The Curse of Naar (28 page)

The roaring flames of this supernatural storm tear at you with a violent fury. Your Platinum Amulet saves you from being incinerated the moment you emerge into the crater, yet even so, you suffer searing burns to most of your body before you are able to stagger back into the vent's shimmering light and escape the wrath of this vengeful fire-storm: lose 8
ENDURANCE
points.

If you have survived your unexpected return to the crater, you may continue your adventure by
turning to 17
.

You shout the name ‘Rhunaguin’ but it has no effect. A bilious laugh echoes from the mouth of the remaining Lord of Decay as he watches, with undisguised glee, his growing maggot horde close in and suffocate you beneath their ever-swelling bodies. You fight bravely to save yourself, but your doom is sealed when the Künae discharges a second lance of flame. It rips through the maggot swarm and consumes your upper body; death is instantaneous.

Tragically, your life and your quest for the Moonstone end here in the Hall of the Künae.

The net spills open as it touches the ground beside the yawning pit, enabling you quickly to disentangle yourself and unsheathe a weapon. Freed from the net but still trembling from the residual effects of psychic shock, you drop to one knee to steady yourself as you try to assess your situation. You look around for a way to escape from this alien settlement but all that you can see is an encircling wall of hideous humanoid mutants and ant-creatures. A tight wedge, comprising a dozen of these creatures, gibbers excitedly as it rushes forwards with frightening speed. You attempt to stand and meet their attack, but they hit you before you are fully upright and knock you headlong into the pit.

Cursing your luck, you struggle to your feet amongst a deep carpet of bones and look up at the rim of the pit, some fifteen feet above. An unbroken line of ghastly faces are shrieking and staring back at you with unconcealed glee. Suddenly, the faces fall silent and a gap appears in their ranks to allow access to their hideous leader. You swallow hard to suppress the rising nausea you feel upon seeing this creature's grotesque features. Its body resembles a huge bloated bubble, endowed with a misshapen humanoid face, like that moulded by a child from wet clay. Its pustulant raw skin is studded with warts and tufts of rust-coloured hair. Chuckling maniacally, it drags itself around the edge of the pit by means of six claw-tipped tentacles and you note, with disgust, that it leaves a trail of steaming grey slime wherever it passes. Through its bulbous lower lip there hangs a chain to which is attached an amulet, seemingly crafted of iron. You magnify your vision and see that an inscription on this crude amulet bears the name ‘Nza'pok’. Instantly you recall the text of the Tome of Darkness and realize that this creature must be Nza'pok himself, the ruler of this territory within the Plane of Darkness.

Illustration XVIII
—You realize that the hideous, semi-humanoid before you is Nza'pok himself, the powerful ruler of this territory.

Nza'pok opens his crooked mouth to reveal several rows of rotting jagged teeth. Then words of the Dark Tongue rumble from his gullet to send shivers down your spine. You suspect that he is commanding his followers to slay you and your worst fears are confirmed when you witness spears being passed overhead to the front ranks of his chaos-horde. The humanoids snatch them up in their twisted hands and raise them in readiness to hurl at you upon the word of command from their hellish leader.

If you possess Magi-magic and wish to use it,
turn to 43
.

If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use it,
turn to 184
.

If you possess neither of these Disciplines or choose not to use them,
turn to 71
.

Your third Arrow only grazes the creature's neck and fails to inflict any damage to its nervous system. You begin to feel the effects of your
Levitation
spell wearing off and, in a moment of regrettable haste, you fire off all of your remaining Arrows at the creature in rapid succession.

Your final shaft finds its mark, causing the beast to emit a high-pitched squeal. As you descend, it rears up with its forelegs scrabbling the air in a last futile effort to get at you. Then it surrenders to death and comes crashing down upon the canoe.

You land on the muddy shore and struggle towards the bank. Once you are free from the mire, you set off across the clearing towards the distant perimeter of jungle where you happen upon the remnants of a track. You follow this overgrown trail for nearly a mile until you come to the edge of another clearing. This expanse of level ground is devoid of foliage yet it is littered with strange fruits that resemble gigantic grey pineapples. Beyond these curious fruits you can see the ruins of a settlement partially overgrown with moss. Warily you leave the jungle, make your way around the fruits, and hurry across the clearing towards a statue which is crouching among the ruins. It is constructed of a smooth, lustrous black mineral and is fashioned in the likeness of some evil beast of prey. It reminds you of a hyena, but one with a massive lower jaw set with a pair of sabre-toothed fangs. Between its forelegs is a flight of rubble-strewn steps leading down to an open door. You detect waves of power emanating from somewhere beyond this darkened doorway, but you are unable to determine just how deep below the ground the source of this energy is located.

If you possess Telegnosis and wish to use this skill to spirit-walk through the doorway to investigate what lies beyond,
turn to 76
.

If you do not possess this skill or choose not to use it,
turn to 177
.

Your hasty attempt to construct a defensive mental barrier proves ineffectual against this combined psychic assault. Searing bolts of energy pierce your defences and rip at the fabric of your mind, leaving you stunned and shivering with psychic shock: lose 5
ENDURANCE
points.

To continue,
turn to 54
.

Swiftly the creature's apprehension turns to blind rage. Howling maniacally, it scrapes its claws back and forth on the stone ramp to sharpen their curved tips; then it hurls itself towards you with its fang-filled jaw opened wide.

If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use it,
turn to 326
.

If you possess Magi-magic and wish to use it,
turn to 182
.

