Mydnight's Hero (26 page)
You are stunned by the shock of impact upon hitting the water (lose 2
ENDURANCE
points), but you swiftly muster your senses and fight to stay astride your horse. Prince Karvas and his mount come crashing down into the water nearby and, in a tangle of flailing limbs, you are all swept away by the river's irresistible current.
You are sped along by the rushing water for more than 5 miles before you reach a stretch of shallows at a bend in the river. Here you are able to regain control of your frightened horses and coax them towards the bank. Bruised and bedraggled, you stagger out of the water and collapse on the muddy shore, gasping for breath.
When you fully recover, you find that you have lost 1 Special Item, 1 Weapon, 2 Backpack Items, and half of the money in your Belt Pouch during your ordeal in the river. (Make the necessary adjustments to your
Action Chart
— you may choose which items to erase.)
To leave the river and return to the trail,
turn to 80
.
You look to the nearby barge, with its cargo of logs strapped to its deck, and a bold plan forms in your mind. Drawing upon your mastery of Elementalism, you cause one of these canvas straps to ignite spontaneously. Rapidly the fire burns through the strap and, with a thunderous roar, five of the heavy logs roll off the deck and splash into the river. Sped along by the swift current, they ram into other barges moored downstream and punch holes through their hulls at the waterline. When the guards on the parapet see one of the barges sinking, they raise the alarm and muster a rescue party to attempt to save its valuable cargo.
Under cover of the sudden commotion, you and Karvas creep towards the river arch and pass beneath it without being seen.
Your advanced tracking skills alert you to the presence of a concealed pit which bisects the trail ahead. It has been covered with pine branches and camouflaged with a thin layer of earth and stones, so as to make it indistinguishable from the rest of the trail. Cautiously you approach this trap and, using your Kai Weapon, you lift away some of the branches. Beneath you discover a deep pit lined with sharpened stakes.
Carefully you and Acraban skirt around the edge of this trap and then continue along the track towards the clearing.
The sound of fighting has been heard in the tavern and a group of anxious locals, led by the tavern-keeper and armed with pitchforks and staves, are gathering outside in the courtyard. Rather than attempt to reason with them, you and Karvas saddle two fresh horses and gallop out of the stables as fast as you can. The tavern-keeper and his patrons scatter in all directions to avoid being trampled as you race across the courtyard and escape onto the highway beyond.
Despite your fatigue, you force yourselves to ride all night. Early next morning, you stop to rest in a small coppice that borders the highway. Before you sleep, you must eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points (unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery).
To continue,
turn to 267
.
Hastily you utter the words of Old Kingdom Spell
Shield
and make a circular motion with the palm of your right hand. The shield of energy you create has only partially formed when the dagger strikes, yet it is sufficient to deflect it away from your chest.
The guard gasps with shock and turns to run, but you leap on him and drag him to the ground. In his blind panic he is able to squirm from under you and scramble to his feet. He tries to land a kick to your chin but you turn his foot aside with your forearm and it brushes harmlessly past your head. As he struggles to regain his balance, you spring to your feet and attack.
Tehda Stables Guard:
COMBAT SKILL
24
ENDURANCE
24
(You fight this combat without weapons; ignore all weapon bonuses.)
If you win the fight,
turn to 316
.
You speak the words of the Brotherhood Spell
Counterspell
and direct its power at the whirling swords. The blades are slowed by the effects of your spell, but the magic that animates them is far stronger than your own. You have slowed them but this will not prevent them from attacking again.
Once more the deadly blades draw sparks from the stone ceiling, and then they come whirling down towards your head.
Sadanzo's sorcerous blades:
COMBAT SKILL
40
ENDURANCE
20
These blades are immune to all forms of psychic attack. If you possess the Kai Weapon ‘Valiance’, you may add the additional
COMBAT SKILL
bonus (versus magicians) to your score when calculating your Combat Ratio.
If you win the fight,
turn to 106
.
You draw upon your Kai Mastery to protect your mind from these powerful pulses of psychic energy. The physical pain of this attack rapidly fades as you feel your mental defences strengthening and locking together to form an impenetrable wall. The attacking pulses break like waves smashing themselves against a rocky shore, and then abruptly their energy dissipates and the attack ceases.
Confident in your natural agility, you descend the rough stone wall until you are able to lower the buckle-end of your belt within reach of the Prince's free hand. The instant he grabs the buckle, you assist him to climb back to the surface. Gasping for breath, you drag yourselves over the lip of the cavity and collapse onto the cold stone floor. When Karvas reaches over to shake you by the hand, you happen by chance to notice that he has a crescent-shaped birthmark on his right wrist. Between gasps of breath, he thanks you earnestly for your timely help. Had you not acted when you did he feels certain that he would have lost his grip and fallen into the raging river.
