Shadow on the Sand Page 8

  If you wish to enter the new tunnel, turn to 108.

  If you wish to continue northwards, turn to 70.

  146

  For a few minutes, you watch the man working at his anvil, in case he, too, should decide to leave the chamber. However, he continues to work, apparently unaffected by the scorching heat.

  To reach the west door without being seen, you must make your way cautiously across the chamber, dodging from one pillar to the next. Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you have the Kai Discipline of Camouflage or Hunting, deduct 2 from the number you have chosen.

  If your total is now 2 or less, turn to 44.

  If your total is now 3 or more, turn to 190.

  147

  Your Kai sense tells you to beware of the man who helped you. He intends to betray you for a purse of silver.

  If you wish to stay in his house, turn to 61.

  If you wish to escape by the window, turn to 109.

  148

  As soon as you enter, the panel slides shut, and you are plunged into darkness. You advance nervously, your hand held before your face to part the cobwebs hanging in festoons from the low ceiling. You are a few feet away from what appears to be a dead end when you tread on a pressure plate, which activates another panel that slides back to reveal a small chamber.

  Turn to 14.

  149

  You reach the door to the Vizu-diar without being seen, only to find that it is securely bolted from the inside. You are about to curse your bad luck when you notice a window set into an elaborately carved panel above the door; its iron shutter is open.

  In spite of your injured arm, you successfully climb the nail-studded door and drop through the window into the silence of the trophy room. An eerie collection of stuffed heads lines the walls of this private chamber. Most are those of reptilian desert creatures, souvenirs of imperial hunting expeditions into the Dry Main. Among the snake-like trophies, and more gruesome, are human heads! They are ghoulish battle honours, the heads of enemy commanders slain in battle during the countless wars waged by Vassagonia.

  You hurry out of the Vizu-diar and into a long marble corridor, where the walls are inlaid with veins of gold and pearls. It leads to a large hall where palace guards and brightly robed courtiers are walking to and fro, but a colonnade of statues provides all the cover you need to reach a distant staircase unseen. Stealthily, you sprint up the staircase to arrive at a junction where passages head off to the east and west. At the end of each is a door with a symbol engraved into the wall above. The symbol above the east door depicts a mortar and pestle; the symbol above the west door, an open book.

  If you wish to investigate the east door, turn to 57.

  If you wish to investigate the west door, turn to 100.

  150

  The corridor heads north but soon ends at a junction where another passage runs across from east to west. Cautiously, you peer around the corner, but there are no signs of any guards. At the end of the east passage you can see a flight of steps descending out of view; to the west, you see a closed door.

  If you wish to go east, towards the stairs, turn to 93.

  If you decide to go west, towards the door, turn to 122.

  151

  Your keen eye falls upon a narrow fissure in the tunnel wall. The gap is near to the level of the scum and can barely be seen in the darkness. You squeeze inside, steeling yourself as the foul water rises up to your chin. The Sharnazim pass within inches of your hiding place, and you have to fight the urge to vomit as a wave of sewage laps your face. ‘He has taken the south tunnel,’ echoes an angry voice. ‘Quickly — don't waste your time here!’

  It seems an eternity before the Sharnazim retrace their steps and disappear back along the tunnel. With a sigh of relief, you emerge from the fissure, but catch your foot in something embedded in the silt of the tunnel floor and lose your balance.

  Turn to 94.

  152

  You press yourself against the weathered stone and try to avoid looking down at the courtyards and gardens of the palace, hundreds of feet below. You bite your lip and wait for the guards to pass, but they do not pass. It is nearly sunset, and they have come to shut the iron grilles of the palace windows. You hear the creak of dry hinges and the click of bolts — sounds that send a shiver down your spine. You realize that you are now locked out.

  To your left, the ledge continues around outside of a dome; inside this is the mess hall. If you can only inch your way around the tower, you may be able to find an open window on the other side.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you have the Kai Discipline of Hunting, add 2 to the number you have picked. If you have reached the Kai rank of Savant, you may add another 2.

  If your total score is now 0–2, turn to 5.

  If your total score is now 3–8, turn to 38.

  If your total score is now 9–13, turn to 87.

  153

  Maouk orders his black-clad troops to search the area, threatening them with death if they allow you to escape. You bite your lip and wait for a chance to run.

  Creeping from one boat to the next, you reach a narrow flight of stone steps. At the top of the steps, beyond a small paved square, lies a maze of crooked alleyways that disappear into the shadows of the Thieves' Quarter. You are less than twenty feet from safety when a cry echoes across the water: ‘There he is!’

  You sprint along the deserted passage and climb a stairway into an open courtyard. The sound of hooves clattering on the cobblestones below urges you onwards. There are three possible exits from the courtyard: a high, nail-studded gate to the left; an alley to your right; and a straight, paved pathway that leads to an arch. You must make a quick decision for Maouk's men are close at your heels.

  If you possess the Kai Discipline of Tracking, turn to 42.

  If you wish to enter the gate, turn to 75.

  If you wish to enter the alley, turn to 117.

  If you decide to take the straight pathway through the arch, turn to 169.

