The Caverns of Kalte (16 page)

Using your Kai skill, you press yourself into the shadow cast by a pilaster. The Ice Barbarians pass within six inches of you, but do not detect that you are there. Once you are sure that they have disappeared, you emerge from the shadows and continue along the corridor.

Turn to 330
.

The sledge contains the following equipment. You may take any of the following items and store them in your Backpack, but remember that your Backpack can only hold a maximum of eight items:

• Enough Food for 1–5 Meals (each Meal counts as 1 item)
  
• Tent (counts as 3 items)
  
• Sleeping Furs (counts as 2 items)
  
• Long Rope (counts as 2 items)
  

Dyce volunteers to return to the
Cardonal
with the Kanu-dog teams and the sledge, while the rest of you push on towards Ikaya, the ice fortress.

Ikaya was carved out of the Hrod Range many ages ago, by a race of creatures that have long since disappeared. Thousands of years passed before the Ice Barbarians migrated here from the Uncharted Void, claiming Ikaya for themselves. Their leaders, the ‘Brumalmarc’ as they are called, have ruled over Kalte from the safe shelter of this fortress ever since.

You have covered nearly five miles when Irian suddenly points to the west. ‘There … over there. I'm sure I saw something.’

You halt and strain your eyes to try to identify something unusual in the monotonous landscape of ice and snow.

‘Look over there!’ shouts Fenor, pointing towards a ridge less than a mile away. Two fur-clad warriors are standing on top of a large slab of ice. They are staring at you.

‘Ice Barbarians!’ whispers Irian, his voice shaking with fear. ‘If they beat us to Ikaya, we're as good as dead.’

You are still ten miles from the ice fortress and less than two hours of daylight remain.

If you wish to ignore the Ice Barbarians and press on to Ikaya,
turn to 327
.

If you wish to attack them and try to prevent them warning others,
turn to 307
.

Twenty feet directly below the portal, you can see a man dressed in a dark cloak. He is kneeling in the centre of a large pentagram, which is chalked on the floor of the dingy cell.

If you wish to call to the man,
turn to 67
.

If you decide to remain silent, leave the portal and continue on your way along the passage towards the stairs by
turning to 166
.

The stopper is sealed with wax. If you wish to break the seal, you must risk smashing the thin glass of the Vial.

If you wish to attempt to break the seal,
turn to 54
.

If you are suspicious of the contents and do not wish to risk breaking the Vial, leave it and
return to 10
to choose your next course of action.

You frantically pull at your trapped foot and free it just as the sledge topples over into the crevasse. Fenor rushes to your side and pulls you away from the crumbling edge of this void. You both safely jump the widening gap and join the others.

You have lost your dogs, your sledge, and most of your food, but you are alive. In spite of the loss and the additional hardships that will result, your guides agree to continue the mission.

In the distance you can see a narrow passage at the edge of the ice shelf where it joins the Hrod Basin. By nightfall, you have reached the shelter of this narrow pass and decide to set up camp. A quick check of your remaining food soon reveals the need to cut rations by half in order to reach Ikaya. Lose 1
ENDURANCE
point due to the meagre evening meal.

Turn to 325
.

The stone buttons rise less than an inch above the smooth altar surface. You notice that they are each surrounded by strange, barely perceptible, hieroglyphs, eroded by the passage of time. You now have to decide in which sequence you will press the buttons. If you possess the Kai Discipline of Mind Over Matter, you can depress the buttons without actually touching them.

If you decide to press the left button and then the right,
turn to 102
.

If you decide to press the right button and then the left,
turn to 334
.

If you decided to press them both together,
turn to 299
.

You draw on all your powers of concentration to levitate the bowl of fuming herbs, and send it hovering along the corridor. You bring it to rest in the shadow of the pilaster and watch its effects with great curiosity; for in less than a minute, the Ice Barbarian guards have collapsed to the floor.

‘Now's our chance,’ whispers Loi-Kymar, and he ushers you out of the kitchen. You approach the Hall of the Brumalmarc undetected and discover that one of the magnificent jewelled doors is unlocked. Drawing your weapon, you gently push the door ajar and enter Vonotar's chamber.

Turn to 173
.

You recognize the serpent to be a Javek, a two-headed and deadly poisonous ice snake. As it slithers nearer, you can clearly see the open jaw of the second head and the yellow, curved fangs dripping with venom. It moves very quickly and you know that you will not be able to outrun it along this narrow ledge.

If you possess a Firesphere,
turn to 46
.

If you do not, you must prepare to fight.
Turn to 88
.

The Helghast smoulders and decays at your feet, a vile green gas seeping from beneath its robes. As you stare at the remains, you realize that this creature must have been sent here to kill Vonotar by the Darklords who crave Vonotar's death for his failure at the Battle of Holmgulf. The evil wizard must have discovered the Helghast and imprisoned it within a pentagram until he could devise some way of killing it for good.

