The Darke Crusade Page 13

  Turn to 36.

  178

  The dark alleyway leads to a square where, an age ago, the grand mansions of Lencian noblemen encircled a shrine dedicated to the Goddess Ishir, High Priestess of the Moon. But now this square, in common with the rest of the town, bears little resemblance to, or trace of, its Lencian origins. When the Drakkarim first captured Ferndour, as it was then called, all the houses and public buildings which had stood for centuries were demolished. In their place were erected ungainly dormitories and ugly communal dwellings made entirely of timber culled from the surrounding forest. The town's once-picturesque plazas and narrow, winding streets were replaced with coldly functional military avenues for the marching Drakkarim hordes.

  From the shadows of a doorway, you and Prarg observe a small covered wagon and a troop of weary Drakkarim soldiers entering the square from the north. This small procession swings right and approaches an avenue which exits the square, leading off to the west towards the centre of the town. Magnaarn's headquarters are located in the middle of Shugkona and, with night fast approaching, Prarg suggests you follow the troop using the gathering darkness for cover. You are about to agree with him when suddenly the door of a nearby hovel swings open, and out into the alley step three burly, drunken Drakkarim.

  Instinctively you both leap for cover to avoid being seen. Prarg drops down behind a stack of empty ale casks, whilst you dive behind a mound of rotten timbers. The moment you hit the ground you feel it sag beneath your weight; then, in a moment of terror, the ground collapses and you fall headlong into darkness. You have crashed through the rot-infested timbers of a trapdoor into a damp and dingy cellar.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 1 to the number you have picked.

  If your total score is now 0–4, turn to 237.

  If it is 5 or higher, turn to 58.

  179

  You clear the gap with one bound, and even manage to stay on your feet when you land on the far side of the fissure. Hungry for victory and vengeance, you tear aside the curtain through which Magnaarn disappeared and discover a short flight of steps which emerge at a turret at the very top of the Palace Tower, the highest point in the city of Darke.

  Here you find Magnaarn, cowering with his crooked back pressed hard against the frost-covered wall. You sense that he has very nearly succumbed to the evil power of the Doomstone; he is treading a fine line between life and undeath. Yet, even though he is but a whisker away from eternal damnation, he musters enough spite to challenge you to a fight to the death.

  ‘Very well, Drakkar,’ you reply. ‘Let battle commence.’

  Warlord Magnaarn (with Nyras Sceptre): COMBAT SKILL 50 ENDURANCE 36

  If you win this combat, turn to 350.

  180

  With lightning speed you draw and fire two Arrows, sending the shafts whistling deep into the scaly bellies of the two swamp creatures. Their effect is swift and deadly; the Ciquali screech in unison and throw their arms wide as they are hurled backwards into the mire. You string another Arrow and glance over your shoulder at your companion who, having lost his sword, is now grappling with a Ciquali in a desperate hand-to-hand combat.

  The fight is going badly for Prarg. The creature is by far the largest of the pack and much of its muscular body is protected by armour, crudely fashioned from human bones. Anxious to help your companion, you raise your Bow and take aim, but the two are entwined and you dare not fire for fear of hitting the captain. Then a sudden swipe of the creature's horny fist knocks Prarg to his knees, allowing you a moment's unobstructed view of his adversary.

  (Remember to erase three Arrows from your Quiver.)

  If you wish to fire at the creature's head, turn to 111.

  If you choose to fire at the sac which surrounds the creature's throat, turn to 38.

  If you decide to fire at the creature's upper chest, turn to 228.

  181

  For a terrible moment your body is racked with pain. It fills your mind with a scarlet fog and your vision swims in and out of focus. The reins slip from your hands and you fall from the horse to crash heavily upon the snow-covered road. You strike your head and lose consciousness; you never awaken. The guards close in and put a swift end to both you and your companion, Captain Prarg.

  Tragically, your quest ends here at Shugkona.

  182

  You hurry along this wind-swept passageway until you come to a corner. Prarg turns the corner before you can warn him otherwise, and he finds himself staring at the brutish features of a Drakkarim Death Knight sergeant. The warrior's curses echo along the corridor as he draws his sword and comes striding towards your careless companion.

  If you have a Bow and wish to use it, turn to 241.

  If you do not, or if you choose not to use it, turn to 113.

  183

  The Arrow flies true, but at the very last moment before impact, the Drakkar spins around to face the assembled soldiers, and your shaft shatters harmlessly upon the blade of his axe. For a few seconds he is stunned by the nearness of your attack; then suddenly he points to the grain tower and begins to scream like a madman:

  ‘Up there! At the window! The arrow was fired from up there!’

  Turn to 254.

  184

  On reaching the main street, you see Captain Schera beckoning to you from the doorway of a ruined inn.

  ‘Over here,’ he calls. ‘I think I've found something.’

  ‘What is it?’ you say, on entering the fire-ravaged ruins.

  ‘Come and take a look for yourself,’ he replies, and takes you to a flight of stone steps which lead down into a cold, dark cellar.

  Turn to 197.

