Shadow on the Sand (22 page)
You are less than ten feet from the sentry when he senses that something is wrong. He turns to confront you just as you are making your attack.
Drakkarim Sentry:
COMBAT SKILL
18
ENDURANCE
25
If you win the combat, hide the body and enter the tomb.
Taking care to load the Blowpipe correctly, you raise the unfamiliar weapon to your lips and take aim. The sentry is standing very still; he makes a perfect target. You inflate your cheeks and fire.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you have the Kai Discipline of Weaponskill (any weapon), add 2 to the number you have picked.
If your total is now 0–3,
turn to 384
.
If your total is now 4 or more,
turn to 398
.
‘Walk along the street to the Dougga Market. Behind the stables there is an alley. Tipasa lives there, in the house with the blue door.’
As you make your way through the dancing crowd to the tavern door, you take care to keep both hands on your Belt Pouch. An embarrassed Banedon follows in your footsteps, cursing his misfortune under his breath.
Your blow has opened a wide gash in both the Drakkar and his mount. The Kraan spins uncontrollably, discarding its black-clad rider as it spirals earthwards. With the terrible cries of the doomed Drakkar fading below, you wheel to the south to avoid being caught between the two converging squadrons of Kraan-riders.
The quick change of direction increases the distance between you and your pursuers, but the Itikar is badly wounded and you are close to despair; your mount is losing so much blood that it could lapse into unconsciousness at any moment, dropping you like a stone onto Lake Inrahim.
Suddenly, you spot something in the distance. It is a sight that renews your faith in miracles.
The merchant's face beams with joy as he pockets your gold. Deduct this from your
Action Chart
.
‘The first alley on the left past the stables,’ he says. ‘He lives in the house with the blue door.’
You hurry across the crowded marketplace towards the stables and enter the street beyond. As you turn into the rubbish-strewn alley, you see the blue door facing you at the end of the passage.
The heavy copper drum rolls from its wooden base and crashes down the tower stair, a thunderous boom echoing from the dark as it careers on a collision course with the enemy. The screams of horror are cut short as the drum hurtles through the ranks of the Drakkarim, crushing them into the hard stone steps.
Your quick action has scattered your pursuers, but victory turns sour when you discover that you are trapped; there are no other stairs from the platform. You have delayed the Drakkarim, but your reprieve is only temporary.
If you possess a Rope, you can attempt to climb down to the gardens below.
Turn to 305
.
If you do not possess a Rope,
turn to 387
.
You parry the Drakkar's blow and turn it aside, but he is quick to recover. He turns to face you and bellows a vile curse, his broadsword arcing back towards your skull.
Drakkar:
COMBAT SKILL
18
ENDURANCE
23
If you win the combat and it lasts for 2 rounds or less,
turn to 243
.
If the combat lasts more than 2 rounds, do not continue the combat but
turn immediately to 394
.
You have little sleep that night as you lie thinking about the quest that lies before you, haunted by the fear that the Darklords may already have found the
Book of the Magnakai
.
You rise before dawn and breakfast on a meal of sheep's butter and dried milk cake, before bidding farewell to Tipasa's wife. The trek back to the
Skyrider
passes uneventfully, and by noon you have reached the rocky crag where the craft is moored. Nolrim is the first to greet you, but he cannot hide his disappointment that you have returned unaccompanied.
‘Do not worry — the answer lies here,’ says Banedon, holding up Tipasa's diary. ‘Prepare to set sail.’
As the
Skyrider
rises into the clear blue sky, Banedon hands over the helm to Nolrim and bids you follow him to his quarters at the prow. For three hours he pores over his charts, making calculations, checking instrument readings, and racking his brain for the solution that will pinpoint the Tomb of the Majhan.
‘It's no use,’ he says, tired and exasperated. ‘I cannot fathom these numbers.’
As you peer at the pages of Tipasa's diary, suddenly you realize that they are written in code. What Banedon had assumed to be positions of stars is a code to three numbers that give the precise location of the Tomb.
Consult the
map
to help you discover the location of the Tomb of the Majhan.
The first of the three numbers is equal to the number of oases on the trail between Ikaresh and Bir Rabalou. The second number is equal to the number of cities in Vassagonia. The third number is equal to the number of islands off the coast of Cape Kabar.
When you have broken the code, write the numbers in order and
turn to the entry number
that they indicate.
8
[8] To solve this puzzle you will need to use the
Map of the Empire of Vassagonia
with the code instructions in mind before coming back to this section. The section corresponding to the correct answer will have a footnote confirming that it is indeed correct. If you do not see this footnote at the bottom, you have chosen the wrong section. Come back to this section, reconsider the code and make your selection again, repeating the process until you turn to the correct section.
Leaving the arbour, you press on towards the outer wall of the arboretum. Through the dense foliage you can make out a narrow, arched doorway that leads to an open chamber. A stairway ascends to a parapeted walkway, at the end of which is a stone door. You are halfway up the stairs when the sound of a crossbow being cocked freezes your blood. To turn back now would be suicide; you grit your teeth and bound up the stairs as a hail of crossbow fire slams into the steps on either side of you.
You catch a glimpse of Nolrim fighting his way through a mass of red-cloaked Drakkarim, his two-handed battle-axe bringing down three of them in as many blows. He cuts a path to your side and points with his bloodstained axe to a creature hovering high above the
Skyrider
.
