Read Grey Star the Wizard Online
Authors: Ian Page,Joe Dever
Tags: #Fiction, #Fantasy, #Grey Star the Wizard, #Magnamund
Grey Star the Wizard (20 page)
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
Your sad and troubled mind is further disturbed by the death of the priest, and your sleep is plagued with nightmares of torture and persecution.
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
Inexplicably, the brooding fear that lurks within you is rising uncontrollably. Shan is shaking, his face panic-stricken. Gingerly, you step through the soft mud of the quagmire. The air smells pungently sweet — a cloying odour that is hard to identify. You cannot escape the feeling that there is someone or something else in the cavern, but it is difficult to see in the eerie darkness. The sucking ooze pulls at your feet, and in the distance you see a faint light from another passage on the far side of the cavern.
‘Grey Star!’ shrieks Shan, looking down, his eyes wide with terror. For the muddy cavern floor is comprised of hundreds upon hundreds of corpses, piled high upon each other to form a ghastly mire. Shan is screaming hysterically, but before you can calm him the aura and spirit of this awful place overwhelms your mind, filling it with nightmarish visions.
You are in the Darkling Room of Mother Magri, and you must combat its fear if you are ever to leave. Add together your
WILLPOWER
and
ENDURANCE
points and use this total as your mental
COMBAT SKILL
, to be pitted against the
COMBAT SKILL
of the Darkling Room.
32
Darkling Room:
COMBAT SKILL
28
ENDURANCE
30
If you win the combat,
turn to 296
.
[
32
] There are numerous unanswered questions with this combat. The addition of
WILLPOWER
and
ENDURANCE
is straightforward, but which attribute do you lower when wounded in this mental combat? A mental combat would suggest that you will lose
WILLPOWER
as this is the measure of you mental strength. It is possible to have a negative
WILLPOWER
score which would mean that the combat would only come to an end when the Darkling Room's
ENDURANCE
was lowered to 0. Using your true
ENDURANCE
score is the less paradoxical route.
In either case, if your
WILLPOWER
or
ENDURANCE
score is lowered during a round of combat, do you then adjust your combined
WILLPOWER
and
ENDURANCE
score which is serving as your
COMBAT SKILL
for this combat?
There are no easy answers to these questions. It is up to the reader to decide which solution is most appropriate.
Also, you cannot use your Wizard's Staff in this combat; since the combat is mental in nature, it would be inappropriate to use it, which means that you should not be able to use
WILLPOWER
to multiply your opponent's loss of
ENDURANCE
.
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
You turn away and set a swift pace along the tunnel. The soldier Mantiz gives chase, and you break into a run. The fearsome creature is gaining on you when suddenly you see another of its kind coming from the opposite direction, its long feelers and claws reaching out in anticipation. You are trapped between them and must fight them both together.
2 Soldier Mantiz:
COMBAT SKILL
18
ENDURANCE
20
If you win the combat,
turn to 213
.
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
You wake and raise your body slowly. Your head is pounding, and your vision is blurred. Realization of your terrible plight comes flooding back, and you look around you. In the corner sits a hunched and groaning figure, dressed in furs and gaudy robes now stained with dirt. He sits with his hands clasped over his pot belly. ‘Welcome,’ he says, sardonically.
You talk to the little man and he tells you about himself. His name is Shan Li, a trader familiar with all parts of the Shadakine Empire and many strange lands beyond. He is a harmless merchant, arrested a few hours ago while in the middle of a drunken reverie in an establishment called the Inn of the Laughing Moon, a popular watering hole for travellers and strangers to the Port of Suhn.
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
The blade misses its target. Slowly you are dragged into a clutch of crimson needles. As the barbs sink into your flesh, your body stiffens with paralysis, relaxing only when death comes mercifully to claim you.
Your life and your adventure end here.
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
Your leg is numb and hinders your climb, but somehow you reach the top of the shaft without falling. You feel the brush of an insect's feeler across your leg, and you shudder. A surge of adrenalin rushes through your veins, and you clear the last few feet of the shaft with a tremendous physical effort.
You have made it to the surface at last, and blinking in the sunlight, you view a large clearing surrounded by towering trees and dense, green foliage.
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
Suddenly you remember the Medallion given to you by the ‘Redeemer’ in the Inn of the Laughing Moon. You take it out and stare intently at the rune inscribed upon it. Surely there is some clue here. You take out the pink potion that the ‘Redeemer’ gave you and pull out the stopper of the vial. Sniffing the contents, you recognize the scent of Calacena: a mushroom whose spores induce visions much prized by magicians and illusionists. With some trepidation, you swallow the potion and discard the contaminated vial. (Delete this Backpack Item from your
Action Chart
.) You stare once again at the Medallion as the potion begins to take effect.
