but he pales in the shadow of his companion.

  Before him stands the cause of your terror. A helm as black as death itself hides the face, but the stench of decay and a hideous sepulchral voice betray the identity.

  ‘Give me Lone Wolf!’

  It is the fell voice of a mortal enemy — a Darklord of Helgedad. As the Zakhan rises to his feet, you notice a flicker of doubt, or perhaps of fear, dim his cruel gaze, but he is quick to mask it. ‘He will be brought to you at sunset in exchange for the Orb of Death. It is agreed.’

  ‘You have the Orb,’ echoes the chilling voice. ‘Give me Lone Wolf!’

  The Zakhan hides his fear well, but time is not on his side. The game of bluff he is playing is deadly. However, the fact that he has not yet been discovered is evidence of his powerful will, for you sense the Darklord is persistently clawing and probing at his mind.

  ‘You will get your Northlander, Lord Haakon,’ says the Zakhan, his voice curt with anger, ‘when you tell me why your servants defile the Tomb of the Majhan. You claim to have no need for gold and jewels — why then do you plunder the graves of our ancestors?’

  A deathly quiet fills the hall; only the unnatural hiss of the Darklord's breath disturbs the silence. ‘This land, this insignificant speck of sand, harbours two small thorns that prick our skin. We seek to remove them both — forever. The fledgling Kai, Lone Wolf, is the thorn that denies us Sommerlund. The Tomb of the Majhan hides the other thorn that threatens us — the accursed Book of the Magnakai.’

  Your heart pounds as the words echo in your head. The Book of the Magnakai! Suddenly, the reason why you have been enticed into a deadly trap becomes clear, and the sinister truth is revealed.

  The Book of the Magnakai is one of the oldest legends of Sommerlund. With the wisdom of the Magnakai, Sun Eagle, the first Kai Grand Master, instilled the disciplines into the warriors of the House of Ulnar, the bloodline of your king, that were to save your land from devastation at the hands of the Darklords. The Book of the Magnakai was lost hundreds of years ago, but its wisdom was kept alive, handed down through generations of Sommlending warriors so that they could share the strength to resist their eternal enemies, the Darklords of Helgedad.

  If the Darklords discover and destroy the Book of the Magnakai, the secrets will be lost forever, and when you die, the Kai will become extinct. However, if you discover the Book of the Magnakai first and deny the Darklords their prize, all the wisdom of the Magnakai will be revealed to you. Through its wisdom you will become strong, strong enough to reach the ultimate achievement for a Sommlending warrior — to become a Kai Grand Master.

  However, the peril and the glory of the quest that lies ahead are distracting you from more immediate danger. To discover this danger and to begin the quest for the Book of the Magnakai, turn to Part Two of Shadow on the Sand.

  Begin your adventure at 201.

  Part I

  1-10: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

  11-20: 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

  21-30: 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

  31-40: 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

  41-50: 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

  51-60: 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

  61-70: 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70

  71-80: 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

  81-90: 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

  91-100: 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

  101-110: 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110

  111-120: 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120

  121-130: 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130

  131-140: 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140

  141-150: 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150

  151-160: 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160

  161-170: 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170

  171-180: 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180

  181-190: 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190

  191-200: 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

  201

  Suddenly, you catch sight of two warriors creeping towards you from a passage to your right. They are clad in jet-black armour and scarlet robes, and their hideous death-masks identify them as Drakkarim warriors. They are men, but they are evil men, as evil as the Darklords whom they serve.

  One of them holds a razor-fanged Akataz, a creeping leathery war-dog, straining on a chain leash. The Drakkar hisses and the Akataz springs towards your throat.

  If you wish to fight this creature, turn to 273.

  If you wish to try to evade the attack and escape, turn to 285.

  202

  You pass under an arch where two brass-gilded, conical towers gleam like gold and enter a marketplace crowded with squabbling merchants. Exotic carpets, brightly coloured material, and all manner of foods are being bought, sold, and haggled over. The north side of the marketplace is devoted to the auction of douggas. The sleek but noisy desert beasts are being paraded, for the benefit of the bidders, around a paddock adjoining their stables. Just past the stables, a street vanishes into the Carpet-weavers' Quarter of Ikaresh.

  If you wish to investigate the stables, turn to 309.

  If you wish to ask one of the merchants if they know where Tipasa lives, turn to 248.

  If you wish to leave the marketplace, continue along the adjoining street and turn to 386.

