The Caverns of Kalte (17 page)

You quickly lose consciousness. You have succumbed to the baneful power of an ancient Doomstone, a power that is deadly to all living creatures. Death is inevitable and comes quickly.

It may be of consolation to learn that your body is soon discovered by an Ice Barbarian guard, who presents it (together with the Doomstone) to Vonotar. The traitor is so elated by your death, that he orders your body to be encased in ice and displayed like a trophy in his hall. However, the radiations of the Doomstone will cause the evil wizard months of suffering and eventually bring about his own death.

Your life and your mission end here.

You fall over thirty feet and land flat on your back in the snow-filled crevasse. You are surrounded by sharp stalagmites and jagged ice, but you have miraculously escaped death and injury. Shaken, but thankful to be alive, you stagger to your feet and grasp a crystal stalagmite for support. You slowly become aware that you can see your hands quite clearly. A faint light is seeping from a fissure to your left. With curiosity getting the better of your natural caution, you stagger across the crevasse floor and explore this mysterious cave.

Turn to 284
.

The Ice Barbarian is on his knees when you enter combat; he cannot react to your attack during the first two rounds. Ignore any
ENDURANCE
points you lose during the first two rounds of combat.

Ice Barbarian:
COMBAT SKILL
 18   
ENDURANCE
 28

If you win the combat,
turn to 186
.

The stone door is perfectly smooth. No hinges, locks, or levers are visible from inside the room.

If you possess the Sommerswerd,
turn to 42
.

If you do not possess it, you can only leave this room via the passage in the north wall.
Turn to 145
.

You are remarkably lucky. Hidden by the darkness is a deep fissure into which you nearly stepped. With a few extra bruises to your knees and shins, you press onwards towards the distant light.

Turn to 235
.

You carefully make your way across the temple floor until you are standing next to the altar. The statue seems cold and lifeless, but you sense that someone or something is trapped within. You can almost hear their desperate cries for release.

If you wish to strike the statue with a weapon,
turn to 150
.

If you do not possess a weapon, or if you wish to leave the temple, head towards the northern archway by
turning to 306
.

As the beast shrieks a ghastly death-cry, the horrible stench of its body fills your nostrils. Even the Kanu-dogs wrinkle their noses in disgust and shy away from the evil smell.

When Irian appears at your side with a skinning knife, you wince at the thought of skinning this dreadful creature. You watch with distaste as Irian cuts open the beast from throat to belly, and peels back the thick white fur. You cannot believe your eyes when he scoops out handfuls of thick oil from inside the skin and smears it all over his face and body. ‘Baknar oil,’ he shouts enthusiastically. ‘Keeps you dry and warm. Better than fur for keeping out the Kalte ice.’ He offers you a handful of the vile oil.

If you wish to accept his offer,
turn to 91
.

If the thought of smelling like a vat of rancid cheese does not appeal to you,
turn to 172
.

You depress the lever and the stone door slides aside to reveal a large chamber. It is cold, stale, and empty, except for a granite chest lying near the east wall.

If you wish to make a closer examination of the chest,
turn to 45
.

If you decide to ignore the chamber and continue up the stairs instead,
turn to 323
.

The old man slowly raises his head. His eyes look tired and bruised. The congealed blood of several wounds mats his long grey beard. He struggles to his feet and peers into the darkness above. ‘Who lurks there? Is that you Vonotar? Show yourself, worm, or be gone. I'll not cower from you, nor will I hide my loathing. You will never break me, traitor!’ he shouts, defiantly shaking his scrawny fist in the air.

You cannot mistake his accent, for it is identical to your own. The old man is one of your countrymen, a Sommlending from the northern port of Toran.

If you possess a Rope, you can lower it to the floor and rescue the old man from the cell by
turning to 118
.

If you do not have a Rope, or if you do not wish to rescue him, you can continue along the passage by
turning to 30
.

About three hundred feet from the base of the ice staircase, you become dizzy and lose your footing. You try desperately to hang on to the rock-face, but your fingers are numb with the cold and you fall to your doom in the valley below. The perfectly preserved remains of your body will be found by explorers, two thousand years from now.

Your mission and your life end here.

You sense that a group of warriors is approaching from the south.

Take the north corridor by
turning to 104
.

The glass shatters in your hand, and the black liquid splashes over the stone table. Cursing your misfortune, you carefully sniff the few remaining drops lying in a curve of jagged glass.

If you have ever visited the Graveyard of the Ancients,
turn to 77
.

If you have not, you are suspicious of this pungent liquid and quickly discard the broken glass.
Return to 10
and choose your next course of action.

In the afternoon, your journey towards the glacier gradually becomes far more laborious. The blood vessels in both your eyes begin to swell until you feel as though your eyeballs are being tattooed with red-hot needles, or as if your eyelids are full of grit and sand.

Fenor is the first to notice your condition, and he halts the sledges. ‘Snow-blindness,’ he says, tearing an old rag into long strips of bandage. ‘If you go on like that, you'll go mad with pain before nightfall.’

