Trail of the Wolf Page 16

  If you wish to traverse the hills by way of the gully, turn to 87.

  If you decide to follow the winding trail to the crest of the ridge, turn to 304.

  283

  The speedy use of your elemental skill saves your equipment and clothing from going up in flames. You are able to tread a difficult path along the crumbling edge of this rent, and then pass through the fire-blackened breach in the fortress wall. When you come to the end of the fissure and the dust clears, your heart sinks like a stone. Another wall looms before you.

  This second barrier has only recently been constructed to shield the stronghold's inner buildings from the fiery heat of the fissure. Its rough-hewn blocks offer many handholds to assist a climb, but the dry stone and mortar crumble under the slightest pressure. Your first attempt to scale the wall comes to an abrupt end when a toehold collapses and you fall backwards to the ground: lose 1 ENDURANCE point.

  If you possess Kai-alchemy, turn to 221.

  If you do not, turn to 144.

  284

  The Drakkar yelps with pain and lets his shield fall from his grasp. To your dismay, you see him wrench the Arrow from his helmet and hurl it contemptuously to the floor. The tip of your shaft has pierced his throat-plate, but it did not penetrate deeply enough to cause him a serious wound. He turns and beckons to his comrades and they let out a triumphant cheer. Inspired by his toughness, they increase their pace as they rush up the stairs to support his attack.

  Turn to 180.

  285

  By the use of your Magnakai Discipline of Nexus, you are able eventually to unlock this door. However, it is a tedious and difficult task that saps your mental strength: lose 2 ENDURANCE points.

  When at last you hear the mortise click open, you twist the steel handle and silently the door swings open to reveal a hall beyond. You enter, and the door closes behind you with a dull boom.

  Turn to 300.

  286

  Your advanced Kai senses warn you of an ambush, but the threat does not come from the web; the danger lurks behind you. Instantly you spin around in time to see a large section of the ground opening up like a great trapdoor. From its subterranean lair, there emerges a colossal black spider. Its vast bulk is squeezed by the sides of the opening as it hoists itself out and perches on the lip of the aperture. Swivelling on jointed legs, this titanic arachnid clacks its fanged maw as it fixes you with a cluster of crimson eyes that rotate and pulsate hypnotically.

  If you possess Kai-screen, turn to 319.

  If you do not, turn to 142.

  287

  The shock of having just nearly killed yourself with your own spell quickly turns to anger. You rush towards the sphere with the intention of kicking it from its pedestal but, as you bring back your foot in readiness to strike, suddenly the dark shadow of Zorkaan falls upon you and launches a massive psychic attack from close range.

  If you possess Kai-screen, turn to 185.

  If you do not possess this Discipline, turn to 296.

  288

  You scramble to the top of the steps and dive between the pillars. The force field has only partially recharged, but even so you are stunned by its power when your body breaks the invisible barrier: lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

  Wincing from the pain of the electrical discharge, you stagger to your feet and force yourself towards the archway and stairs that lie beyond the obsidian pillars.

  Turn to 209.

  289

  Hurriedly you reach into the pocket of your tunic and grasp the glowing amulet. Pain shoots all the way from your fingers to your shoulder as the red-hot surface of this cursed artefact burns deeply into your flesh (lose 2 ENDURANCE points). Despite the agony you suffer, you wrench the Black Amulet from your pocket and hurl it away. The evil object arcs through the air and hits the floor, exploding on impact with tremendous noise and heat.

  Turn to 172.

  290

  You leave the chamber and enter the hall beyond, pausing only to close the iron door behind you. There are no other bandits lurking in this hall, and when you scour its walls and furnishings, you realize that it is a mess chamber used by Xaol's bandit mercenaries and guards. Stale fragments of food litter the tables, and the acrid smell of wine and torch oil hangs in the clammy air.

  There is a trapdoor located near a tunnel exit from this hall, and on closer examination you discover that it covers a chute. Judging from the foul stench arising from this opening, you determine that the chute must descend directly to a cesspool located somewhere deep below the fortress blockhouse.

  If you wish to search this hall, turn to 333.

  If you choose to leave the hall via the tunnel exit, turn to 55.

  291

  You listen to the Drakkar's approaching footsteps as you prepare the Brotherhood Spell Net while remaining hidden from sight. If you can ensnare this assault trooper with your net spell, it may be enough to dissuade his comrades from pressing home their charge. Having recited all but the last word of the spell, you rise up from behind the parapet and point your right hand at the advancing Drakkar. You utter the final spell-word and a gout of sticky fluid gushes from your open palm towards the assault trooper's face. The warrior sees the trail of fluid arcing towards him and hurriedly he tries to block it with his shield.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

  If the number you have picked is 4 or lower, turn to 201.

  If it is 5 or higher, turn to 242.