You gingerly touch your wounded throat and thank the gods that you wield the Sommerswerd — its power has once again saved your life. You turn and quickly descend the stairs, leaving behind the Helghast's foul remains.

Turn to 166
.

You sense that something is very wrong here. There are no mines in Kalte, and, as a result, not only gold but all metals are considered rare and precious. The only means by which Ice Barbarians can obtain metal is by fur trading at Ljuk each summer, and then it is only steel that interests them. You suspect therefore, that these bracelets are worn by force rather than choice. If you wish to put on one of the Gold Bracelets, mark it on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item.

If you take a Bracelet,
turn to 187
.

If you wish to ignore the Bracelets and continue your exploration of Ikaya,
turn to 63
.

It takes nearly an hour to cross, but you eventually make it in safety. The ascent of the glacier is a daunting task. The ice wall is smooth but very steep, rising over eight hundred feet. All of the equipment has to be unloaded from the sledges and ferried to the top of the glacier, where it is repacked piece by piece. The Kanu-dogs do hardly anything but fight amongst themselves and your food gets so shaken up, that all that remains to eat that evening is an unsavoury mess.

On the summit of the glacier wall, you pitch tent in the shelter of a natural ice bowl and settle down to a much deserved rest.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.

If the number you have picked is 0–6,
turn to 85
.

If the number you have picked is 7–9,
turn to 300
.

You recognize the liquid to be distilled Laumspur, a herb of great healing properties. This concentrated Potion is powerful enough to restore 5
ENDURANCE
points. If you wish to keep this Vial, remember to mark it on your
Action Chart
as a Backpack Item.

Now
return to 10
and decide your next course of action.

The man hesitates and then answers. ‘Why, the Rusty Anchor Inn, of course.’

If you now wish to wipe away the outside of the pentagram and free him,
turn to 170
.

If you do not wish to free him, close the cell door and return to the main corridor by
turning to 254
.

After a short walk, you arrive at a massive ice hall full of crystal stalagmites and stalactites. The floor is covered with animal tracks and bones, yet the vast hall seems empty and still. You notice that the northern wall is a completely smooth surface of granite blocks stretching upwards to the icy ceiling, over one hundred feet above. You suddenly realize that you are staring at the foundation stones of Ikaya — you have reached the ice fortress.

Illustration XIII
—You arrive at a massive ice hall full of crystal stalagmites and stalactites.

Partially obscured by a large mound of crystals, you can just make out a ramp leading up to a massive stone door in the fortress wall. Your discovery brings renewed hope. If you can gain entry to Ikaya and quickly capture Vonotar, there is still time to reach your ship, the
Cardonal
, before the pack-ice starts to freeze.

If you wish to cross the icy hall and examine the stone door,
turn to 52
.

If you decide to stop and search the bone-littered floor,
turn to 115
.

As the Gold Bracelet snaps shut around your wrist, a terrible pain shoots through your head. You are being attacked by a powerful Mindforce, that is trying to drain your will.

If you possess the Kai Discipline of Mindshield,
turn immediately to 345
.

If you do not possess this Kai Discipline,
turn to 9
.

You soon reach the bottom of a flight of broad stone steps that ascends northwards to a landing, thirty feet above. The centre of each step has been worn smooth by the feet of the countless creatures that once inhabited the lower levels of cold Ikaya. As you climb, you wonder how long you will remain undetected. So far you have neither seen nor heard any other living soul in these deserted passages.

You have the element of surprise on your side; you now pray that Vonotar is unprepared for an intruder from the depths of his own fortress. You reach the landing and pass through an empty hall, towards a darkened archway beyond. Here, the passage splits and branches off towards the east and west. You are hungry and must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.

If you wish to take the east passage,
turn to 92
.

If you decide to take the west passage,
turn to 297
.

The two days that follow are sheer hell. Ridges formed by deeply fissured ice-mounds continually bar your way, and you are forced to dismount and manhandle the sledges across them. Progress is slow. The Kanu-dogs are nervous and take fright at the slightest instance and the sledges frequently capsize and spill their loads.

A haze of fine snow obscures your vision. On two occasions, Fenor and Irian slip into crevasses and have to be pulled out by their safety ropes. Then your sledge meets with a similar mishap. Dyce volunteers to be lowered into the crevasse on the end of a rope, and unloads the damaged sledge so that it is light enough to be hauled out. After two hours of backbreaking effort, the sledge is dragged from the void, but only for you to discover that it is damaged beyond repair and will have to be abandoned.

A gale rises from the west, and blows so fiercely that you have difficulty in standing. Within a few minutes, the conditions have become so bad that you are obliged to pitch a tent and wait for the gale to die down. Hour after hour, the wind buffets the tent relentlessly. As you slowly drift off to sleep, you can only dread what the next morning may bring; you are totally unaware of the amazing sight that awaits you.

Turn to 117
.