The Caverns of Kalte (3 page)

Weapons

Weapons aid you in combat. If you have the Kai Discipline of Weaponskill and the correct weapon, it adds 2 points to your
COMBAT SKILL
. If you enter a combat with no weapons, deduct 4 points from your
COMBAT SKILL
and fight with your bare hands. If you find a weapon during the adventure, you may pick it up and use it. (Remember you can only carry two Weapons at once.) You may only use one Weapon at a time in combat.

Backpack Items

During your travels you will discover various useful items which you may wish to keep. (Remember you can only carry eight items in your Backpack at once.) You may exchange or discard them at any point when you are not involved in combat.

Special Items

Each Special Item has a particular purpose or effect. You may be told this when the item is discovered, or it may be revealed to you as the adventure progresses.

Gold Crowns

The currency of Sommerlund is the Crown, which is a small gold coin. Gold is especially valuable in Kalte, and you may find that your Gold Crowns will be useful, especially if used as a bribe.

Food

Stored on your ice-sledge, along with your tent and other equipment, is enough food for you to complete your mission. If this food, or any you may have in your Backpack, is unavailable to you when you are instructed to eat a Meal, you will lose 3
ENDURANCE
points. As Kalte is an icy desert you will be unable to use the Kai Discipline of Hunting to obtain a Meal (see ‘Hunting’ in the
Kai Disciplines
section).

Potion of Laumspur

This is a healing potion that can restore 4
ENDURANCE
points to your total when swallowed after combat. There is only enough for one dose. If you discover any other potions during the adventure, you will be informed of their effect. All potions are Backpack Items.

There will be occasions during your adventure when you have to fight an enemy. The enemy's
COMBAT SKILL
and
ENDURANCE
points are given in the text. Lone Wolf's aim in the combat is to kill the enemy by reducing his
ENDURANCE
points to zero while losing as few
ENDURANCE
points as possible himself.

At the start of a combat, enter Lone Wolf's and the enemy's
ENDURANCE
points in the appropriate boxes on the Combat Record section of your
Action Chart
.

The sequence for combat is as follows.

1. Add any extra points gained through your Kai Disciplines to your current
   COMBAT SKILL
   total.
   
2. Subtract the
   COMBAT SKILL
   of your enemy from this total. The result is your Combat Ratio. Enter it on the
   Action Chart
   .
   Example
   Lone Wolf (
   COMBAT SKILL
   15) is ambushed by a Winged Devil (
   COMBAT SKILL
   20). He is not given the opportunity to evade combat, but must stand and fight as the creature swoops down on him. Lone Wolf has the Kai Discipline of Mindblast, to which the Winged Devil is not immune, so he adds 2 points to his
   COMBAT SKILL
   , giving a total
   COMBAT SKILL
   of 17.
   He subtracts the Winged Devil's
   COMBAT SKILL
   from his own, giving a Combat Ratio of −3. (17 − 20 = −3). −3 is noted on the
   Action Chart
   as the Combat Ratio.
   
3. When you have your Combat Ratio
   , pick a number from the
   Random Number Table
   .
   
4. Turn to the
   Combat Results Table
   . Along the top of the chart are shown the Combat Ratio numbers. Find the number that is the same as your Combat Ratio and cross-reference it with the random number that you have picked (the random numbers appear on the side of the chart). You now have the number of
   ENDURANCE
   points lost by both Lone Wolf and his enemy in this round of combat. (E represents points lost by the enemy; LW represents points lost by Lone Wolf.)
   Example
   The Combat Ratio between Lone Wolf and Winged Devil has been established as -3. If the number taken from the
   Random Number Table
   is a 6, then the result of the first round of combat is:
   
   • Lone Wolf loses 3
     ENDURANCE
     points
     
   • Winged Devil loses 6
     ENDURANCE
     points
     
5. On the
   Action Chart
   , mark the changes in
   ENDURANCE
   points to the participants in the combat.
   
6. Unless otherwise instructed, or unless you have an option to evade, the next round of combat now starts.
   
7. Repeat the sequence from
   Stage 3
   .
   

This process of combat continues until the
ENDURANCE
points of either the enemy or Lone Wolf are reduced to zero or below, at which point that combatant is declared dead. If Lone Wolf is dead, the adventure is over. If the enemy is dead, Lone Wolf proceeds but with his
ENDURANCE
points possibly reduced.

A
summary of Combat Rules
in the back of this book.

During your adventure you may be given the chance to evade combat. If you have already engaged in a round of combat and decide to evade, calculate the combat for that round in the usual manner. All points lost by the enemy as a result of that round are ignored, and you make your escape. Only Lone Wolf may lose
ENDURANCE
points during that round, but then that is the risk of running away! You may only evade if the text of the particular section allows you to do so.

The following table is a guide to the ranks and titles that are bestowed upon Kai Lords at each stage of their training. As you successfully complete each adventure in the
Lone Wolf
series, you will gain an additional Kai Discipline and gradually progress towards mastery of the ten basic Kai Disciplines.

