Dawn of the Dragons (16 page)
You lead the regiment across the ford, keeping an eye peeled on the sky above in case the enemy should appear without warning from over the tree-line. But the danger to the regiment comes not from above; it is at ground level.
As you are leaving the ford and ascending the slope of the river bank, suddenly there is a tremendous explosion. Unwittingly, you have ridden your horse through an invisible beam, a beam which has triggered a device hidden earlier among the rocks by Naar's minions. The explosion sends sharp splinters of rock tearing into horses and men with deadly effect. The blast knocks you from your saddle and, as you fall backwards into the cold water, a splinter of rock slices through your left arm and another tears open your upper left thigh: lose 6
ENDURANCE
points.
Gritting your teeth against the stinging pain you struggle to your feet and use your Kai healing skills to staunch the bleeding. As the dust of the explosion clears, you count two horses and two men lying dead in the water. Captain D'Val has lost his horse, but miraculously he has survived with no more than scratches to his face and legs. Quickly you attend to the wounded, using your healing skills to ease their suffering. D'Val, wary of the vulnerability of his regiment, orders his men to abandon the dead and cross the ford as quickly as they can.
Cursing your ill luck, you hurriedly remount and join him at the head of the column.
Dorst spreads out an oilskin blanket and you all gather round, seating yourself cross-legged on the ground. He then deals five cards to each man and opens the betting with a stake of five Lune. The game is Taluka — common in the inns of Palmyrion and especially popular among professional gamblers. With your Kai abilities it is easy for you to know every card that is being played, and so, rather than risk being called a cheat, you simply go through the motions of playing the game, maintaining exactly the same amount of money you begin with.
After half an hour or so, you suddenly realize that Dorst is cheating.
If you wish to expose his cheating,
turn to 91
.
If you decide to quit the game,
turn instead to 25
.
You feel the searing heat of the dragon's breath blister your legs as you dive headlong to avoid its deadly jet of flame.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If your current
ENDURANCE
points score is 12 or less, deduct 1 from the number you have picked. If your current
ENDURANCE
points score is 13 or more, add 1.
If your total score is now 2 or lower,
turn to 34
.
If it is 3 or higher,
turn to 213
.
For hours the sound of the Kraan's incessant cry echoes among the surrounding hills, making it difficult for you to sleep at all this night. As you lie awake listening to its ghastly caw, a sense of foreboding invades your mind and, despite your strong will, you feel powerless to overcome it. Restless and agitated, you get up and pace around the cellar until, at last, the cawing ceases and a chorus of bird song ushers in the dawn (lose 3
ENDURANCE
points because of lack of rest).
You join the troop for breakfast with Rasbarin and his brothers. During this meal, the elderly monk offers you a Flask of Aquas to fortify you on the road ahead, and a Talisman of Ishir to ward off hostile creatures (these are both Backpack Items). After breakfast, Nathor thanks Rasbarin for his hospitality and makes a donation of 50 Lune to his monastery. (If, before leaving, you too would like to make a donation, erase from your
Action Chart
the number of Gold Crowns you decide to give to the holy Vaderish Brethren.)
To continue,
turn to 16
.
After your long ride to Varetta, the youth's offer of rest and assistance sounds inviting. You dismount and approach the door, but as you are about to enter, your Kai Sixth Sense screams a warning.
Suddenly, a gang of scurrilous rogues emerges from the shadows and come creeping towards your back. Swiftly you unsheathe your weapon and spin around to face them as they launch their cowardly attack.
Thieves of Varetta:
COMBAT SKILL
36
ENDURANCE
40
If you win this combat,
turn to 222
.
The cry of the war-dogs grows steadily louder until the Eldenoran archers let them off the leash. Then, like a wave of hellish demons, the yellow-eyed hounds come bounding through the trees, homing-in directly on your scent. The leading war-dog, a great grey beast with teeth that glint like polished daggers, storms through the foliage less than twenty yards from where you are crouching. It fixes you with its gruesome stare and turns towards you.
If you possess a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 341
.
If you do not,
turn to 142
.
Holona is in turmoil. The approach roads and outlying fields are littered with scores of broken wagons, dead horses, and the ruined impediments of war. Palmyrion soldiers sit dejectedly on the frost-hardened earth, their glazed eyes and bandaged limbs bearing grim testimony to the bitter fighting that is taking place just a few miles to the north. Battle-weary officers ride among these exhausted men, cursing and coaxing them in a half-hearted attempt to rally them to arms. Few heed their call.
Illustration IX—The approach roads and outlying fields of Holona are littered with the ruins of war.
Inside the city walls the situation is tense. Every available dwelling is packed to overflowing with wounded soldiers, and the civilian populace, displaced from their homes by the army's needs, wander the streets and alleyways in a state of shocked confusion, greatly adding to the chaos.