  292

  Quickly you unshoulder your pack and tip the Dargorse Buds onto the floor. Then you slip away and take cover behind the next statue in the line. The slavering wolfhound comes loping around the statue and begins to snuffle among the buds. It is now that you notice there are two other items lying on the floor, they fell from your pack when you jettisoned the buds (erase from your Action Chart the items you have recorded in the second and third spaces of your list of Backpack Items).

  Suddenly the wolfhound emits a loud yelp of pain, and you see its nose redden and swell. The buds contain a powerful irritant that has inflamed the lining of the creature's nostrils. The hound howls with pain and the bandits howl with laughter when they see its bright red nose. As the injured wolfhound lopes away, the bandits stop to investigate the cause of its misfortune.

  If you wish to leave your hiding place and attempt to slip past the bandits while they are examining your lost Backpack Items, turn to 327.

  If you wish to stay hidden behind the statue, turn to 35.

  293

  Your killing blow silences the Akataz and sends it tumbling backwards into the dark alcove from which it first emerged. With weapon poised, you step forward and peer into this shadowy niche to see the warhound lying limply upon a mound of flea-infested sacking. Using your weapon to avoid having to touch these mouldering rags, you bury the dog beneath them before you turn and hurry towards the stairs.

  At the top of the stairs you discover a wooden door, banded with criss-crossing strips of enamelled iron. At its centre there is a polished black handle and a dial which is ringed with numbers. You examine the dial closely and determine that it controls a combination lock. By turning the dial to its correct numerical setting, you will cause the lock to disengage and the door will open.

  Using your Kai Sixth Sense, you discover that the correct setting is the same as the distance in miles that you travelled aboard the Cloud-dancer, from the Kai Monastery to the Shezar Hills, divided by the 50 miles that you travelled on foot from the Shezar Hills to Gazad Helkona.

  If you think you know the solution to this question, turn to the section of this book that is the same as your answer.21

  If you cannot answer the question, or if your answer turns out to be incorrect, turn instead to 195.

  [21] The section corresponding to the correct answer will have a footnote confirming that it is indeed correct.

  294

  You find your lost weapon among the festering debris, but only by gashing your hand on its razor-sharp blade: lo
se 1 ENDURANCE point.

  As you are getting to your feet, you suddenly become aware of the arrival of a new and powerful evil in this hall. Instinctively you look to the crystal sphere, and your heart sinks when you see that its swirling black vapours are now oozing through the glassy surface. These sinister wisps of darkness draw together and swirl around the throne of bones like a small tornado. Then, from the core of this whirlwind, there issues a loud and hideous shriek that makes your blood run cold.

  If you have ever visited the city of Duadon in a previous Lone Wolf New Order adventure, turn to 255.

  If you have not, turn to 136.

  295

  You use your Magnakai Discipline to magnify your vision before you scan the brooding sky. Swooping and soaring among the clouds overhead you glimpse two bat-winged creatures with scaly grey-green hides and long serrated beaks. One of these beasts is carrying a large object clamped in its mouth which the other is trying hard to wrest from its grasp. It claws at its rival's neck, forcing the creature to drop the object which plummets to the ground and splashes into the dust at the exit from the gully. The creatures continue to struggle, tearing maniacally at each other with beak and claw, until they drop from the sky, both mortally wounded. With grim fascination you watch as they tumble to the ground, still locked in deadly combat, and slam into the dusty soil.

  If you wish to go and examine the bodies, turn to 124.

  If you choose to avoid them, turn to 75.

  296

  You are engulfed by a white-hot sheet of psychic fire that sears and blisters the fibres of your inner mind: lose 3 ENDURANCE points. Were it not for the protective effect of your Platinum Amulet, this assault would have been fatal.

  The stunning effect of Zorkaan's lightning attack has damaged a part of your mind that controls your Kai abilities. In addition to the physical damage sustained, you must also forfeit the use of one of your Grand Master Disciplines for the rest of this mission. (If you complete the mission successfully, you may restore your forfeited Discipline and use it again in a future Lone Wolf New Order adventure.)

  To continue, turn to 206.

  297

  You sprint across the narrow bridge and leap over the gap, but your jump is poorly timed and you lack sufficient power to reach the far side. You land short and hit the lowered drawbridge, striking your forehead hard against its iron surface before tumbling backwards to the avenue below. You shatter your left leg on impact and suffer a second blow to your head that renders you unconscious. Mercifully, you are spared further pain when you are run over and crushed beneath the wheels of a Hammerland supply wagon.

  Tragically, your mission ends here.

  298

  Your advanced Kai Discipline informs you that the only way you can release the evil power contained within this weapon is by breaking the shaft in two. Armed with this knowledge, you hurl the crystal rod at the advancing enemy troops who have reached the landing below.

  Turn to 257.