  185

  The chieftain bellows its death-cry and keels over backwards to hit the water with a mighty splash. Now leaderless, the remaining Ciquali turn away from the boat and disappear as quickly as they had come, slipping back to the cold, dark safety of their hiding places beneath the surface. Silence returns, and for a long moment you stand alert, suspecting trickery. Then slowly you relax; they have gone.

  Aided by your healing skills, Prarg makes a speedy recovery from the battering he sustained in combat with the Ciquali chieftain. The boat, too, has survived the attack and you are able to continue without further delay. As soon as you pass the obstruction, you hoist the sail and catch the prevailing wind which propels you northwards along the channel beyond.

  You are hungry after your encounter. Unless you possess Grand Huntmastery, you must now eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

  To continue, turn to 322.

  186

  Quickly you tend to your companion's wound, using your Magnakai Curing skills to neutralize the venom before it does its fatal work. Your swift action saves him but it drains you of energy: lose 2 ENDURANCE points.

  To continue, turn to 325.

  187

  You move deeper into the forest, maintaining a steady pace. Here, in this part of the Tozaz, the snowfall underfoot is light because of the canopy of thick branches overhead, and you make good progress. You have been walking for an hour when a shivery rustle brings you abruptly to a halt. You look up and a miniature snowslide falls from a branch overhead, covering your face and shoulders with a deluge of powdery snow. Prarg laughs as he watches you spluttering, and as you wipe your eyes, you glimpse a grey-winged bird fluttering away to the west.

  ‘By the gods, I'm hungry,’ exclaims Prarg, leaning weakly against a tree trunk. ‘What I'd give for a side of beef and a plate of boiled beets.’

  The captain has not eaten since before you reached Shugkona and you can see that after the rigours of his capture and escape, he is sorely in need of food. Unless he eats soon he will be unable to go much further.

  If you possess a Meal, turn to 68.

  If you do not, turn to 282.

  188

  You awake at first light and make a search of all the cabins, but they have either been despoiled by Giaks or stripped bare
and you discover nothing of practical use. However, you do uncover enough scraps of food, preserved by the cold, to make quite a decent breakfast: restore 3 ENDURANCE points.

  After your meal, you gather together your equipment and set off along the river bank, heading west. The surrounding landscape is a harsh black and white desolation, devoid of all colour. The bleakness is deepened by the constant moaning wind and the occasional cawing of distant carrion crows. Five miles downstream you happen upon a hut at the edge of the river. You are expecting it to be empty, like the others at the ferry stage, so it comes as a welcome surprise to find it contains a rowboat and a pair of oars, both in good condition. Heartened by your discovery, you launch the boat into the water and begin your voyage towards Darke.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

  If the number you have picked is 0–4, turn to 73.

  If it is 5–9, turn to 293.

  189

  Prarg makes a wide detour to the west in order to avoid the risk of walking straight into the arms of your enemies. The detour takes you across a steep and rugged part of the forest previously unexplored by your guide, and progress here is slowed dramatically. You have covered less than six miles when the failing light — and the increasing sightings of Drakkarim patrols — forces you to halt and make camp for the night.

  From the safety of a treetop, fifty feet above the forest floor, you rope yourself to the trunk before settling down to sleep. You are hungry and, unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, you must now eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

  Turn to 90.

  190

  You draw upon your psychic strength to create, in the depths of your mind, three radiant pulses of pure energy. As you watch the advancing Gorodon, rapidly these glowing cores increase in size and power until they resemble a cluster of fiery meteors. The Gorodons increase their speed and come pounding through the shallows, their eyes blazing and their horns lowered in eager readiness to impale you on their razor-sharp tips. They are almost upon you when, with a blink of your eyes, you hurl your psychic pulses directly into their brains. The effect is instantaneous and devastating. It is as if all three have been felled simultaneously by a massive hammer blow to the skull.11

  The Gorodons' forelegs buckle and they are brought down head-first into the muddy shallows. Their horns sink deeply into the silt whilst their heavy torsos are thrown forwards by the momentum of their charge. For a few seconds they cartwheel end-over-end; then, with a chilling abruptness, they cease moving and settle into the mud. Your psychic attack was devastating but it did not kill them outright; it was the massive strain placed upon their necks when they fell that ultimately sealed their doom.

  Turn to 284.

  [11] It seems logical that you should deduct 1 ENDURANCE point due to this use of Kai-surge.

  191

  You leap over the corpse and run down the corridor with Prarg close on your heels. Soon you reach a junction where you are forced to choose a direction, left or right. You call upon your Kai skills and immediately you sense a strong presence of evil lurking at the end of the right-hand passage. You focus on the source of this evil and determine that it is the Doomstone. You tell Prarg and together you advance along the passage until you reach a closed door.

  If you possess Grand Huntmastery or Grand Pathsmanship, turn to 214.

  If you possess neither of these Disciplines, turn to 229.

