The Masters of Darkness (11 page)

The creature soon accepts that you are its new master and becomes totally obedient to your commands. It lowers its head and allows you to climb onto its back, where you settle into a comfortable saddle, high-backed and luxuriously padded. A tug on the gem-encrusted reins, and the Zlanbeast takes to the air, climbing with breathtaking speed into the night sky. High above the ironclad fleet, you turn the beast towards the west and begin a journey that you pray will end safely in Aarnak.

Turn to 36
.

Davan, and the remnants of his crew, are clinging in desperation to the flotsam that surrounds their dying ship. Many are wounded and their pitiful cries for help can clearly be heard aboard the Drakkarim ironclad. The enemy captain watches them through narrowed eyes, an evil sneer spreading slowly across his brutal face as he reaches for the mechanism that will launch a fire-missile into their midst.

If you have a Bow and wish to fire at the captain to prevent him from murdering your fellow countrymen,
turn to 131
.

If you do not have a Bow or do not wish to fire at the captain,
turn to 239
.

You sense the creature weaken as your psychic barrier prevents your fear which it needs in order to maintain its strength, from escaping. It howls its ghostly frustration and launches itself at your throat.

Mind Reaper:
COMBAT SKILL
 24   
ENDURANCE
 32

This supernatural creature is especially susceptible to psychic attack. Double all bonuses you would normally receive if you choose to use either Mindblast or Psi-surge during the combat.

If you win the combat,
turn to 306
.

The lookouts are naturally curious about the only passenger aboard their ship, especially as he keeps company with Guildmaster Banedon, the most highly respected magician in Sommerlund. They question you keenly about your mission to Durenor, but when you insist that you are sworn to secrecy, they pursue the matter no further — with you at least.

You learn that they hail from the Kirlundin Isles, a fiefdom famed for its brave and intrepid seafarers, whose ships have protected the coasts of Sommerlund for more than a thousand years. It shocks you deeply to learn that, during your exile in the Daziarn, the Darklords have destroyed the Kirlundin fleet and laid to waste the once fertile isles.

‘We'll soon free our isles from that vile cur Gnaag,’ growls one disgruntled sailor. The others echo his sentiment, but behind their bravado you sense their fear that they may never live to see their islands free again.

A brooding silence descends on the deck and you decide it would be wise to get some rest before dawn breaks. One of the ship's mates volunteers to show you to your quarters, and you accept his help gratefully.

Turn to 24
.

The passage descends for several hundred yards before it levels out and becomes far wider. Beetle-shaped gems embedded in the walls radiate a flickering white glow that bathes this section of the tunnel in a ghostly light, and, as you move along it, you notice a figure in the middle distance, limping towards you. You recognize the figure to be a Ligan, dressed in a silver-grey hooded robe that is identical to the one you wear.

If you wish to try to hide from this creature,
turn to 46
.

If you decide to ignore him and continue along the tunnel,
turn to 160
.

The eastern face of the Durncrag Mountains is a sheer wall of granite that rises over six thousand feet to a peak known as Mount Lajakodak. To attempt to scale this wall, especially at night and with little equipment, is a formidable and perilous task. For several hours, you search the scree-covered slopes in the hope of finding an old or disused trail, but with no success. You are on the brink of abandoning all hope of finding another route, and are about to return to the Giak outpost, when you chance upon the remains of a track that snakes its way towards an opening high in the rock wall.

If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Huntmastery and have reached the Kai rank of Archmaster,
turn to 34
.

If you do not possess this skill or have yet to reach this level of Magnakai training, you can either climb the track and investigate the opening:
turn to 143
.

Or you can return to the Giak outpost and attempt to scale the wall:
turn to 86
.

‘Kordak Duganok! Jatnar!’
squeals the Giak driver, waving his whip frantically in your direction.
‘Ok zee dik zek kog lajakim!’

The sharp-eyed Giak has spotted you among the boulders. At once the Drakkarim horsemen respond to his alarm; they spur their mounts to a gallop and come thundering towards you. Before you can attempt to escape, they have surrounded you, dismounted, and are stalking forward with their swords drawn.

If you have a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 231
.

If you do not have a Bow or do not wish to use it,
turn to 45
.

A look of horror washes over the Drakkar's face as he sees you raise your Bow and let loose your Arrow at his head. Your shaft penetrates his forehead, and the force of the shot lifts him clear of the deck and knocks him flat on his back. As you shoulder your Bow, the first of his troops appear at the rail. For a moment they hesitate when they see their officer dead, but their shock soon turns to fury.
‘Shez dok tot!’
they scream, and come thundering towards you with murder blazing in their eyes.

If you wish to evade their attack,
turn to 274
.

If you choose to stand your ground and receive their attack,
turn to 347
.