The rolling plain to the west of Bakhasa is a bleak and barren steppe that is studded with countless thousands of sawn-off tree stumps. Once this region was part of the Great Forest of Kelderwood, yet in recent times the ruler of Bhanar, Autarch Sejanoz, has commanded the Bakhasians to harvest the forest's valuable hardwood and dispatch it downstream to feed the insatiable imperial shipyards of Otavai. Travelling on foot, the stumps are no obstruction to your progress and you are able to press on without stopping until late in the afternoon. As you crest a ridge of high ground, you spot a troop of horsemen escorting a line of wagons laden with timber. They are less than a mile distant and they appear to be heading towards a settlement on the banks of the River Tehda. You wait and watch them until they are dots on the horizon before continuing your trek towards the city of Bakhasa.
You are within 20 miles of Bakhasa when dusk begins to darken the gloomy sky. Karvas requests that you stop and rest awhile before making a final push for the city. You are feeling hungry after your long day's march and you readily agree. (Unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, you must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.)
Night falls within an hour of you resuming your trek, yet the distant lights of Bakhasa and its surrounding settlements enable you to stay on course and maintain an impressive pace. The city is lit by hundreds of fiery beacons which mark the outline of its ancient perimeter wall and angular watchtowers. These fires also illuminate the surface of the River Tehda which passes through the centre of Bakhasa. To the south of the city, lines of tethered barges stacked high with logs lie moored along both of its paved banks. Under cover of the night, you are able to move through the outlying settlements without being seen. When at last you hear a bell in the city tolling the midnight hour, you find yourself upon a knoll overlooking a rutted road which approaches Bakhasa's west gate. Using your night vision, you scan the high perimeter wall and note the positions of guards posted around its tiled parapet. They are greatest in number above a wide stone archway where the glimmering river flows out of the city. Prince Karvas is eager to enter the city before dawn and he asks you to choose the way. Aware that it may prove easier to find and take some horses while most of Bakhasa's inhabitants are still asleep, you scan the perimeter wall once more and consider how best you can pass beyond it.
Illustration XIII—Fiery beacons illuminate the surface of the River Tehda.
If you wish to attempt to enter Bakhasa by way of its west gate,
turn to 311
.
If you decide to attempt entry to the city by way of the river arch,
turn to 94
.
The man pockets your money (erase the appropriate amount from your
Action Chart
) and chuckles to himself as he swaggers to the side of the bridge. Karvas asks that he pull the cart aside so that you can ride across, but the man sneers at the Prince's request.
‘Move it y'selves!’ he bellows. Cursing his insolence, you jump down from the saddle and drag the cart lengthways to make room enough to pass. Then you remount your horse and ride with Karvas, in single file, across to the other side.
The River Ioma is the political boundary between the realms of Lunarlia and Siyen. For centuries, Voshno has been claimed by both kingdoms and its inhabitants have grown used to the disruption that comes from living astride a border between two frequently-warring nations. Currently the hamlet is divided evenly. You notice that Prince Karvas is smiling as he rides with you away from the river, and you ask him why this is so, especially after having just been fleeced by the boorish toll collector. He explains that this half of Voshno is Siyenese territory, part of his native country. After ten years in exile he has at last returned to his homeland.
There is less than an hour left before it will be dark, and so you suggest to him that you stop at an inn to celebrate his return home over a tankard of Siyenese ale. He agrees, and you ride into the courtyard of the nearest tavern. Outside its door there hangs a board displaying the prices of its food, ale, and lodging. Its list of charges have all been struck out and replaced with new figures that are ten times more than the original costs. Shocked by the exorbitant prices, you decide to forgo your celebratory ale and leave Voshno.
You camp for the night in a copse of elm trees that borders the trail, a mile to the east of the hamlet. Before you sleep, you must eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points (unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery).
To continue,
turn to 125
.
You cross the narrow village street and approach the two Cavalian lordlings as they stroll leisurely towards the jetty.
‘Good evening, my lords,’ says Karvas, politely. ‘My friend and I were wondering if you two gentlemen would care to sell us your tickets for the riverboat to Seroa?’
The taller man utters a terse laugh and he flicks his fingers at Karvas dismissively. ‘We've waited many years for Baron Sadanzo to come to power and we do not intend to miss his crowning.’
‘ 'Tis so,’ whines his stout companion. ‘We have no tickets to sell and we are fast growing tired of your impudence. Begone, you fellows. Leave us be.’
If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use it,
turn to 65
.
If you do not possess this skill, or if you choose not to use it,
turn to 181
.