  203

  There is a sickening and acidic smell as a great gout of green blood gushes from the Vordak's red robe. The creature screams and topples from view, its mangled corpse spiralling downwards.

  Sheathing your weapon, you grab the reins and fight to regain control of your injured mount. You have slain the Vordak, but the battle is not yet won. The Itikar is losing a lot of blood and could lapse into unconsciousness at any moment to drop you like a stone onto hard Lake Inrahim. Suddenly you see something in the distance — something that renews your fai
th in miracles.

  Turn to 221.

  204

  You sense that the stone radiates pure evil. If you can only turn the stone's power against the Darklord, it will drain his strength and make him fade from this dimension. Although the stone cannot kill Haakon, it can at least banish him to a place where he can no longer harm you.

  If you wish to try to grab the stone and turn it on your enemy, turn to 268.

  If you wish to ignore the stone and attack the Darklord with your own weapon, turn to 390.

  205

  All you can hear above the wind that screams past your face are the gleeful howls of the Drakkarim. They are watching you fall to certain doom.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

  If the number you have picked is 0–4, turn to 234.

  If the number you have picked is 5–9, turn to 293.

  206

  There is no reply to your first knock. You are about to knock again when the door opens a few inches and the red-rimmed eyes of an old woman stare out from the darkness. ‘Banedon!’ she exclaims, her voice hoarse and shaky. ‘Thank the gods it is you.’

  She ushers you both inside and locks the door. The house is sparsely furnished, and what little is there is either damaged or broken. ‘They have taken him, Banedon, they have taken my husband — the men with the faces of the dead. Ten days ago. They came like shadows in the night.’

  She breaks down, her frail body wracked by sobs. Banedon comforts her as best he can, but you sense he shares her bitter loss. The Drakkarim have taken Tipasa, of that there is little doubt. By now they will have made him tell everything he knows about the Tomb of the Majhan.

  ‘We will find him, I promise,’ says Banedon, wiping the tears from the old woman's face, ‘but you must try to help us if you can. Tipasa always kept a diary of his travels — do you have it still?’

  A flicker of hope shines in the old woman's eyes. ‘Yes, it is here. He told me to hide it when the evil men came for him.’

  She kneels at an empty fireplace and prises a loose brick from the chimney; a leather-bound book drops from its hiding place into her hand. She gives it to Banedon who studies the yellowed pages, his face lined in thought. You notice that the book is full of cryptic symbols, numbers, and pictograms.

  ‘They are drawn by the night stars,’ says Banedon, tracing his finger along the astronomical drawings. ‘They hold the secret, I know, but without my star charts we cannot hope to find the tomb. We must return to the Skyrider at first light. There I shall be able to make some sense of this book.’

  Turn to 331.

  207

  You discover little of interest: 8 Gold Crowns and a Brass Whistle on a chain around the guard's neck. You may take these if you wish, but remember to mark them on your Action Chart. (The Brass Whistle is a Special Item worn on a chain around the neck.) Suddenly, a noise alerts you to unwelcome company; Drakkarim are rushing along the tiled pathway that leads to the pens. Without a moment's hesitation, you turn and run inside the Itikar's enclosure.

  Turn to 224.

  208

  ‘By the gods!’ cries Banedon. ‘A vaxeler!’

  The old man's face is a mask of green putrescent sores. The pupils of his eyes are yellow, and his ragged grey lips hang in tatters. Banedon grabs your arm and pulls you away from the wretched man.

  ‘He has vaxelus, Lone Wolf, a terrible disease that rots the skin. It is highly contagious — our lives are in peril.’

  If you possess some Oede herb, you may give it to the poor vaxeler by turning to 321.

  If you do not have any Oede, or if you do not wish to give it to the man, you can flee the cave with Banedon by turning to 270.

  209

  You reach the landing in time to see three Drakkarim warriors enter the tower. Maniacal laughter echoes from their ghoulish death-mask faces, as they form a line and creep towards you.

  More of their evil kind are flooding onto the bridge, some carrying crossbows. You decide it would be suicide to attack the Drakkarim and sprint quickly up the stairs to escape from them.

  Turn to 322.

  210

  You dive aside, your Kai skill saving you from the axe that is spinning towards the platform. Suddenly, a deafening bang rings out and the Drakkar is flung backwards, his breastplate torn open by dwarf shot. He gives a long, agonizing death-cry as he disappears from sight, tumbling into the darkness that surrounds the speeding skyship.

