Read The Plague Lords of Ruel Online
Authors: Joe Dever
Tags: #Fiction, #Fantasy, #Lone Wolf, #Magnamund
The thorny vines hold you in a vice-like grip. With Cadak's cold laughter ringing in your ears you struggle to escape before the hands of his demonic servant, Exterminus, close around your throat.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.
If you possess Kai-alchemy or Magi-magic, add 3 to the number you have chosen (if you possess both of these Grand Master Disciplines, add 7). If your current
ENDURANCE
points score is higher than 16, add a further 1 to your score.
If your total score is now 6 or lower,
turn to 166
.
If it is 7 or higher,
turn to 73
.
With your lungs aching desperately for air, you propel yourself towards the shimmering, pale blue light and burst through the surface, choking and spluttering like a netted fish. You gulp at the cool air hungrily and try simultaneously to take stock of your new surroundings. You have surfaced in a vaulted chamber, small by comparison with the one from which you have just escaped, but substantial nevertheless. Here, there is no shoreline, just sheer rock walls, but to your left you see a narrow ledge of flat stone and you swim towards it. As you clamber out of the water you notice the source of the pale light that drew you to this chamber. Directly above the ledge there is a natural chimney which rises into the ceiling, and at its end you see a warm, lantern-like glow. The chimney is rough and pitted, and to someone of your experience it is as easy to climb as a wide-stepped ladder.
Within ten minutes you reach the neck of the chimney and find yourself staring through a hole at the floor of a passageway beyond. The source of the light comes from several oil lamps which hang at regular intervals from the roof of this narrow tunnel.
You can sense the presence of Vazhag somewhere in the vicinity, and so you choose to wait here in case a patrol is about to pass this way.
During your wait, unless you possess Grand Huntmastery, you must eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.
To continue,
turn to 94
.
The two figures look down at their ghastly handiwork and shake their heads in dismay. As you watch, the sloat shudders beneath its bonds and becomes abruptly still. One of the robed figures stoops to inspect the creature's exposed heart; then you hear him whisper words of disappointment that, yet again, their experiment has failed.
They wipe their bloodied hands on their robes before leaving the laboratory, locking the door behind them. Sensing that you are now alone, you take the opportunity to search the laboratory, including seven of its eight smaller anterooms, but you find nothing that remotely resembles the cultivation of a plague virus. The eighth anteroom, the door to which is bolted and barred, is the only area of the laboratory you have not investigated.
Although the main door is now locked, during your search you have discovered one other exit.
If you wish to leave the laboratory by this door,
turn to 333
.
If you decide to investigate the eighth anteroom,
turn to 131
.
Straining with all of your might, you pull back on your weapon in a desperate attempt to prise the heavy chain from its mounting. Then there is a loud crack: the support pin has popped out and, as the massive weight of the cauldron is suddenly removed, the chain whips away like an angry snake.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.
If the number you have chosen is 0–1,
turn to 294
.
If it is 2–5,
turn to 191
.
If it is 6–9,
turn to 105
.
With little effort you are able to draw on your mastery of Nexus to protect yourself from the effects of the corrosive acid. Where you have been splashed, you cause the affected skin to exude a strong alkaline that immediately neutralizes the acid. Quickly the pain recedes and you are able to escape along the tunnel, away from this deadly shower.
You reach the distant staircase and stop to cut away the parts of your cloak and tunic that have been eaten by the acid. To your annoyance you find a smouldering hole in the top of your Backpack and, when you check the contents, you discover that two items have been damaged beyond repair. (Erase from your
Action Chart
those items which you have noted second and fourth on your list of Backpack Items.)
To continue,
turn to 28
.
Your Arrow strikes the druid in the back and its tip skewers his evil heart. He takes a few faltering steps, and then raises his arms and vents his death-cry before collapsing into the undergrowth.
You run to where he has fallen and curiosity prompts you to prise away his green mask and look upon the face of this servant of evil. It is an ugly, disease-riddled face, human in shape yet lacking any trace of humanity. Reluctantly you search his body and discover the following items:
If you decide to keep any of the above, remember to adjust your
Action Chart
accordingly.
Your Magnakai skills tell you that the golden rod no longer possesses any magical aura; its destructive powers vanished the moment its wielder breathed his last. You stoop to prise it from the dead druid's hand, but as soon as your fingers touch its metallic surface it disintegrates into a fine, foul-smelling dust.
With twilight but an hour away, you leave the clearing via the gap and hurry along the muddy track beyond.
Desperate to prevent the creature from sounding the alarm, you unsheathe a hand weapon and throw it at its hairless head.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you have Grand Huntmastery, add 4 to the number you have chosen.
If your total score is now 6 or less,
turn to 69
.
If it is 7 or more,
turn to 197
.
As the smoke from the explosion clears, you see a jagged, flame-blackened hole where once there had been a lock. You kick the door and it creaks open, allowing you to enter the hall which lies beyond.
Unfortunately, the sound of the explosion did not go unnoticed and as you rush into the hall you are confronted by a creature freshly awoken by the noise.
A thorough search of the druid's body uncovers the following items:
If you decide to keep any of these items, remember to adjust your
Action Chart
accordingly.
If you possess Kai-alchemy,
turn to 58
.
If you do not possess this Grand Mastery,
turn to 306
.
Triumphantly, you clamber over the corpses of the slain war-dogs and advance menacingly towards their handlers. The sight of your stern, blood-flecked face is enough to break the nerve of these Vazhag guards, especially now that their canine protectors lie sprawled in a lifeless heap upon the cavern floor. Shivering with fear, the rat-men retreat and allow you to escape unchallenged.
