The Chasm of Doom (11 page)
The bandits close on you from three sides and move in for the kill. They attack simultaneously and you must fight all three as one enemy.
Bandit Patrol:
COMBAT SKILL
18
ENDURANCE
35
If you lose any
ENDURANCE
points during this combat, even when attempting to evade,
turn to 17
.
You may evade combat at any time by running towards Ruanon.
Turn to 307
.
If you win the combat without losing any
ENDURANCE
points,
turn to 265
.
You soon arrive at the entrance to a mine. Two sets of footprints disappear into the gloom of the tunnel and, judging by their shape and size, they were made by two of your missing scouts. You shout into the mine but there is no reply to your call.
If you wish to enter the mine,
turn to 91
.
If you decide to call off your search, return along the hill track and
turn to 191
.
The bleak, treeless Wildlands offer no cover in which you can hide from the bandit hordes. They outnumber your men by four to one, and the life and death of your entire company now depends on your decision.
If you wish to counterattack the bandits in the hope that your bold action will scare them off,
turn to 284
.
If you wish to split your company, detaching a group of ten rangers to follow you whilst sending the remainder off towards the west in the hope of luring the bulk of the bandit horde away to the Durncrag Mountains,
turn to 211
.
If you wish to head south at the gallop, to try to reach the shelter of the Ruanon Forest before the bandits close in,
turn to 30
.
The injured man is in a state of shock; his left arm is completely smashed above and below the elbow, and many of his ribs are broken.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Healing,
turn to 313
.
If you do not possess this skill,
turn to 216
.
All around the barricade the enemy are retreating in disorder; bandit war-horns announce the withdrawal, exhorting their defeated warriors to flee the battlefield. A jubilant Captain D'Val emerges from the war-smoke, his eyes shining like jewels beneath the rim of his battered helmet. ‘We have triumphed, Lone Wolf. We have vanquished the foe!’
All around you, the captain's men are rebuilding the barricade and tending to their wounded comrades. It sorrows you to see Sommlending dead, but you take heart at how few they are beside the enemy's losses.
The captain ushers you to the watchtower where your wounds are cleaned and dressed with Laumspur. The herbs restore 6
ENDURANCE
points.
‘We have beaten this foe, but I fear that it is but a temporary reprieve,’ says the captain, his face now composed and sombre. ‘The sacrifice of Baron Vanalund's daughter must be stopped if we are to avoid catastrophe, for our strength will not avail us against a foe freshly risen from the grave.’
The words of the verse flood into your mind and a chill runs down your spine as you realize what may lie ahead. In three days' time, when the moon is full, Barraka will sacrifice the Baron's daughter at the buried temple of Maaken, a sacrifice that will unleash the dead of Maakengorge — the Chasm of Doom. You know you must prevent the sacrifice.
You are halfway down the ramp when a guard turns to face you. He blinks and rubs his bloodshot eyes in disbelief. You seize your advantage and sprint at the man, hoping to reach him before he fully comes to his senses. Just as he begins to shout, you strike and send him tumbling over the edge of the ramp. The other guard draws his sword and staggers to his feet. He is obviously very drunk and is maddened by your attack — he springs towards you like a rabid dog.
Drunken Guard:
COMBAT SKILL
13
ENDURANCE
29
You can evade combat at any time by running into the tunnel on this level.
Turn to 81
.
If you win the combat,
turn to 152
.
You send three of your men into the valley with orders to scout the highway and its forested borders for bandits. Before the scouts leave, you remind them to report back within two hours.
You are hungry and you must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points. In spite of their fatigue, your men are now alert and ready for action, for it has been over three hours since your scouts departed and not one of them has yet returned.
If you wish to send three more scouts into the wooded valley,
turn to 206
.
If you wish to wait until dawn before you investigate their disappearance,
turn to 330
.
If you decide that it is far too dangerous to stay here, you can still ride east towards the town of Eshnar by
turning to 92
.
Dusk soon enshrouds the beleaguered outpost of Ruanon and you use the cover of darkness to cross the body-strewn plain towards the south. An old highway trails off to Maaken but it is choked with Vassagonian warriors. They stand about in sullen groups, tending their wounded and brooding on their defeat; however, even demoralized and dejected, they are still a deadly foe. It will be too dangerous to risk passing through their ranks, so you must use the forest to conceal your passage.
If you wish to venture through the trees to the right of the highway,
turn to 70
.
If you wish to pass through the trees to the left,
turn to 314
.
