The Darke Crusade (17 page)

For fifteen days you tunnel through a solid wall of earth and broken rock, using your weapons and bare hands, sustained all the while by little more than your indefatigable spirit and will to survive. You are near to giving up when, mid-way through the sixteenth day of your internment, you suddenly break through into a passageway that is free of debris. Weak but alive, you drag yourself into this empty tunnel and collapse on the damp, fungi-covered floor.

Reduce your current
ENDURANCE
points score to 15 (if it is currently above this level). Also, erase any Meals you may have been carrying in your Backpack, and erase any potions of Laumspur and/or Alether.
¹⁰

To continue,
turn to 239
.

Captain Prarg recovers consciousness and slowly his strength returns until he is able, with your help, to regain his feet. He is cold and soaking wet, but you sense that he is no longer in a state of shock. He will survive.

Carefully you both retreat from the hole and make a wide detour around this section. An hour later you reach the far side of the lake and enter the trees beyond.

Turn to 187
.

You increase your stroke until you are rowing as fast as you can; then you hear the leader shout a command and suddenly the rain of arrows ceases. You pray that you are either out of range, or the enemy are out of arrows, but when you glance at the shore you see that the leader has you fixed in his sights. The only reason he has ordered his troops to stop firing is because he wants you all to himself.

The fat Drakkar lets loose his bowstring and his steel-tipped shaft comes whistling towards your head with chilling accuracy.

If you possess Kai-alchemy and have reached the Kai rank of Sun Knight,
turn to 17
.

If you possess Kai-alchemy but have yet to reach this level of Kai Mastery,
turn to 86
.

If you do not possess this Discipline,
turn instead to 345
.

You are moving across a stretch of beach which is overlooked by a small grassy hill when suddenly a harsh command splits the night air:

‘Halt where you are. Do not move!’

Instantly you flatten yourself among the rocks and moments later you hear Prarg whispering, ‘They're Lencians. They must be lookouts from the island garrison.’

Together you watch with bated breath as two inquisitive soldiers appear, silhouetted on the top of the hill. Brandishing their spears, they curse your sudden disappearance and come hurrying down a steep track towards the beach.

‘Curse them,’ hisses Prarg. ‘If they find us, the whole garrison will get to hear of our mission even before it has properly begun.’

If you possess Assimilance
and
you have reached the rank of Kai Grand Guardian or higher,
turn to 19
.

If you do not possess this Discipline, or if you have yet to achieve this rank,
turn instead to 93
.

In order to delay the other Drakkarim, you bundle the bodies of the Death Knights down the stairs, but one soldier clambers across them and attempts to skewer you upon the tip of his spear. You sidestep his thrust and fell him with a lightning blow to the head, but not before his weapon gashes your side: lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.

Hurriedly you cross to a window at the far side of the tower. Outside, directly below, you see a Drakkarim lancer sitting astride a warhorse. His lance is sheathed in a tube-like scabbard fixed to the rear of his saddle and in his hand he holds aloft a heavy cavalry sabre. He is cheering those who are entering the tower and he is completely unaware that you are only a few yards away.

Swiftly you climb onto the window ledge, raise your weapon, and then leap onto the unwary lancer below.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 3 to the number you have picked.

If your total score is now 5 or less,
turn to 153
.

If your total score is now 6 or more,
turn to 28
.

You kneel beside Prarg and check that he is still breathing. He is fortunate that the bolt struck him a glancing blow; had it hit him squarely it would have killed him outright. Then you hear a movement over on the far side of the chamber, and when you look up, you see Warlord Magnaarn emerging from behind one of the many hanging black drapes. An aura of evil surrounds his body like a shimmering grey cocoon, and his features no longer appear as they did when first you encountered him in the subterranean labyrinths of the Temple of Antah. Now his body is twisted and mummy-like, and feverish eyes burn from black sockets within a bald skull of a face. You sense that he is wholly possessed by the object he holds clenched in his shrunken hand — the Nyras Sceptre.

The dread sceptre hums with the power of the Doomstone that is set upon its platinum shaft. Magnaarn utters an evil laugh and points the sceptre at you, but curiously you feel no weakness or leeching of strength, as occurred at Antah. The Warlord's sick eyes widen with surprise and you sense that he is fearful. He threatens you with death, but his voice is wavering. He is unsure of his power. Then you sense another presence, a magical presence. A wispy shape emerges from behind another curtain, summoned forth by Magnaarn, and at once you recognize it to be the formless life-force of a Nadziranim sorcerer. You hear Magnaarn issue a psychic command, ordering the creature to slay you, and immediately it responds. Swiftly it moves across the chamber, changing shape as it draws closer. It is no more than ten feet distant when it solidifies into a form which is truly horrifying to behold.

Turn to 42
.

