The Darke Crusade (18 page)
You hold the bird with a mental command and use your skill to converse with it. Its response is rudimentary, but you are able to understand that many warriors, dressed in metal and riding horses, are approaching the river from the north.
You tell Captain Schera and Baron Maquin of what you have gleaned from the bird, and the Baron says, ‘It sounds to me that a troop of Drakkarim cavalry are coming this way.’
The captain agrees, and both commanders pass the word to their men to stay hidden and keep completely silent.
The spear-wielding guard notices the Signet Ring and immediately his suspicions melt away. The ring must denote a very high rank or office within Magnaarn's army for the Tukodak both stand rigidly to attention and bow their heads reverently. You approach the open doors and hastily they step aside to allow you and Prarg entry to the temple. Once safely inside, you cause your features to revert to normal before you set off on your urgent hunt for the Doomstone of Darke.
You quickly draw an Arrow and take aim through a hole in the portcullis, but the Tukodak cower behind Prarg, using him as a human shield. Again the, cruel voice booms out: ‘Put down your bow, Lone Wolf, or I'll have my guards kill your companion.’
At once your anger subsides. You sense that this is no idle threat and, reluctantly, you obey the command.
The iron-tipped bolts scream towards you but your swift reflexes are more than a match for these deadly missiles. You open your hand and thrust your palm into Prarg's back, pushing him forward and saving him from the first bolt; then you sidestep to avoid being hit by the second. 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 Captain 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.’
You crash down upon the unsuspecting lancer and send him tumbling from the saddle. The impact leaves him stunned, but before he can recover, you seize control of his horse and take off across the square. With your left hand you unholster the lance and bring it to bear as you gallop headlong towards the backs of the Drakkarim soldiers who are standing between you and the platform.
Aided by your Kai skills, you uncover some tracks frozen beneath the snow. They were made by horses and wagons and are a little over a week old. There are far more than you expected to find here, and you can tell at once that they were not all made by Magnaarn's entourage. Before he left this site and headed west, he was joined by several hundred reinforcements.
During your search you also discover some scraps of food which you eat immediately: restore 3
ENDURANCE
points. Having satisfied your curiosity, and your rumbling stomach, you decide to leave the campsite and follow the tracks westward.
If you possess Animal Mastery
and
have reached the rank of Kai Grand Guardian (or higher),
turn to 227
.
If you do not possess this Discipline, or if you have yet to reach this level of Kai Mastery,
turn to 131
.
The creature is badly wounded but its powerful natural psychic skills block out the pain, enabling it to press home its attack.
Quickly you climb the stairs, spurred on by the wintry chill which grows steadily colder as you ascend. You count one hundred and fifty steps before you arrive at a chamber which is heaped with rubble. Its only door is blocked by debris and huge slabs of marble, making an immediate exit impossible. But it is not the door which commands your attention; it is a narrow circular shaft which is set into the middle of the ceiling. It is the source of the cold, wintry draught.
Expectantly, you step closer and investigate this shaft. For the most part it is dark, but you can see glimmers of grey daylight high above, and you can hear the whistling of the wind. But you can also hear another sound, one that is quite unexpected. It is a buzzing, insectile noise. You focus upon the darkness and suddenly you see that the noises come from nests of winged insects which are fixed to the inside of the shaft.
If you possess Grand Pathsmanship
and
have reached the rank of Sun Knight,
turn to 240
.
If you do not possess this Discipline, or if you have yet to reach this level of Kai rank,
turn to 281
.
As the few remaining pack survivors slink away into the forest, you help Prarg, who has sustained several deep wounds to his arms and legs, to reach the boat. Repeatedly he apologizes for having fallen asleep while on guard but you refuse to let him take all of the blame.
Using your innate Kai skills you tend to Prarg's injuries and ensure that they heal without infection. He recovers quickly, but the use of your Curing skills leaves you feeling weak and tired: lose 5
ENDURANCE
points.
Suddenly the evil wizard cries out in pained surprise and throws his claw-tipped hands into the air. A sparkling bolt, which was destined to seal your doom, arcs from his staff and blows a man-sized hole in the wall of the fortress. As the resultant smoke and dust slowly clears, you see Captain Prarg standing over the body of the slain wizard with a bloodied sword held in his hand. With a cry of victory, he leaps over the crumpled corpse and comes rushing down the steps to help free you from the tangle of bodies.
Illustration X—Captain Prarg stands over the body of the slain wizard with bloodied sword in hand.
‘Well met, Sire,’ he says excitedly. ‘I feared you were dead and buried at the Temple of Antah.’
‘I, too, thought you dead, Prarg,’ you reply, thankful to see him still alive. ‘Yet it seems that fate has decreed otherwise.’
‘I was lucky,’ he says, ‘I escaped from Magnaarn. But come, Sire. There's no time for tales now. We must away from here. Follow me; I know where the Warlord is hiding.’