If you do not possess these skills, or if you choose not to use them,
turn to 74
.

You give voice to the Old Kingdom power-word
Gloar!
and project its concussive energy at the towering warrior. He shudders momentarily as the invisible force of your spell-word collides with his chest, but the shock is insufficient to topple him from this narrow beam of rock and he quickly recovers.

The warrior retaliates by raising his black sword and releasing a crackling surge of electrical energy from its tip. It passes over your head and earths itself to the end of the stone beam, at the place where it joins the chasm wall. You feel a jolt beneath your feet as the beam cracks and breaks away from the wall and, to your amazement, you watch as this solid spar of rock curls up and slowly rolls in towards you, like a snake's tongue returning to its mouth.

The coiled beam retracts towards the mouth of the dragon-gate, forcing you nearer and nearer to the fearsome black warrior. As he watches your reluctant approach he swings his mighty sword above his head, slicing and stabbing at the air with it in eager anticipation of the coming fight. When you are pushed to within ten yards of the gate itself, you reach for your own weapon and brace yourself for a fight that seems unavoidable.

If you possess the Sommerswerd or Skarn-Ska,
turn to 254
.

If you possess neither of these Special Items,
turn to 147
.

Something strange is happening to the diamond in your pocket — it is radiating beams of light that pass through the material of your Kai tunic. Acting on instinct, you snatch the radiant gem from your pocket and hold it up to the trapdoor. At first there is no reaction. Then amber sparks encircle the opening like the trail of a slow-burning fuse, and you sense that the magical shield which protects this hatch is rapidly disappearing. When you can no longer detect any magical energy, you pull yourself through the trapdoor and climb into the nest of fire.

Turn to 250
.

Rimoah picks up a sigil of platinum which is strung upon a loop of braided cord, and he offers it to you.

‘Grand Master, will you please accept this amulet? It possesses powers which may help you survive the rigours of your coming ordeal.’

‘As you wish,’ you reply, and take the amulet from your advisor's outstretched palm. (Record this Platinum Amulet, which you wear around your neck, as a Special Item on your
Action Chart
. You need not discard another Special Item in its favour if you already hold the maximum number permissible.)

As you tuck the amulet inside the collar of your robes, Lord Ardan picks up a small package from the table which is wrapped in a silk handkerchief. Carefully he unfolds the patterned silk square to reveal a book which is bound in jet-black hide. A wave of nausea makes you swallow hard as your natural Kai instincts detect that the origins of this book are wholly evil. Ardan offers it to you and, reluctantly this time, you take it from him.

‘It was discovered a decade ago in Northern Dessi,’ he says. ‘A party of our brethren found it on the Isle of Khor. It was found buried in the ruins of Kazan-Oud.’

Carefully you open the stiff black cover and, to your surprise, you discover that the inner pages comprise several sheets of pliable metal. They have the feel of parchment but they sparkle and glimmer like plates of polished steel. You turn through the pages and note that every one appears to be empty, devoid of script, pictures, or diagrams of any sort.

‘I do not see how this book will help my quest,’ you say, as you flick back and forth through the seemingly empty pages.

‘This may be true while you are here in Sommerlund,’ replies Lord Rimoah, ‘but once you arrive upon the Plane of Darkness I suspect that its secrets will be revealed. We of the High Council believe it contains information about the many realms and territories within Naar's domain. It may help guide you to the location of his throne hall and, with luck, to the Moonstone of the Shianti.’

You are dubious as to the true value of this item but, in deference to Lord Rimoah's judgement, you agree to take it. (Record this Tome of Darkness on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item. As with the Platinum Amulet, you need not discard another Special Item in its favour if you already hold the maximum number permissible.)

To continue,
turn to 329
.

Using your improved Grand Mastery, you are able to successfully mask your mental and physical self from the unwanted attentions of Tzor. Patiently you wait for the demonic being to herd his vast pack of tortured souls around to the far side of Dazganon before you cross the Plain of Despair and make your approach to Naar's stronghold.

The outer gate of Dazganon is open and unguarded and you are able to pass through unhindered. Clearly the Dark God considers the need for guards here unnecessary for the walls and bastions appear never to have been manned. It is not until you reach the archway to the inner keep that you meet with resistance. Filling the inner arch is a curtain of black flames which crackle and spit venomously. You recall the text of the Tome of Darkness and retrieve from your pockets the three items that are required to gain entry to Dazganon. Then, with trepidation, you close your eyes and step directly into the wall of blazing black flame.

Add together the three numbers which appear upon the three Special Items that will enable you to gain entry to Dazganon. If you have gathered all three items, you will have noted these numbers in the margin of your
Action Chart
. To continue your quest,
turn now to the entry
which is the same as your total.
¹³

If you have not obtained all three Special Items, sadly you are doomed to spend the rest of eternity running with the lost souls upon the Plain of Despair.

You recite the words of the Brotherhood Spell
Teleport
as you run, and the moment you complete the recitation you feel your feet losing contact with the ground. You will yourself forwards and swiftly you glide along the passageway before swerving to enter the adjoining tunnel (Lose 1
ENDURANCE
point). A few seconds later the gigantic beetle-creature thunders past in a cloud of dust, hauling a long line of ore wagons in its wake. Some of these heavy wagons are empty but the majority are piled high with grey metallic rock. This ore load is heavily veined with a mineral which radiates a yellow luminescence.

If you wish to leap onto the last ore wagon as it passes by the junction,
turn to 181
.

If you do not wish to leap onto the wagon,
turn to 158
.