  299

  You leave the trail and make your final approach to the fortress under cover of the petrified trees. The perimeter around the base of Gazad Helkona has been cleared and levelled to provide an unobstructed field of fire for its defenders. To enter this area would have once brought a swift and certain death, but now the fortress garrison numbers but a fraction of the troops that used to patrol the battlements during the time of Darklord Chlanzor's rule, and you are quietly confident that you can cross this killing zone and reach the fallen tower without being seen.

  Aided by your Kai camouflage skills, you zigzag across the killing zone and take cover among the shattered blocks of stone lying strewn around the base of the damaged tower. When you are sure that your approach has gone unnoticed, you clamber up the mound of rubble towards an arrow slit 20 feet above. Here you crouch on a narrow ledge and peer into the dingy chamber that lies beyond the opening.

  Seated on a block of wood to the left of the aperture is an ape-faced creature with leathery, gnarled skin. It is scooping a grey, paste-like gruel from out of a stone bowl which it swallows after having sucked it noisily through its jagged fangs. You recognize that this creature is a Krorn, a cruel and ungainly breed of Agarashi that hails from the Hammerlands. While the Krorn is hungrily devouring its breakfast, you contemplate how you can gain entry to the chamber without the creature raising an alarm.

  Illustration XVII—A leathery ape-faced creature sucks gruel through its jagged fangs.

  If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use it, turn to 146.

  If you possess Magi-magic and wish to use it, turn to 72.

  If you possess neither of these skills, or if you choose not to use them, turn to 228.

  300

  You find yourself standing in a hall that is flanked on either side by a row of human skeletons. They stand at attention with their spines pressed against the stone wall, and clasped in their bony hands are rusty polearms of differing type and origin.

  At the far end of this torchlit chamber, you can see a pair of stout wooden doors reinforced with strips of polished steel. Cautiously you advance along the hall under the sightless gaze of the flanking skeletons, and upon reaching the doors you discover that they are secured by a combination lock. A single dial with a brass pointer is mounted upon a circular plate that is numbered 0 to 200 around its bevelled edge. You place the palm of your hand against the door, and a tingle of excitement runs down your spine when you sense that Lone Wolf is being held captive on the other side of these doors.

  With the help of your Kai Sixth Sense, you determine that the number which will open the combination lock is the same as the solution to the following puzzle.

  If A=1, B=2, C=3 (and so on through the alphabet until you reach Z=26), what is the total numerical value of the fortress of GAZAD HELKONA?

  When you think that you have calculated the total, turn to the section of this book that is the same as your answer.22

  If you calculate incorrectly, or if you are unable to answer this puzzle, turn instead to 183.

  [22] The section corresponding to the correct answer will have a footnote confirming that it is indeed correct.

  301

  Hastily you recite the words of the Old Kingdom Spell Shield as you circle your right palm before your face. The spell is only just materializing when the speeding bolt strikes and penetrates this magical barrier, ripping through it with a splash of sizzling sparks. The bolt is deflected away from your face, but it strikes you in the chest and you are knocked back by the force of its impact: lose 4 ENDURANCE points.

  If you have survived this wounding, turn to 287.

  302

  You begin your search by lifting the lid of the wooden chest that rests beside the door. Your Sixth Sense tells you that it is unlocked and unguarded by traps, and inside you discover why: it is filled with dirty, threadbare clothing. A cursory search of these grimy garments reveals a Copper Key (if you wish to keep this key, record it on your Action Chart as a Backpack Item).

  Next, you examine the altar and the dark alcove that lies behind its shattered stone surface. Engraved into the curved wall of the alcove you discover several runes of unknown origin. You are tracing your finger around one of these ancient marks when suddenly you detect a secret panel.

  If you possess Telegnosis, turn to 169.

  If you do not, turn to 96.

  303

  You look across the steel platform and your eye falls upon a bronze statue of Darklord Chlanzor, partially hidden by one of the observatory's roof supports. A bold idea leaps into your mind and you race over to the statue and get behind it. The rotund likeness of Chlanzor is top-heavy, and when you barge into it with your shoulder, it topples over and rolls towards the stairs. Hurriedly you give it another hefty shove and it barrels down the steps towards the startled assault trooper.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

  If the number you have picked is 4 or lower, turn to 104.

  If it is 5 or higher, turn to 231
.

  304

  A bitter wind arises from the north as the gloom of dusk surrenders to darkness. It whips the sulphurous dust into whirling eddies that skitter across the valley floor and dance away into the distance. Determinedly you trek towards the hill trail with your head lowered and your cloak drawn close about you. Blasts of grit sting your face and hands and, as you struggle up the steep track towards the crest of the hill, you are forced to lean into the wind to keep from being blown over. As you slowly draw closer to the hill crest, you catch sight of a rocky knoll that promises some protection from this vicious dust storm.

  If you possess Elementalism and have attained the rank of Kai Grand Guardian, turn to 170.

  If you do not possess this skill, or if you have yet to attain this level of Kai Mastery, turn to 258.