The dark alleyway leads to a square where, an age ago, the grand mansions of Lencian noblemen encircled a shrine dedicated to the Goddess Ishir, High Priestess of the Moon. But now this square, in common with the rest of the town, bears little resemblance to, or trace of, its Lencian origins. When the Drakkarim first captured Ferndour, as it was then called, all the houses and public buildings which had stood for centuries were demolished. In their place were erected ungainly dormitories and ugly communal dwellings made entirely of timber culled from the surrounding forest. The town's once-picturesque plazas and narrow, winding streets were replaced with coldly functional military avenues for the marching Drakkarim hordes.
From the shadows of a doorway, you and Prarg observe a small covered wagon and a troop of weary Drakkarim soldiers entering the square from the north. This small procession swings right and approaches an avenue which exits the square, leading off to the west towards the centre of the town. Magnaarn's headquarters are located in the middle of Shugkona and, with night fast approaching, Prarg suggests you follow the troop using the gathering darkness for cover. You are about to agree with him when suddenly the door of a nearby hovel swings open, and out into the alley step three burly, drunken Drakkarim.
Instinctively you both leap for cover to avoid being seen. Prarg drops down behind a stack of empty ale casks, whilst you dive behind a mound of rotten timbers. The moment you hit the ground you feel it sag beneath your weight; then, in a moment of terror, the ground collapses and you fall headlong into darkness. You have crashed through the rot-infested timbers of a trapdoor into a damp and dingy cellar.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 1 to the number you have picked.
If your total score is now 0–4,
turn to 237
.
If it is 5 or higher,
turn to 58
.
You clear the gap with one bound, and even manage to stay on your feet when you land on the far side of the fissure. Hungry for victory and vengeance, you tear aside the curtain through which Magnaarn disappeared and discover a short flight of steps which emerge at a turret at the very top of the Palace Tower, the highest point in the city of Darke.
Here you find Magnaarn, cowering with his crooked back pressed hard against the frost-covered wall. You sense that he has very nearly succumbed to the evil power of the Doomstone; he is treading a fine line between life and undeath. Yet, even though he is but a whisker away from eternal damnation, he musters enough spite to challenge you to a fight to the death.
‘Very well, Drakkar,’ you reply. ‘Let battle commence.’
Warlord Magnaarn (with Nyras Sceptre):
COMBAT SKILL
50
ENDURANCE
36
If you win this combat,
turn to 350
.
With lightning speed you draw and fire two Arrows, sending the shafts whistling deep into the scaly bellies of the two swamp creatures. Their effect is swift and deadly; the Ciquali screech in unison and throw their arms wide as they are hurled backwards into the mire. You string another Arrow and glance over your shoulder at your companion who, having lost his sword, is now grappling with a Ciquali in a desperate hand-to-hand combat.
The fight is going badly for Prarg. The creature is by far the largest of the pack and much of its muscular body is protected by armour, crudely fashioned from human bones. Anxious to help your companion, you raise your Bow and take aim, but the two are entwined and you dare not fire for fear of hitting the captain. Then a sudden swipe of the creature's horny fist knocks Prarg to his knees, allowing you a moment's unobstructed view of his adversary.
(Remember to erase three Arrows from your Quiver.)
If you wish to fire at the creature's head,
turn to 111
.
If you choose to fire at the sac which surrounds the creature's throat,
turn to 38
.
If you decide to fire at the creature's upper chest,
turn to 228
.
For a terrible moment your body is racked with pain. It fills your mind with a scarlet fog and your vision swims in and out of focus. The reins slip from your hands and you fall from the horse to crash heavily upon the snow-covered road. You strike your head and lose consciousness; you never awaken. The guards close in and put a swift end to both you and your companion, Captain Prarg.
Tragically, your quest ends here at Shugkona.
You hurry along this wind-swept passageway until you come to a corner. Prarg turns the corner before you can warn him otherwise, and he finds himself staring at the brutish features of a Drakkarim Death Knight sergeant. The warrior's curses echo along the corridor as he draws his sword and comes striding towards your careless companion.
If you have a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 241
.
If you do not, or if you choose not to use it,
turn to 113
.
The Arrow flies true, but at the very last moment before impact, the Drakkar spins around to face the assembled soldiers, and your shaft shatters harmlessly upon the blade of his axe. For a few seconds he is stunned by the nearness of your attack; then suddenly he points to the grain tower and begins to scream like a madman:
‘Up there! At the window! The arrow was fired from up there!’
On reaching the main street, you see Captain Schera beckoning to you from the doorway of a ruined inn.
‘Over here,’ he calls. ‘I think I've found something.’
‘What is it?’ you say, on entering the fire-ravaged ruins.
‘Come and take a look for yourself,’ he replies, and takes you to a flight of stone steps which lead down into a cold, dark cellar.