You have not ridden far when a storm cloud breaks directly overhead and torrential rain crashes down. Within minutes, the dry and dusty highway is transformed into a quagmire. It will be impossible to set up camp in this storm, so you resolve to continue to ride all night in the hope that the storm will soon pass. During your night ride you must eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.
By morning the rain has ceased, but you and your men are now very tired from the ordeal.
Dawn arrives, rain-swept and gloom-laden. A pall of drizzle hangs over the ghost city and the gruesome discord of the wailing winds of Maakengorge makes you feel uneasy. You watch and wait, your Kai cloak drawn close about your shoulders to keep out the chill, damp air.
It was here, during the Age of the Black Moon, that King Ulnar of Sommerlund killed the mightiest of the Darklords — Lord Vashna. In mortal combat upon the very brink of the abyss, the Darklord was slain by the Sommerswerd. It is said that his death-cry when he fell will echo through the gorge until the day he rises to wreak his vengeance on Sommerlund and the House of Ulnar. Your stomach contracts at the thought that this could be that very day.
For five hours you observe and take in every detail of the ruined city. The first line of the strange verse keeps repeating itself in your mind. ‘When the full moon shines o'er the temple deep … ’ The temple must be underground and there must be an entrance to it — but where?
You study every crack in the broken ground and eliminate all but two possibilities: a crypt door guarded by two Vassagonian warriors and a flight of marble steps descending into the earth between two columns of fractured pillars.
Illustration VIII—The crypt door is guarded by two Vassagonian warriors.
If you wish to try to enter the temple through the guarded crypt door,
turn to 183
.
If you wish to try to enter the temple via the unguarded marble stairs,
turn to 270
.
No matter how hard you strike the prop, it will not fall. Suddenly your pursuers charge out of the gloomy tunnel and attack you.
Although there are only two pursuers, others are close behind. You must fight them one at a time.
Tunnel Guard 1:
COMBAT SKILL
16
ENDURANCE
22
Tunnel Guard 2:
COMBAT SKILL
15
ENDURANCE
21
If you manage to kill the first guard, you can evade further combat by
turning to 87
.
If you kill both guards in combat,
turn to 230
.
You vault over the edge of the wagon and run, little dreaming of what lies ahead. The causeway wall is high and you cannot stop yourself in time from falling over the edge. You crash head-first into a quarry over one hundred feet below, glimpsing the horrified expression of your unknown friend as you fall.
Your life and your mission end here.
The tunnel descends for miles into solid rock. You are occasionally startled by unexpected swarms of glowing mine flies or fluttering bats swooping out of the darkness, attracted by your body heat.
You eventually reach a chamber where a small wooden hut has been built against the wall. You are now desperately tired and in need of sleep.
If you wish to rest in the hut,
turn to 322
.
If you wish to press on regardless of fatigue,
turn to 162
.
The bandit tumbles into the rushing water and disappears from view. You leap from stone to stone in pursuit of the two bandits who have survived the ambush and who are now scurrying off towards the far bank to alert the other bandits inside the wagon. As the bandits emerge from the wagon, to your horror, you notice they are all armed with bows which they train upon your advancing rangers with deadly precision.
As you shout a warning, an iron-tipped shaft creases your scalp and you are knocked backwards into the swift dark waters of the River Xane.
The guard hears you approaching and spins round. He stares at you aghast and unsheathes his sword. Due to the surprise of your attack, you may ignore any
ENDURANCE
points lost in the first round of combat.
Bridge Guard:
COMBAT SKILL
14
ENDURANCE
23
If you win the combat,
turn to 280
.
‘To me! To me!’ Captain D'Val's voice booms out above the battle noise. ‘Rally to me, Sommlending.’
The brave captain draws about him a shielded wedge of soldiers and charges into the flank of the horsemen. They reel and buckle as the shield-wedge hews its way through their company. A Vassagonian herald, his crimson armour torn and his face smeared with blood, breaks free from the battle and sounds the retreat. You watch as the surviving bandits spur their mounts to the gallop, desperate to escape through the ragged hole in the barricade. Gripped by panic and fatigue, they ride through their own foot soldiers who are advancing to support them. The infantry falter and collapse as the cavalry ride them down.
Illustration IX—A Vassagonian herald breaks free from the battle and sounds the retreat.
Captain D'Val leads his men to the barricade and directs a lethal volley of arrows into the shattered infantry. It is the last straw. They throw down their weapons and flee from the clouds of arrows raining down on them from out of the smoke-filled sky.
A battle-cry, proud and strident pursues them across the plain: ‘For Sommerlund, for Sommerlund!’