Captain Cearmaine orders his driver to the Canatarium, the largest of Holona's municipal halls, where General Foucharl, the Palmyrion commander, has established his headquarters. On entering this crowded building, a young lieutenant rushes up to Cearmaine and informs him that his son has been wounded in the battle now raging at the Reloni Bridge.
‘I must go to him, Grand Master,’ he says, his voice choked with emotion. ‘I'm told that he has not long to live.’
If you wish to go with Captain Cearmaine to see his wounded son,
turn to 289
.
If you choose not to accompany him,
turn to 307
.
From the top of the Tower of the Sun you survey the mountainous northern approaches with growing trepidation. Banedon is by your side; so too are Kai Masters Black Hawk and Wild Weasel and a score of Kai warmarns and savants. You sense the lower ranks of the Kai are proud and excited to be stationed here with their Grand Master. Your presence inspires their courage and you feel confident that they will fight exceptionally well in the coming battle.
You look down at the shattered wreck of the
Skyrider
lying in the monastery grounds far below, and it reminds you of your sky journey from Casiorn to Holmgard. You tell Banedon about the
Cloud-dancer
and you promise him that, if your mission to destroy the Shadow Gate is successful, you will make a gift of it to him in recognition of the help he has given the Kai in your absence.
‘Thank you, Grand Master,’ he says. ‘Yours is a most gracious gesture.’
Then the first of the Lavas horde are seen, their burnished wings glinting in the moonlight.
‘Here they come!’ shouts Black Hawk, from the far end of the tower.
‘Take up your bows, my lords!’ you cry, as the first wave of these winged beasts comes sweeping down from out of the northern sky. ‘And make every arrow count!’
If you possess a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 178
.
If you do not,
turn to 4
.
You step away from the heaped bodies of the bogus castle guardsmen and sheathe your bloodied weapon. Then you take hold of Nathor and heave him across the neck of a saddled horse. Quickly you mount this steed and urge it to the gallop, bursting forth from the stables at breakneck speed. Outside, the castle keep is alive with screams and curses as you steer your horse towards the gatehouse, where, to your mounting horror, you see that the portcullis is beginning to fall.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Telegnosis and have reached the Kai rank of Sun Lord or higher, add 2 to the number you have picked. If you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, add 2. If you possess Animal Mastery, add 1.
If your total score is now 2 or less,
turn to 21
.
If it is 3 or higher,
turn to 230
.
You finish the last of the horse scouts with a crushing blow to the head, and, as he collapses to the ground, you spin about and vault onto the freed horse's back. But before you can spur him to the gallop and make good your escape, you hear the ominous
click
of a crossbow being cocked in the doorway behind you.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Assimilance, add 3 to the number you have picked. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 1.
If your total score is now 4 or less,
turn to 224
.
If it is 5 or more,
turn to 14
.
After bidding a hurried farewell to the Lord Constable and his men, you take a fresh horse and leave the inn by a door at the rear of the stables. Some of the mob have gathered in an adjoining alleyway, but aided by your Kai camouflage skills, you evade these bloodthirsty thugs with ease.
Keeping to the smaller alleys and passages, you make your way across Scade unseen and then head north towards the open plains. You ride all night, using your infravision to help guide your horse through the lush grasslands and keep watch for potential dangers. As the hours slip past you cannot help but think about Nathor and the men of his troop; they are risking their lives by staying behind as bait for the mob. You admire their courage and it strengthens your resolve to return home to Sommerlund. Should the Lord Constable and his men have to pay for your escape with their lives, then you are determined that their sacrifice shall not be a wasted one.
During your long night ride, unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery you must eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.
To continue,
turn to 75
.
Desperately you struggle to reach the Shadow Gate as the ground heaves and jolts beneath your sinking feet.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. For every level of Kai rank you have attained above Kai Grand Guardian, add 1 to the number you have picked.
If your total is now 0–3,
turn to 117
.
If it is 4 or higher,
turn to 6
.
You are more than two-thirds of the way across the river when you become entangled in the submerged wreckage of a siege engine. You fight to free yourself but, in doing so, you quickly expend the last of the air in your lungs.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.
If you possess any Sabito, or if you possess Kai-alchemy, add 3 to the number you have picked. If you possess both, add 6. If you possess Grand Nexus, add 1.
If your total is now 4 or less,
turn to 65
.
If it is 5 or more,
turn to 116
.
You focus your advanced Kai healing powers on the young man's wound and cause the punctured tissues to knit together (reduce your
ENDURANCE
score by 3 points). Your treatment deadens his pain and revives him, but you know that this remission is but temporary; the poison in his blood is too strong and too well-established to be neutralized by your Kai powers.
Through clenched teeth, he forces himself to speak. You hear him tell his father that Prince Lutha's army is being aided by a sinister group of Cener Druids and renegade Nadziranim magicians. Lutha himself possesses a ring of power, which bestows upon him an invulnerability to weapons. The boy says this ring must be taken from him if he is to be slain.
Gradually, the effects of your healing powers wear off and the brave young man slips into a sleep from which he will not awaken.