For a moment, as you emerge from the hall, you are blinded by the early morning sunlight, but as you escape along the trail which leads away from the caverns, your vision soon clears and you see before you a vast expanse of forest away to the east. This sea of sickly grey-green trees radiates an unmistakable aura of evil that immediately identifies it as the Forest of Ruel.
Your escape is not pursued and, after a few minutes, you stop among a cluster of boulders in order to catch your breath. The surrounding land appears deserted, the only unusual feature being the track which wends its way eastward through the hills towards a gap at the edge of that unwelcoming forest. You consult your
map
and conclude that this is the Skardos Trail, the secret route used by the Ceners which leads all the way to Mogaruith itself. You resolve to follow the trail, but first (unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery) you must eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.
To continue,
turn to 230
.
You run through a maze of corridors and narrow passageways, up flights of stairs and across dingy halls and chambers. On several occasions you are forced to hide when a Vazhag patrol passes within a few feet, but your wits and your camouflage skills keep you safe and undetected.
At length you reach a pillared hall on the surface level where you hide from the patrols until the coast is clear. Daylight is streaming in through the hall door, and from where you are hiding you can see the keep and tower beyond. Your hopes rise when you notice that the keep is deserted and the drawbridge is still lowered, tempting you with a direct escape route out of Mogaruith.
Suddenly another bell tolls, adding to the persistent din of the alarm. It is coming from the tower and it signifies that the portcullis is being lowered.
If you wish to make a dash for the tower and escape across the drawbridge before the portcullis seals off this route,
turn to 241
.
If you decide to try to find some other way of escaping from Mogaruith,
turn to 168
.
‘How dare you delay me with trivial formalities!’ you bellow, and slap the Vazhag aside with the palm of your hand. The creature snarls and raises its spear defensively. ‘Delay me a moment longer and I'll see you are boiled alive in your own grease,’ you growl. ‘Let me pass!’
Your bold threat works. The rat-man's confidence crumbles and nervously he shuffles to one side, lowering his spear as you advance towards him. At that moment, a column of Vazhag and a wagon laden with weapons converge beneath the archway, blocking it completely. Chaos ensues, but the confusion is to your advantage. Quickly you abandon your undead companion and weave your way through the crowd, into the keep beyond. There you notice several smaller entrances surrounding the flagstoned square. One in particular looks promising: a staircase that descends to a portal set into the base of the citadel.
You are heading towards this entrance when unexpectedly you are confronted by three Cener Druids. They emerge from an alley and come walking towards you in a line abreast. To avoid them you are forced to sidestep quickly into a shadowy doorway.
Forewarned by your powerful senses, you are able to avoid the wriggling creepers by diving and rolling across the spongy forest floor. As you begin to rise to your feet, you fix your eyes on those vines and suddenly you realize that they are not plants after all — they belong to a creature that is hiding in the canopy above. The creeper-like tendrils are part of its natural camouflage.
Suddenly another mass of the tendrils descend and spread out in an attempt to locate you. One brushes against your foot and immediately the others hone in on your position like a swarm of hungry eels. You raise your weapon and strike a mighty blow which tears away a great swath of the creature's wriggling limbs. A fountain of ichor erupts from every severed end and, from somewhere above the canopy of branches, you hear an unearthly roar of pain. Once more the remaining tendrils seek you out; this time they are no longer soft and fibrous, but stiff and studded with barbed thorns.
The swirling mass strikes out for your throat. Desperately you hack at them with devastating effect yet more and more emerge from above to replace them.
If you wish to evade this creature,
turn to 180
.
If you choose to stand and fight it,
turn to 202
.
The Vazhag huddle together on the shore, snarling and spitting as they await the right moment to strike. On a signal they fan out in a semicircle and confidently begin their approach. They growl curses and one hurls its spear at your chest which you sidestep effortlessly and catch in mid-flight. In an instant you send this rusty shaft whistling back to skewer its owner's heart. Shock ripples through the ranks when the Vazhag victim emits a strangled squeal and falls snout-first into the mud, but their sudden fear is soon dispelled when, from the safety of the bridge, the druid bellows an angry command. He orders the Vazhag to kill you and, as one, they surge forward and attack.
Vazhag pack:
COMBAT SKILL
32
ENDURANCE
40
If you win the combat,
turn to 288
.
The overpowering aura of evil that filled this room has now vanished. You close your eyes and, for a few seconds, you allow your Magnakai sense of Divination to analyse the psychic residues lingering at the place where Exterminus disappeared. Shapes take form in your mind and, in a moment of chilling discovery, you fathom the secret of the crystal sphere.
The sphere was not of this world. It was fashioned in the Plane of Darkness, the domain of Naar, King of all that is Evil. Through the sphere the Dark God maintained contact with Arch Druid Cadak, directing him to fulfil his schemes of vengeance. The destruction of the sphere has rid your world of a terrible device, a channel through which the concentrated Evil of Naar had been allowed to pour unchecked.
You open your eyes once more and a feeling of well-being envelops your senses, as if you have just awoken after a deep and refreshing sleep (restore 8
ENDURANCE
points). A rustling sound draws your keen eyes towards the tapestry from where Exterminus appeared; it is crumbling to pieces. As the rotting scraps of material fall away, a portal is revealed through which you glimpse a scene that revives your hopes for your quest's success.