  As if in answer to the shot, a menacing roll of thunder rumbles across the darkening plain from Barrakeesh. It is as if the city itself were cursing your escape.

  Banedon appears at your side, his face lined with concern. As he offers a shaky hand to help you to your feet, you notice that the makeshift bandage which binds his wound is soaked with blood. He is pale and weak and close to collapse.

  If you have the Kai Discipline of Healing, turn to 377.

  If you do not possess this skill, turn to 339.

  211

  Despite your misgivings, the lime-green wine tastes delicious. A warm glow radiates slowly from your stomach, filling you with a comfortable sense of well-being. Restore 2 ENDURANCE points. The man looks delighted by your reaction to his wine and offers to sell you the bottle for 5 Gold Crowns. If you wish to buy the Bottle of Kourshah, pay the man 5 Gold Crowns and make the necessary adjustments to your Action Chart. (There is enough Kourshah in the bottle to restore a further 4 ENDURANCE points.)

  If you wish to question him about Tipasa the Wanderer, turn to 318.

  If you wish to leave his home and continue on your way to Ikaresh, turn to 272.

  212

  Fleeting shadows move through the densely packed trees: the Drakkarim are trying to surround you. Suddenly, a red shape bursts from the foliage and a mace glances across your forehead. You roll with the blow, tumbling over as though stunned by the force. The Vordak shrieks with malicious laughter and leaps upon you, its black mace raised to crush your skull.

  If you possess the Sommerswerd, turn to 349.

  If you do not possess this Special Item, turn to 355.

  213

  The Drakkar falls to his knees and makes a horrible rasping noise as he tries in vain to prise open his shattered death-mask. Your blows have staved in his helm, and the buckled metal has fractured his skull. You lash out with your foot and kick him from the outrigger, sending him spiralling down to Lake Inrahim to join the dwarf he murdered. But the dwarf is neither dead nor hundreds of feet below. He hangs by his foot, unconscious, snagged in the netting below the outrigger boards. You grab the dwarf's leg and haul him to safety before continuing the fight.

  The platform looks empty — no heads are showing above its armoured parapet, but you sense something is wrong. Instinctively, you leap from the outrigger onto the main hull, your weapon poised to strike.

  Turn to 361.

  214

  You focus your skill on a nearby spade, willing the spade handle to rattle against the wheelbarrow in which it rests. It only takes a few seconds for the vigilant Drakkarim sentry to leave his post and investigate the noise. By the time he returns, you are inside the Tomb of the Majhan.

  Turn to 395.

  215

  At the bottom of the stairs, a wooden door braced with iron blocks the entrance to the scented garden. Frantically you twist the handle, but it does not open — the door is locked. Then a couple of palace guards appear on the bridge above; they see you and unsling their heavy crossbows.

  If you possess a Copper Key, turn to 246.

  If you do not possess this item, you can try to climb over the door by turning to 301.

  Alternatively, you can run back up the stairs and attempt to attack the guards before they load and fire their crossbows by turning to 375.

  216

  You soon enter a public square where a throng of men have gathered at the ruins of a fountain. They are listening to the frenzied speech of a man dressed in red from head to toe; each man in the crowd is wearing a strip of t
he same coloured cloth, which covers the lower half of his face.

  ‘They're Adu-kaw — “the veiled ones”,’ says Banedon nervously. ‘It sounds as if they're declaring a blood feud on their old enemies, the men of Tefa.’

  You follow Banedon to the shelter of a toa tree, where you will be less conspicuous. The speaker is denouncing the Tefarim for imposing a heavy tax for safe passage through their town and for use of the highway to Kara Kala. His ranting begins to stir the crowd to fever pitch.

  Suddenly he points to where you stand and shrieks, ‘Tefarim spies!’

  Illustration XIII—His ranting begins to stir the crowd to fever pitch.

  If you want to try to reason with the crowd of screaming fanatics that are now running towards you with their swords drawn, turn to 284.

  If you wish to follow Banedon's example and run for your life, turn to 340.

  217

  The Itikar fixes you with a cold, black stare, but you sense that it is no longer hostile. As you settle on its wide saddle, you catch sight of the Drakkarim streaming across the gangplank. Leaning forward, you unhook the anchor rope from the saddle ring and grab the thick leather reins.

  Turn to 343.

  218

  The dwarves continue their meal, pausing only to light large hooded pipes. Through the bluish hue of the pipe smoke that clouds the low cabin roof, you notice that they are casting nervous glances at you, as if you might explode at any moment.