You strike your killing blow and send the creature tumbling off the walkway into the rushing black waters of the subterranean river. It surfaces for a brief moment, its arms flailing wildly; then it disappears forever beneath the swirling foam.

Confident in your victory, you sheathe your weapon and take hold of the heavy winch chain. You pull it to raise the grill a few feet off the walkway, just high enough for you to duck under the rusty bars; then you continue along the tunnel at a brisk pace. After a few hundred yards, the tunnel turns to the south. At this point you discover a flight of slimy steps that ascend from the walkway towards a darkened arch.

If you wish to ascend the steps to the arch,
turn to 33
.

If you decide to ignore the steps and continue along the tunnel,
turn to 274
.

Quickly you return to the boat and attempt to awaken your companion. But he does not respond at once, and you are forced to shake him vigorously by the shoulders until finally he stirs to consciousness.

‘Wha … what's wrong?’ he mumbles, as he struggles to free himself from your firm grip.

‘Wake up, captain,’ you retort, ‘there's trouble coming our way.’

The word ‘trouble’ galvanizes Prarg into action. He throws off his blankets, unsheathes his sword, and follows as you lead the way up the river bank. When you reach the crest, you see a dozen or more of the leathery black war-dogs come slinking out of the trees. Your senses are drawn to one of the red-eyed creatures, which instinctively you recognize as the leader of this pack, and suddenly you recall from past experience that Akataz are susceptible to psychic attacks. Using your Magnakai abilities, you focus on this leading hound and prepare to launch a burst of psychic energy directly at its mind.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Kai-surge, add 4 to the number you have picked.

If your total score is now 6 or less,
turn to 242
.

If it is 7 or more,
turn to 99
.

The guard crashes to the bottom of the trench, but before he can raise the alarm, you and Prarg are in the dugout beside him with your weapons drawn ready to strike.

Your attack is swift and deadly. In less than five seconds, you and your companion dispatch all four of the Drakkarim trench-troopers who occupy this position, overcoming them before they can even unsheathe their swords.

Keen to maintain your advantage of surprise, you quickly leave the trench and rush across the remaining strip of open ground which separates you from the town's outlying dwellings. Prarg points ahead, to an alleyway that lies sandwiched between two burnt-out hovels, and immediately you follow as he rushes towards its shadowy entrance.

Turn to 178
.

Despite its fatigue, the horse clears the trench and carries you safely beyond range of the Drakkarim archers. For half a mile you skirt along the edge of the Tozaz Forest; then, the moment the enemy are lost to sight, you rejoin the road and make your escape northwards.

Turn to 230
.

As you step away from the dead guards, you hear shouts of alarm outside the building: the roof of the stables has just erupted into a sheet of flame. The garrison is thrown into a state of near-panic as it tries to fight the fire and contain the horses which are stampeding through the streets.

You run the length of the armoury and hurriedly lift the massive drawbar which holds the main doors closed. Outside, you see the perimeter guards are abandoning their posts in order to fight the fire now raging through the stables. The Lencians are on their feet. They are grouped by the entrance to the compound and, as the last of the guards leaves, they rush forward and barge open the gates. Led by the captain, they come streaming across the flagstoned square towards the armoury, sweeping aside any Drakkarim foolish enough to try to turn this vengeful tide. With a cheer they pour into the armoury and equip themselves with weapons from its many racks of spears and swords.

‘Let's take this town!’ shouts the captain, and amid stirring battle-cries of ‘Lencia’ and ‘For the House of Sarnac’, the starving Lencians set off to obey his command.

You try to reach the captain, whose name you learn is Schera, but before you reach him you are swept out into the street and carried along by this crowd of battle-hungry soldiers.

Turn to 39
.

You breathe the words of the Brotherhood Spell
Halt Missile
and, in an instant, the first of the bolts freezes in mid-air. This swift action saves Prarg from being hit, but it does not stop the second missile from striking home. Red-hot pain flares up your arm as the iron-tipped bolt gouges a deep furrow of flesh from the back of your wrist: lose 4
ENDURANCE
points.

The lookouts fumble with their crossbows, desperate to fire again, but before they can reload you have disappeared along the beach. Shortly you reach a small secluded cove where Prarg discovers a rusty anchor. It is a landmark, left on purpose by agents of King Sarnac to point the way to the cave where they have left your boat and provisions. You find the cave and together you haul the boat down the beach and raise its coal-black sail before pushing it out into the icy waters of the Tentarias.

Once aboard, you trim the sail whilst Prarg takes charge of the rudder. There is a good wind and within minutes your tiny craft is bobbing towards the far western channel of the Hellswamp, twenty miles distant. You ask Prarg if this dark estuary has a name, and he replies, ‘Yes. The Drakkarim call it “Dakushna's Channel” after the Darklord who once commanded the city-fortress of Kagorst. They say it is a fitting dedication, for the waterway is as deadly and as treacherous as the creature after whom it is named.’

Turn to 60
.