A close examination of the rune inscribed upon the Medallion will tell you
which section number to turn to
next.
33
If you cannot solve the riddle of the rune and wish to take Shan's advice,
turn to 190
.
If you cannot solve the riddle of the rune and wish to seek the counsel of Jnana the Wise,
turn to 134
.
[
33
] The section corresponding to the correct answer will have a footnote confirming that it is indeed correct.
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
Your Staff erupts into fiery power, and you aim a blast at the Shadakine warriors, injuring the sword arm of one at the cost of 1
WILLPOWER
point. You must fight the remaining Shadakine to the death.
Shadakine Warrior:
COMBAT SKILL
14
ENDURANCE
18
If you win the combat,
turn to 40
.
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
The evening is full of the sound of the throaty Quoku call. You both put on a burst of speed, glancing over your shoulders at your pursuers. To your horror, you see that they are no longer on the ground! Instead, they are gliding up into the air, limbs thrust out to reveal large flaps of membrane that stretch from their forelegs to their back legs to form gigantic wings. ‘You didn't tell me they could fly!’ you shout to Shan.
‘I didn't know they even existed until an hour ago,’ he apologizes, wheezing, already short of breath. ‘We'll never outrun them now.’
Illustration XV—The Quoku hurtles towards you with astonishing speed.
More Quoku are leaping from their towers of stone, pushing high into the air with their powerful back legs and then gliding in circles around their columns, drifting with the warm air currents. The first of the creatures climbs gently, rolls to one side and then pulls into a steep dive. The Quoku hurtles towards you with astonishing speed: a hawk in pursuit of its prey.
If you wish to try to evade the diving Quoku,
turn to 330
.
If you wish to stand and fight,
turn to 231
.
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
Panting heavily you sprint up the steep slope of the tunnel. You glance over your shoulder to see many soldier Mantiz scurrying towards you. The tunnel opens into a circular chamber. Leading from the chamber are three exits: two stone corridors, one leading east and one other west, and a narrow tunnel made of earth leading south. You can hear the clack of the insect horde's pincers echoing along the tunnel. You dare not hesitate now.
If you wish to leave the circular chamber by the east corridor,
turn to 332
.
If you wish to take the western exit,
turn to 340
.
If you would prefer to take the southern exit,
turn to 347
.
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
Clambering inexpertly upwards from the base of the cliff, you reach the small cave. You are exhausted. Your thoughts are becoming confused and it is difficult to think clearly. The stagnant odour of the mist above Lake Shenwu fills your eyes and mouth, and your senses rail against it. Inexplicably, you lose another
ENDURANCE
point and you feel your body weaken.
You pull your head above the lip of the cave and peer in. The interior of the tiny cave is rough-hewn and very small.
If you wish to crawl into the cave and explore its interior,
turn to 8
.
If you wish to continue to scale the towering cliff,
turn to 113
.
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
Sudden as a whiplash, the Quoku opens its mouth to reveal a long, hollow tongue curled like a proboscis, which lashes at Shan, coiling around his waist and dragging him towards the amphibian monster.
Shan clings to the end of the Rope for all he is worth.
You pull as Shan's ghastly shrieks echo throughout the gorge, but the Quoku is stronger than you, and the Rope is dragged from your friction-burnt hands. (Delete this item from your
Action Chart
).
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
You know that there is no time to lose. Though you do not have your Wizard's Staff, you must make your escape. Hastily, you finish your bowl of rice containing the powdered petals (restore 1
WILLPOWER
point and 3
ENDURANCE
points) and try to conceive a plan that will secure your freedom.
If you wish to try to sleep now in order to build up your strength,
turn to 201
.
If not,
turn to 144
.
by Ian Page and Joe Dever
You decide to look for aid on the Elemental Plane. You drift into a trance and begin to chant, meditating on your need and hoping that the elemental spirits will understand the nature of your predicament. The chant over, you wait. At first, all is quiet and you fear that you have failed. Then a rumbling noise echoes below your feet, and a shuddering tremor makes you stumble.
‘Stand by the wall, away from the centre of the cell,’ you warn Shan. A large crack appears in the ground, widening to a great hole as the head and shoulders of an Earth Giant smash through the floor. You view the gnarled features of the elemental and his rough, mottled skin of clay with fear and apprehension. Earth Giants are the most stupid of elementals, and you doubt if this one will be able to understand fully your needs.
‘Escape?’ says the Earth Giant, in a stony voice.
‘Yes … escape,’ you say eagerly.
‘Tunnel. Wizard follow … earth is safe … no danger … come.’ The vast head disappears, leaving a great chasm in the ground.
‘Quickly Shan, follow me,’ you say, jumping into the open ground. Shan jumps into the darkness behind you, and you follow the Earth Giant as it burrows a tunnel, pushing with its great shoulders and clawing at the dirt.