The leading minions reach the end of the alley and turn to the south, following your footprints in the slime. One of them, a Ligan armed with a steel bow, draws an odd-shaped arrow from his quiver and takes aim at your back as you disappear rapidly along the smoky street. You hear the unmistakable hiss of an arrow in flight and instinctively you throw yourself to the ground. As you slide face-first along the filthy street, you feel an agonizing chill as the arrow penetrates your shoulder.

You have been struck by a Zejar-dulaga, a magical arrow impregnated with a deadly poison. You try to stand but your legs feel incapable of supporting your weight and your vision swims in and out of focus.

If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Curing and have reached the Kai rank of Mentora or higher,
turn to 13
.

If you do not possess this skill or have yet to reach this level of Magnakai training,
turn to 38
.

One of the group manages to avoid the rain of deadly blows that slay his companions. He screams with terror, his mind unhinged by the fear of death. Like a wild animal he claws at your chest in his panic to get away and, by chance, he tears the Golden Amulet from the chain around your neck. Before you can stop him, he escapes along the tunnel, clutching it in his bloodstained claws.

If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Nexus and have attained the Kai rank of Archmaster,
turn to 220
.

If you do not possess this skill or have yet to reach this level of Magnakai training,
turn to 331
.

You try to fend off the speeding arrow, but it passes over your outstretched arm and lodges deep in your skull. For a split second you feel nothing. Then a starburst of pain rips through your head and a swirl of colour obliterates your vision as you pass swiftly into the timeless oblivion of death.

Your life and your mission end here.

Your strength and Kai skill carry you over the gap and back safely to the start of the trail. Quickly you retrace your tracks to the Giak outpost, where you take cover and concentrate on finding a way to get past it.

Turn to 86
.

At once you sense that you have stumbled into an area of the city that is the domain of Darklord Taktaal and his followers. You scan the shadows and windows and notice several pairs of watchful eyes regarding you with naked hatred. Slowly you back away from the square, but you have taken less than a dozen steps when a line of creatures begins to emerge from a doorway to your right. They growl menacingly, their feral eyes aglow with bloodlust.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you have completed the Lore-circle of Solaris, add 4 to the number you have picked.

If your total is now 0–4,
turn to 342
.

If it is 5 or more,
turn to 48
.

Slowly, as though awakening from a dream, you return to consciousness. Through half-open eyes you stare at a darkening sky and feel the cold waves of the Kaltersee lapping at your feet. Every inch of your body aches viciously — it is as if your flesh were one vast bruise — but at once you know that your body is intact and that, miraculously, you have escaped serious injury.

You are lying in a cup-shaped piece of wreckage that was once part of the ironclad's bow. On the horizon there is now only one ship — the ironclad that first attacked the
Intrepid
. It is silhouetted against the wall of oily flame that marks the place where its sister craft exploded. The tide has carried you away from the carnage, and, turning your head stiffly, you see that the shore lies less than a hundred yards away.

If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Huntmastery and have reached the rank of Principalin or higher,
turn to 296
.

If you do not possess this skill or have yet to reach this level of Magnakai training,
turn to 327
.

The sergeant stares at the gold coins and, without raising his head, he shouts a terse order to his troops:
‘Jeg dok! Dok narg gaz dik!’
Like a herd of angry bulls, the Death Knights rush forward and surround you, their spears held ready to slay you should you show any sign of resisting.

Cursing vilely, the sergeant drags you from the saddle and tears the battle-mask from your face. More guards appear, mostly armed with bows, which they train on you while the sergeant strips you of your weapons and equipment. Then, after tying your hands, they march you to their barracks where you are imprisoned in an empty, steel-walled cell and left alone to contemplate your fate.

Turn to 250
.

Using your Kai skill, you magnify your vision and scan the buildings below. You see a maze of garbage-choked streets, rusting tenements, and squalid slave huts. All bear the effects of the corrosive atmosphere, except one building, which is situated near the centre of the city. It is a tower, tall and unbent, its surface free from any sign of decay.

Confident that you have found where the Slavemaster resides, you bring the Zlanbeast in to land nearby. A Giak, his mouth hanging open in awe of your arrival, stands guard at the tower entrance. As you approach, he bows and stands aside, allowing you to enter the gloomy ground floor.

Turn to 346
.

You draw the sun-sword from its korlinium scabbard and instantly the blade is caressed by cool, golden flames. The Drakkarim leader freezes in his tracks, his eyes bulging fit to burst as he stares with awe at the magical Sommerswerd.

‘Naog!’
he breathes, incredulously.
‘Gadajok-shezag! Aki-amaz! Okak naog gaj!’
He hesitates, and then begins to retreat towards the rail. At this moment the first of his troops clamber onto the deck. Fearful of the consequences should he be branded a coward in their eyes, he shouts a battle-cry and commands them to attack.

‘Shez dok tot!’
they scream, and come thundering towards you with murder blazing in their cruel, inhuman eyes.

If you wish to evade their attack,
turn to 274
.

If you decide to stand your ground and receive their attack,
turn to 39
.