You lose 2
ENDURANCE
points. Your sore eyes are swathed in bandages and you are made to lie amongst the equipment at the rear of the sledge. Then the trek continues. By nightfall, you reach the edge of the Viad Glacier.

Turn to 62
.

‘Your time has come,’ shouts a voice, but it is Loi-Kymar and not Vonotar who now speaks. A knot of herbs flies through the air and hits Vonotar squarely in the chest. In an instant, the hunchback wizard is engulfed in a tangle of vines that ensnare him from head to toe. Loi-Kymar bridges the moat with more creepers and joins you on the platform.

Illustration XIV
—In an instant, the hunchback wizard is engulfed in a tangle of vines.

‘Be sure to remove his rings and amulets,’ he says, as he busily searches for his Guildstaff. ‘He is a master of trickery. We would not want him to miss the special homecoming that awaits him in Sommerlund.’

You marvel at the old man's composure. After such a desperate fight, he seems completely unruffled. ‘Ah! Here she is,’ he announces triumphantly as he withdraws his Guildstaff from beneath the Brumalmarc throne.

You pass him your map of Kalte and point out the location of the
Cardonal
. ‘I'll not be needing that,’ he replies, a little contemptuously. ‘Maps are invariably wrong — I prefer to rely on my own sense of direction.’ The old magician raises his staff and a dazzling beam of light shoots from its tip. He makes three wide sweeps of the air and the Hall of the Brumalmarc is transformed into an umbrella of colour.

Turn to 350
.

The Kalkoth hits you with such force that you tumble backwards onto the thin ice of the lake. You are concussed, and unconscious of the sharp teeth that now engulf your sinking body.

Your life and your mission end here.

On the west wall of the corridor you see another stone door, with a small spy-hole cut into the centre revealing a cell on the other side. An old man is huddled in the far corner of the cell, his face and hair matted with blood and dirt. His blue robes are so filthy that the crescents and stars embroidered on them are almost totally obscured.

If you wish to open the cell door,
turn to 56
.

If you decide to ignore this old man and continue along the corridor,
turn to 276
.

Your Kai Discipline of Tracking reveals to you that the left tunnel heads north and the right tunnel heads east. Ikaya is about fifty miles to the north.

If you wish to take the left tunnel,
turn to 125
.

If you decide to take the right tunnel,
turn to 184
.

The door crashes shut, sealing the exit to the passage outside. Gradually you become aware of a vibration in the floor; but it lasts for only a few seconds and is followed by a dull
click
. Your gaze is drawn back to the black monolith. A crack has appeared in its surface. It runs the entire circumference of the slab and it is getting wider and wider.

If you wish to prepare for combat,
turn to 217
.

If you decide to press yourself into a corner of the chamber and take cover beneath your cloak,
turn to 7
.

A shiver runs up your spine as Dyce's screams fade away into the dark gorge. You are staring into the inky blackness when Irian suddenly shouts: ‘There … over there. I'm sure I saw something.’

You turn to see him pointing not at the gorge but towards the west. ‘Look, over there,’ says Fenor, who is also pointing, but at a ridge of ice in the middle distance. Two fur-clad warriors are standing on top of a large slab of ice. They stare in your direction, alerted no doubt by Dyce's scream.

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

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

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

If you decide to attack them to prevent them raising the alarm,
turn to 307
.

Sweat breaks out on your forehead as you concentrate on shielding your mind from this psychic attack. Your assailant, whoever or whatever it is, is a very powerful enemy; you know that you must rid yourself of the Bracelet if you are to survive the agony of this mind combat. In order to discard the Gold Bracelet, you will have to break your Mindshield.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
(0 = 10). If you possess the Kai Discipline of Hunting or Sixth Sense, you may deduct 2 from the number you have picked. The resulting total is the number of
ENDURANCE
points you lose before ridding yourself of the accursed Bracelet.

If you are still alive, make the necessary adjustments to your
Action Chart
and
turn to 63
.

Fenor suddenly leaps to his feet and grabs his sword. ‘It's a Kalkoth. Quickly, arm yourselves or we are done for.’ The others fumble for their weapons as Fenor disappears out into the snow. Almost immediately, there is a piercing scream of agony and something is hurled against the tent. The tent collapses and you find yourself lying face to face with Fenor's mutilated body.

Gripped by sudden fear and panic, you scramble out of the tangled chaos and unsheathe your weapon. The hideous shape of a large, four-legged monster leaps at you. Its red eyes glow like hot coals and its fanged mouth is wide open to reveal a long barbed tongue. It is upon you and you must fight it to the death.

Kalkoth:
COMBAT SKILL
 11   
ENDURANCE
 35

If you lose any
ENDURANCE
points during this combat,
turn immediately to 129
.

If you kill the creature without losing any
ENDURANCE
points,
turn to 151
.