The Chasm of Doom (19 page)
You roll the body over onto its side and make a quick search. You discover:
- 3 Gold Crowns
- Enough food for 1 Meal
- Sword
You may take whatever you wish before crossing the bridge, but remember to make the necessary adjustments to your
Action Chart
. Upon reaching the far side, you detect the sound of running footsteps somewhere in the distance. You decide against waiting to see who it is and leave the chamber by a tunnel in the west wall.
The creature vanishes and you find yourself lying on the tunnel floor. You are breathless, your heart is pounding, and your skin feels cold and damp. You begin to realize what must have happened to you. The fungi spores were making you hallucinate; the Tunnel Fiend existed only in your mind, it was nothing more than an illusion. Unfortunately, any
ENDURANCE
points you lost in combat with this mere illusion cannot be restored: you inflicted the wounds on yourself, striking your body against the jagged tunnel walls.
As the effects of the spores begin to fade, you are overwhelmed by fatigue and lose consciousness. Many hours pass before you awake to a painfully sore throat and aching head. You relight your torch and push on along the tunnel.
The lock is rusty and stiff, but eventually it gives, and the door opens. You enter a narrow passageway that descends to another door fifty feet away. You order your men to go on ahead while you secure the door. It takes a great effort to force the lock closed. You hear the hollow
click
of the lock, but this is echoed by a click far louder. A trap has been sprung. The floor opens in the centre of the passage and swallows all your men, screaming with terror, into the void below. With fear rising in your throat, you race to the edge and peer into the inky black pit. The walls are sheer and its depth unknown. A cold breeze on your face and the eerie sound of wind whistling through the chasm is all that meets your desperate stare. With heavy heart, you bid a silent farewell to your lost men and hurry towards the distant door.
You grasp the Flask, take careful aim, and hurl it straight and true. Barraka stares open-mouthed as the container shatters against the black steel dagger. There is an explosion of searing white flame. The heat scorches your face, and you are thrown to the floor. You lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.
You stare in horror as Barraka, his arm torn from his body by the blast, staggers backwards across the temple. He has been blinded by the fire, and he claws at his sightless eyes with his remaining hand. You watch in silence as he stumbles through the black skull doors and plummets into Maakengorge, swallowed up by the Chasm of Doom.
You order your men to form a line and advance towards the oncoming bandits. They are less than a hundred yards away when you give the order to charge. The wind whips your face, carrying the echo of battle-cries across the plain as you close on the enemy. As your forces clash, you are stunned by the shock of impact. Your horse collides with the flank of a bandit steed, hurling it and its rider to the ground. You reel in the saddle and are unable to avoid a spear thrust that opens a wound in your thigh. You lose 3
ENDURANCE
points before turning to face your attacker.
Bandit Warrior:
COMBAT SKILL
16
ENDURANCE
25
You can evade combat at any time by
turning to 89
.
If you win the combat,
turn to 7
.
You storm the steps and attack. The guards fire a volley of deadly bolts, and a metal-tipped shaft passes straight through the hood of your cloak. Miraculously, you are unharmed. You raise your weapon and strike, cracking the neck of the guard who fired at you. No sooner has he fallen than another steps forward to take his place. There is no room to evade combat, and you must fight him to the death.
Guard:
COMBAT SKILL
16
ENDURANCE
28
If you win the combat,
turn to 71
.
You wait with bated breath as a line of haggard men file past your barely concealed hiding place. An escort of bandit warriors urge them forward, beating any who falter or step out of the line. Then each man is forced to take hold of a wagon and push it back along the tunnel. Soon they have all disappeared from view.
You wait, and when you are sure that the coast is clear you step back into the tunnel and press on, taking care to keep well in the shadows. You finally reach a point where the tunnel emerges into daylight. To your left, a dense copse has been cut back from the entrance, and wagon tracks lead to a timber gantry above a mound of ore. The men and the guards who passed you are now at the gantry, but they fail to see you sprint from the entrance and dive into the trees. A brief pause for breath is all you allow yourself before setting off through the trees towards Ruanon.