  192

  Before you lies a vast frozen lake, more than a mile wide at the point at which you now stand. An icy wind whips across its glistening surface, stirring freshly fallen snow into eddies which whirl and dance like spinning tops. Silently you stare across the lake at the distant tree-line and your mind is filled with doubt. The Temple of Antah lies beyond, of that you are sure, and the quickest way to reach it would be to traverse the lake, but there is no cover and no way of knowing if the ice is thick enough to support you all the way across. Yet, to go around the lake would delay you by hours, giving your pursuers ample time to catch up and attack.

  At length you decide to take your chances and cross the lake. At first the going is smooth and you make easy progress, but as you near the centre, suddenly you sense that something is wrong.

  If you possess Grand Pathsmanship and have reached the Kai rank of Sun Knight, turn to 55.

  If you do not possess this skill, or if you have yet to reach this level of Kai Mastery, turn to 37.

  193

  You begin the descent and soon discover that the rough chasm wall makes for an ideal climbing surface. With confidence you descend towards the river, but you are almost caught unawares when you reach a section of the chasm wall which is treacherous in the extreme. It is smooth, dry, and crumbly, making it suddenly impossible for you to find safe purchase for your toes and fingers.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you have Grand Huntmastery, add 2 to the number you have picked. If you possess a Rope, add 1. If your present Kai rank is Grand Guardian or higher, add 1.

  If your total score is now 6 or less, turn to 210.

  If it is 7 or more, turn to 114.

  194

  As the deadly shafts scream towards you and Prarg, you open your hand and thrust your palm into his back, pushing him aside. This swift action saves him from the first bolt, but it robs you of time in which to react to the second. It strikes and red-hot pain flares up your leg as the iron-tipped bolt gouges a deep furrow of flesh from the back of your calf: lose 4 ENDURANCE points.12

  Turn to 60.

  [12] This section is unreachable and superfluous since it is equivalent to Section 19 but less complete. It has been rewritten in the Collector's Edition to almost parallel Sections 269 and 77 by adding an extra option for the Random Number pick from Section 345.

  195

  You step over the body of the fallen lancer and pull yourself into the saddle of his warhorse. Seizing the reins you spur the horse forward and it takes off across the square at a gallop. Then you unholster the lance and bring it to bear as you race headlong towards the backs of the Drakkarim soldiers who are standing between you and the platform.

  Turn to 63.

  196

  Your keen senses detect an unpleasant odour wafting towards you on the damp air. It is the scent of a hostile animal. It is not lurking in this chamber but it is somewhere close by.

  Cautiously you head towards an archway in the far wall, taking great care not to fall as you traverse the slippery mounds of rubble which litter the floor of this dank and unwholesome chamber. A short tunnel awaits you beyond the arch. It ends at a junction where a wider passageway crosses from west to east.

  The animal odour is stronger here; it is wafting from out of the west tunnel. Forewarned, you shun this tunnel and set off to the east.

  Turn to 26.

  197

  In a corner of the cellar you see two booted and bloodstained feet protruding from beneath a mass of collapsed flooring. You move closer and discover they belong to a Lencian soldier who is badly wounded and barely conscious. Schera helps you to clear away the charred timbers that are pinning him to the ground and, using your Kai healing skills, you attend to the man's wounds. After a few minutes he recovers consciousness just long enough to tell you his name — Hul Sendal.

  You both carry the man back to the river and place him carefully into your boat. The captain's men have managed to clear a passage wide enough for the flotilla to pass through in single file, and as you continue your journey down-river, you spend some time nursing the injured soldier back to consciousness. He tells you of the battle that destroyed his regiment, of how Magnaarn used his sceptre to set the town ablaze, and of how he has survived the last six days sustained by nothing more than a few handfuls of snow. His account of the battle is chilling and it leaves you with a gnawing fear that maybe it is already too late to prevent Warlord Magnaarn from regaining control of Darke.

  Turn to 208.

  198

  You unsheathe your weapo
n and rush forward to strike the soldier down, determined to finish him quickly before he can raise the alarm.

  Drakkarim Sergeant: COMBAT SKILL 32 ENDURANCE 29

  Due to the speed of your attack, ignore any ENDURANCE loss you may sustain in the first round of this combat.

  If you win the combat, turn to 53.

  199

  The arrows miss you by an arm's length, but as you hit the ground you gash the palms of your hands on the trunk of a fallen tree: lose 1 ENDURANCE point.

  Turn to 141.

  200

  From out of the shadows of the secret passage steps Warlord Magnaarn. He is a huge man — not much over six feet tall but massively built. His body is sheathed in finely crafted armour that fits his frame like a glove, and his features are coarse and foreboding, accentuated by a fresh battle scar which runs diagonally from the top of his red-haired scalp to a point near the lobe of his left ear.

  Arrogantly he approaches the portcullis and stares unblinkingly into your eyes. For a moment you consider attacking him, but your senses detect that he is surrounded by a field of energy so strong that already you feel it leeching your psychic powers. He reaches to a pocket inside his cloak and takes out a large black gemstone, which he holds level with his sneering face. Scarlet veins glow within the depths of this stone, swirling and undulating as if they are alive. Waves of dizziness force you to your knees as the evil power of the Doomstone of Darke washes over you, bleeding you of the strength and will to resist.