1. Novice
   
2. Intuite
   
3. Doan
   
4. Acolyte
   
5. Initiate — You begin the
   Lone Wolf
   adventures with this level of Kai training
   
6. Aspirant
   
7. Guardian
   
8. Warmarn or Journeyman
   
9. Savant
   
10. Master
    

Beyond the ten basic skills of the Kai Master await the secrets of the higher Kai Disciplines or ‘Magnakai’. By acquiring the wisdom of the Magnakai, a Kai Lord can progress towards the ultimate achievement and become a Kai Grand Master.

Your mission will be fraught with great danger, for Kalte is a bleak and hostile land and your foe is a master of cunning. Use the
map
to help you plot your course to the ice fortress of Ikaya. Make notes as you progress through the story, for they will be of great help in future adventures. Many things that you find will aid you during your adventure. Some Special Items will be of use in future
Lone Wolf
adventures and others may be red herrings of no real use at all, so be selective in what you decide to keep.

There are many routes to the ice fortress of Ikaya, but only one will enable you to capture Vonotar and return to Sommerlund with the minimum of danger. A wise choice of Kai Disciplines and a great deal of courage should enable any player to complete the mission, no matter how weak his initial
COMBAT SKILL
or
ENDURANCE
points score. Successful completion of previous
Lone Wolf
adventures is not essential for the success of this quest.

The betrayal of your country can be avenged by bringing the traitor to justice.

Good Luck!

Even before you accepted the task of bringing Vonotar to justice, preparations were being made for your voyage to Kalte. The captain of the Sommlending warship
Cardonal
, having returned from a long Kaltersee patrol, was ordered to await your arrival at Anskaven. During the night, food, ice equipment, and Kanu-dog teams were taken on board. The mission was highly secret — only senior members of the crew were told the true nature of the voyage that lay ahead.

The plan is to set you ashore at Halle Bluff, drop anchor, and await your return. An élite team of trusted guides will lead you from the bluff to Ikaya. Once inside the ice fortress, you are to hunt down and capture Vonotar, and then return with your guides to the ship. Your mission must be accomplished within thirty days at most, for winter is closing in and no ship can withstand the grip of the Kalte pack-ice. If you do not return in time, the captain will be forced to set sail without you.

For six days, the
Cardonal
sails across the stormy Kaltersee without running into a storm; but every day the temperature steadily drops until a layer of ice covers the decks. On the morning of the seventh day, the snow-capped island of Tola is sighted on the horizon. Soon after, a light wind rises from the east.

At first, there appears to be little danger, but within half an hour a furious blizzard is blowing, and all sight of land quickly vanishes in the scudding drift. All day the furious gale rages. Tremendous winds slice the tops of the huge grey waves and water crashes over the decks, masts, and rigging of the ship, freezing almost immediately into solid ice. The sides of the ship become several feet thick with seawater. It is not until early evening that the weather clears, and although the wind still blows strongly, the force of the gale is spent.

You are soon to discover that the gale has blown the ship nearly thirty miles off course, along the lip of the Ljuk ice shelf. You know that to return to Halle Bluff would waste a precious day, so you decide to land on the ice shelf and start your mission from there.

As the last of the Kanu-dogs are carried ashore, your guides tell you of the two possible routes to Ikaya from here. The first route involves a hundred and thirty mile trek to Cloudmaker Mountain and then, following the difficult terrain of the Viad Glacier, a further hundred miles must be covered before you arrive at the ice fortress. The alternative route involves a longer journey of nearly one hundred and eighty miles into the Hrod Basin, followed by a trek of a hundred miles through Storm Giant Pass to Ikaya. Even if the weather and your luck hold good, either route will involve ten days of hard trekking before you reach your goal. You should consult the
map of Kalte
before making your decision.

If you wish to attempt the shorter, but more difficult Viad Glacier route,
turn to 160
.

If you wish to take the longer, but easier Hrod Basin and Storm Giant Pass route,
turn to 273
.

To your right, you notice that a stone door is cunningly concealed by an intricate wall carving. A close examination of the carving reveals a lever.

If you wish to pull this lever,
turn to 290
.

If you do not wish to pull the lever, you may continue climbing the stairs by
turning to 76
.

You watch with a mixture of fascination and revulsion as each segment of the creature shatters and then slowly dissolves into the ice. Soon, all that remains of the Crystal Frostwyrm are the undigested contents of its stomach. To your surprise, in the centre of this mess of fetid flesh and bone, you can see the shank of an Ornate Silver Key.

If you wish to take this Key,
turn to 280
.

If you would rather ignore it and look for a way to open the fortress door,
turn to 344
.

You hide the body under the staircase and quickly search it. You discover a Bone Sword and a Blue Stone Disc. If you wish to keep either or both of these items, mark them on your
Action Chart
as Special Items
¹
. You leave the body and run quickly up the stairs.

Turn to 332
.

You can see two men in ragged clothes, huddled together beside a fire that seems to be burning inside a small metal bowl. Over the flames, the skinned carcass of a small animal is roasting on a spit. The men are old and toothless, and they have a strange glint of madness in their slanted eyes.

Illustration I
—Two men in ragged clothes are huddled together beside a small fire.

If you wish to approach them and ask for some of their food,
turn to 295
.

If you wish to attack them,
turn to 14
.

If you wish to ignore them and continue on your way,
turn to 132
.