  154

  You part the bead curtain that hangs across the doorway and enter the cool interior. The light is poor and the room gloomy, for the windows are obscured by sheaves of herbs and plants. You are studying a curious row of coloured bottles when a woman appears. She has piercing green eyes and her red hair is raised, bound with rings of jadin. Softly, she speaks to you.

  ‘Welcome, Northlander. I sense you are a warrior — or am I mistaken?’ As you hesitate to answer, she shrugs her shoulders and searches through a pile of parchments stacked on top of a wine casket. She blows away the dust before handing you a yellowed sheet. It is a list of merchandise, written in Sommlending:

  Potion of Alether (increases COMBAT SKILL by 2 for the duration of 1 combat) — 4 Gold Crowns

  Potion of Gallowbrush (induces sleep for 1–2 hours per dose) — 2 Gold Crowns

  Potion of Laumspur (restores 4 ENDURANCE points per dose) — 5 Gold Crowns

  Vial of Larnuma Oil (restores 2 ENDURANCE points per dose) — 3 Gold Crowns

  Tincture of Graveweed (causes sickness and loss of 2 ENDURANCE points per dose) — 1 Gold Crown

  Tincture of Calacena (causes terrifying hallucinations for 1–2 hours per dose) — 2 Gold Crowns

  You may purchase any of the above and in any quantity you desire; all potions, vials, and tinctures are Backpack Items. You then leave the shop and continue along the street.

  Turn to 179.

  155

  From the view, you judge that this window is set high up in the south wall of the Grand Palace. Far below you can see the buildings of the capital, in miniature clusters inside the white city wall. To the southeast lies Lake Inrahim, an immense salt-water plain that is completely dry and cracked. To the east, a road stretches across the causeway to the town of Chula, just visible on the horizon. To the southwest lie the barren, sun-scorched Dahir Mountains and the shifting ocean of sand known as the Dry Main.

  The bars of the window are ba
dly corroded; it would be easy to dislodge them. However, the drop of several hundred feet to the city below means that there is no hope of escape this way. You climb down from the table and hurry along the corridor.

  Turn to 182.

  156

  After concentrating on the lock for several minutes, you realize that it is connected to an alarm. If you turn the lock to the wrong number, the alarm will be triggered, alerting the entire palace guard.

  If you possess the Kai Disciplines of Mind Over Matter and Sixth Sense, turn to 8.

  If you do not have both of these skills, turn to 98.

  157

  The house smells strongly of burnt incense. You enter a narrow hallway lined with chairs and walk slowly along the central aisle towards a fountain, flanked by a pair of massive orange-red pillars. A man, dressed from head to toe in black, appears from behind the left-hand pillar and walks towards you.

  Suddenly, you hear Maouk's men enter the plaza, and cast an anxious glance towards the open door. The man sees you are nervous and silently points to a cellar door.

  If you wish to hide in the cellar, turn to 16.

  If you wish to leave the hallway, return to the plaza by turning to 99.

  158

  You enter a gallery, which houses a beautiful mosaic. Thousands of tiny fragments of pearl and gold shimmer in the light of the evening sun, glancing rainbows of colour across the high marble walls. A group of palace courtiers ambles through the gallery, and you are forced to hide behind a huge pillar. You wait until their footsteps have faded into the distance before emerging into light.

  All hope of signing a peace treaty has long vanished, and your only concern now is to escape from the Grand Palace and, somehow, return home to Sommerlund as quickly as possible. Hurrying out of the gallery, you follow the passage westwards and soon reach a junction where the passage turns abruptly to the north.

  Turn to 58.

  159

  You batter your way through the door successfully, but having gathered momentum, you cannot stop, and fall headlong down a flight of stairs on the other side.

  You landed in a heap on the hard marble floor of an antechamber, (you lose 2 ENDURANCE points) barely a few feet away from an armed soldier, who is guarding the doors to the palace armoury. He is startled by your dramatic entrance but quickly regains his senses and attacks.

  Armoury Guard: COMBAT SKILL 16 ENDURANCE 22

  Deduct 2 from your COMBAT SKILL for the first 3 rounds of combat, as you are lying on the ground. You cannot evade combat and must fight the guard to the death.

  If you win, turn to 52.

  160

  Your desire to leave this treacherous city is overcome by your fear of losing your arm. You must get the Oede herb, even though it means you will have to enter the very place you are most anxious to avoid — the Grand Palace.

  The alley follows a tortuous route through the Mikarum, finally leading you to the ‘Horm-tas-Lallaim’: the Tomb of the Princesses. Beyond the tomb, the Grand Palace rises like a massive white pantheon.

  You suddenly recall a legend told to you by your Kai masters long ago: ‘The Nemesis of the Black Zakhan’. The Black Zakhan was a brutal tyrant, the cruellest of an evil lineage that ruled over the desert empire long ago. The barbaric excesses of his reign have never been forgotten in the Lastlands. The Grand Palace was built by his army of slaves, prisoners from countries he had conquered in war. The palace became his obsession; he personally oversaw its entire construction and punished the workers personally if there was the slightest delay. He butchered his subjects indiscriminately and in the most terrible fashion. His favourite form of execution was for the victim to be sawn in half from head to foot until the body fell in two pieces. However, it was the mass execution of the slaves who built the Grand Palace that made him infamous. He slaughtered every slave worker so that his enemies could never learn of the secret treasure chambers he had had constructed. Among the slaves were his only daughters, Kebilla and Sousse, who openly opposed their father's cruelty and tried to prevent the executions. In a blind rage, he ordered that they should be the first to die.