You have barely taken a dozen steps when the old woman drops to the floor. A ranger shouts ‘Ambush!’ It is the last word he will ever speak. A razor-sharp disc of metal whistles down from the balcony above and sinks into his chest. Then, suddenly, the tavern is full of bandits, pouring in through windows and doors. Three charge straight at you, their battle-cries loud and savage. You draw your weapon and strike, beheading two of the dark-skinned warriors with a single blow. The third bandit is upon you before the bodies of the others have fallen to the floor.
Bandit Warrior:
COMBAT SKILL
17
ENDURANCE
27
If you win the fight,
turn to 75
.
You leave three men to guard the horses and take four men into the mine. It is pitch dark but you are quick to notice that unlit torches line the damp walls at regular intervals. You each take a torch and light it before going any further. Now the footprints can clearly be seen on the muddy floor. They lead to a collapsed section of the tunnel where they disappear over the top of a massive earthfall.
If you wish to climb the mound of earth and squeeze through the narrow gap between the top of the mound and the ceiling,
turn to 254
.
If you decide to call off the search and return to the mine entrance,
turn to 187
.
You follow Captain D'Val as he hurries down the broad watchtower steps and out to the barricade. A rolling sound like distant thunder fills the air. Cavalry are pouring onto the plain from all sides, grouping up into battalions in preparation for the advance. Columns of foot soldiers in bright scarlet armour march through their ranks, herding a frightened wall of people before them.
‘They're Ruanese!’ cries D'Val, his hand shielding the light from his eyes. ‘That cur Barraka; he's using them as a shield!’
All around you, the captain's men have drawn their bowstrings, awaiting his signal to fire. But it is an order he dare not give. Suddenly a hidden catapult hurls a massive black rock through the air, straight towards the barricade. You stare in horror as it bursts into flame and disintegrates, showering a rain of blazing oil on everyone beneath. The soldiers cannot evade the deluge, and many are badly burnt before the flames are smothered. A battle-cry resounds from the enemy ranks: the signal to attack. The Ruanese are pushed aside and trampled by the onrush of scarlet warriors who now race towards the barricade.
Illustration XVII—You stare in horror as a deluge of blazing oil rains down.
The blazing oil has scattered D'Val's men, and the barricade is poorly defended. You hear D'Val shout your name. His cloak and tunic are ablaze, and he is screaming for your help.
If you have reached the Kai rank of Warmarn (you possess 8 Kai Disciplines),
turn to 255
.
If you wish to help the captain,
turn to 5
.
If you wish to rally the defenders before the enemy reach the barricade,
turn to 86
.
The ruins are overgrown with weeds and roots, but you can make out the shape of the inner sanctum of the temple quite distinctly. The huge marble canopy is still intact and will serve as an excellent shelter from the storm. As you tie your horse to a withered shrub, you glance up to see two men hiding beneath the canopy, dressed in long black robes. You order them to come out and identify themselves, but they neither move nor answer your call.
If you wish to signal your men to attack the robed strangers,
turn to 44
.
If you wish to try to capture them alive,
turn to 102
.
If you decide to sheathe your weapon and approach them, your hand extended in a gesture of friendship,
turn to 78
.
The passage leads to an iron-studded door. Placing your ear to the rough wood, you detect the sound of voices.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Camouflage,
turn to 172
.
If you do not possess this skill, you can draw your weapon, open the door, and
turn to 93
.
Alternatively you can retrace your steps back to the gallery and take the other exit by
turning to 55
.
You draw the sword just in time to save yourself. The deadly disc is sliced in two on the edge of your golden blade, and the semicircles of twisted steel scream past barely inches from your cheeks. You roll away from the wagon and sprint along a narrow alleyway leading to a bank of dense trees. As you enter the trees, you hear the shouts of the bandits close behind.
If you wish to press on towards the south,
turn to 123
.
If you want to change direction and head west,
turn to 169
.
You follow the track as it wends its way through the forested hills. You soon come across fresh hoof prints in the soft earth of the track.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Tracking,
turn to 18
.
If you do not possess this skill,
turn to 150
.
The wagon halts in the centre of the timber gantry, and the men are herded back into the tunnel. You wait for over an hour before the entrance is free of guards, and then you slip out of the wagon and run back along the gantry. A copse of densely packed trees lines one side of the track and along the other is a sheer drop into the quarry. As you dash into the foliage, you suddenly realize that the whispering stranger had been trying to help you escape. You bid him silent thanks and press on towards Ruanon.