You recognize it to be a Zlanbeast, a creature rather like a Kraan but far larger than its leathery subspecies. Upon its back sits a red-robed Vordak, a staff of black iron in its skeletal hand. There is a flash, and a stream of liquid blue flame pours from its tip.
If you possess the Sommerswerd,
turn to 258
.
If you do not have the Special Item,
turn to 348
.
You are in combat with two grim-faced warriors. They block the stair and you must fight both of them as one enemy.
Tower Guards:
COMBAT SKILL
17
ENDURANCE
32
If you wish to avoid combat at any time by running back up the spiral staircase,
turn to 209
.
If you win the fight,
turn to 310
.
As you strike the death-blow, the Dhorgaan shimmers and winks out of existence. Darklord Haakon reels back as if weakened by the death of his creation. The glowing stone falls from his hand and rolls across the chamber, coming to rest midway between you.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Sixth Sense,
turn to 204
.
If you wish to attempt to grab the stone,
turn to 268
.
If you wish to ignore the stone and attack Haakon,
turn to 390
.
Standing at a fortified platform in the centre of the strange craft is a blond-haired young man with deep, brooding eyes. Instantly you recognize him: it is Banedon, the young Sommlending magician who gave you the Crystal Star Pendant at the ruins of Raumas, after you saved his life in a Giak ambush.
You are so stunned by his unexpected appearance that you fail to notice the blood seeping from the Itikar's mouth; the creature is near to death. Suddenly, the great bird lets out a pitiful and agonized caw, its wings stiffen, and its head falls limp as the last flicker of life escapes from its torn body. It pitches you forward, and your stomach heaves as you plummet towards Lake Inrahim.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.
If the number you have picked is 0–4,
turn to 374
.
If it is 5–8,
turn to 254
.
If it is 9,
turn to 261
.
Without the breeze of the speeding
Skyrider
to cool you, the heat of the mountains is almost unbearable. You trudge across the loose reddish sand, your faces covered to keep the dust from choking your throats. All that seems to grow in this desolate waste is the wire-hard grass that tears at your boots and leggings.
As you reach the outskirts of Ikaresh, you pass a small round hut where a goat is eating from a manger by the door. A man appears at the darkened doorway and bids you welcome; he touches his forehead in a salute of friendship and invites you both to enter his humble home.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Sixth Sense,
turn to 365
.
If you wish to accept his invitation,
turn to 225
.
If you wish to decline his offer and continue towards Ikaresh,
turn to 272
.
Using your skill for unarmed combat taught to you by your Kai masters, you grab the startled guard by the throat and pitch him over the low wall at the edge of the landing. His cry of terror fills the air until he crashes into the flagstones below.
If you wish to continue climbing the stairs towards the door of the walkway,
turn to 372
.
If you wish to enter the door through which the guard came,
turn to 279
.
Two dwarves clamber onto the platform and hurry to their young captain's side. One flicks open a red velvet satchel strapped to his barrel-like chest, and removes a glass vial and a clean linen bandage. They attend to the wound, and, as his strength returns, Banedon listens intently to your account of the terrifying events that have led up to this meeting. As you conclude your woeful tale, Banedon speaks, his voice full of grim determination.
‘The future of Sommerlund rests in our hands, Lone Wolf. We must stop Darklord Haakon from destroying the
Book of the Magnakai
. I have heard tell of the Tomb of the Majhan from the nomads of the Dry Main. They say it is a terrible place, a place of horror and death — for what little there is left to die there. It lies beyond the Dahir, near the oasis of Bal-loftan. That is all I know, for the Majhan hid their tombs well and what few traces remained have long since disappeared beneath the shifting sands of the Dry Main.’
Your face conveys the disappointment you feel upon hearing these words.
‘However, all is not lost,’ says Banedon, undaunted. ‘There is a man who can guide us there. His name is Tipasa Edarouk — “Tipasa the Wanderer”. It is he who we must seek, for he is the only man who has ever entered the Tomb of the Majhan and lived to tell the tale.’
It takes over an hour to shake off the
Adu-kaw
, by which time you have been chased through most of Ikaresh. Had it not been for Banedon's timely casting of a spell of illusion, they would be after you still. You cannot help but laugh when you picture their faces, when they saw the Kalkoth leaping at them; thank the gods they did not think to question how a Kalte ice-beast came to be roaming the streets of their town.
When you have fully recovered from the chase, you leave the narrow alley in which you have been hiding, and press on in search of Tipasa the Wanderer.
As you step over the lifeless bodies, you notice a Copper Key on a chain around one of their necks. Grabbing the Key, you slip it into your pocket and race down the tower steps. (Mark the Key as a Special Item on your
Action Chart
). At the entrance, you see a crowd of Drakkarim and palace guards rushing across the bridge — certain death awaits you there. You continue down the spiral stairs towards a dim light below.
A small fire, over which roasts a chicken on a spit, illuminates a guardroom at the base of the tower. On the back of a wrought-iron chair hangs a Canteen of Water and a Broadsword. You may take either or both of these items if you wish, but remember to mark them on your
Action Chart
. (The Canteen is a Backpack Item.)
You hear the enemy thundering down the stairs; they will soon be upon you. However, a heavy wooden door in the north wall offers you another chance of escape.
If you wish to escape from the guard room by this door,
turn to 246
.
If you wish to stand and fight,
turn to 231
.