  It would have been better for the Zakhan, and for Vassagonia, if he himself had died that day. He lived for another two years, but his mind was unhinged by guilt, and he was tortured by self-loathing and despair. In the Grand Palace, the silence of the night was frequently broken by the Zakhan's moans and cries, as he wandered from room to room looking for his daughters. When he died, he was laid beside them, here, in the Tomb of the Princesses.

  From where you stand, you can see two entrances to the Grand Palace; a spike-topped gate in the north wall, and an arch in the west wall, blocked by an iron portcullis. The palace is usually heavily guarded, but there are very few guards today; most are searching for you in the city.

  If you wish to approach the north gate, turn to 126.

  If you wish to approach the west arch, turn to 79.

  If you wish to search for some other way of entering the Grand Palace, turn to 49.

  161

  You are very lucky that your enemy was only trying to knock you unconscious. Restore half the ENDURANCE points you lost in combat.

  Turn to 69.

  162

  You pull yourself into the left chimney and pause to catch your breath. The scalding steam hurts your lungs, and every move becomes a tremendous strain, for your hands and feet are now swollen and sore. Lose 1 ENDURANCE point before continuing your climb.

  You hook your fingers into a jagged crack in the wall of the sweltering chimney and try to draw yourself upwards. Suddenly, a wave of fear engulfs you — something is crawling up your forearm. You have disturbed a nest of loathsome arachnids.

  Steamspiders: COMBAT SKILL 10 ENDURANCE 35

  These creatures are immune to Mindblast. If you have lost the use of one arm, you cannot fight these biting horrors, for you will inevitably slip and fall into the tar-sorkh. Pick a number from the Random Number Table. This represents the number of ENDURANCE points that you lose (0 = 10) as you climb past the Steamspiders' nest.

  Illustration X—Suddenly a wave of fear engulfs you as something crawls up your forearm.

  If you are still alive after climbing past the nest, or if you fight the Steamspiders and win, turn to 114.

  163

  While you wait for the return of the guard, you are taunted and ridiculed by the other bully. He describes with relish all the horrible tortures that await you and is greatly disappointed when the other guard returns empty-handed. ‘The Zakhan doesn't want our northern friend damaged. He's got something special planned for him this evening,’ he snarls.

  Wicked grimaces spread across their faces as they turn to leave the cell. Both now have their backs towards you.

  If you have the Kai Discipline of Sixth Sense, turn to 144.

  If you wish to attack the guards, turn to 174.

  If you wish to remain as you are, turn to 18.

  164

  The water is becoming thicker, and the stench of the sewer gas increasingly more vile and nauseating. Suddenly the air becomes choked with thousands of tiny flies, and every time you gasp for breath you feel the thick fur of pulped bodies in your throat. The black specks build up like paste around your eyes, mouth, and nostrils, and the sharp tangy taste in your mouth makes you retch. Lose 1 ENDURANCE point.

  As if in answer to your prayers, an iron ladder appears from out of the gloom. It is fixed to the tunnel wall and leads up to a circular stone trapdoor in the ceiling.

  If you wish to climb the ladder, turn to 31.

  If you wish to ignore the ladder and press on along in the insect-choked tunnel, turn to 139.

  165

  The guard clutches at his wounds and drops lifeless to the ground. You see that the other man is recovering from your blow and is clawing at the cell door to try to pull himself to his feet.

  If you wish to attack this guard, turn to 78.

  If you wish to overpower him and capture him alive, turn
to 199.

  166

  You knead your numb arm in an effort to massage some life back into it, but it is useless; the muscles are limp and nerveless. The only consolation is that it is not your weapon arm, but as long as you are suffering from this disease, you cannot use a shield of any sort. Deduct 3 points from your COMBAT SKILL — the lost points may be recovered if ever you should regain the use of your arm.

  You turn your attention to your surroundings in an effort to find some way of escape from the nightmarish sewer. The passage ahead winds and curves like a giant snake, and the foul air that drifts towards you is hot and humid. You have shaken off your pursuers, but you now have the problem of your arm to solve.

  Turn to 55.

  167

  You pass through the door and hurry into the welcoming cool of the room beyond. You notice a large drawbar on this side of the door and instinctively lock it to delay any would-be pursuers. The room is empty, save for some clothing draped over the back of a wrought-iron chair. Judging by the size and cut of the material, the clothes must belong to the armourer.

  You can hear noises echoing from a passage to the east; the voices of hungry guards and the distinctive clatter of plates.

  You climb a wide stairway and follow a network of passages towards the west. They are lined with alcoves that contain marble busts and beautiful tapestries, each depicting a past Zakhan or a long-forgotten battle.